Page 64 of Twisted In Obsession

I cry for my husband.

I cry for Allegra.

I cry for Valentina.

I cry for Dante.

And I cry for me.

For the trouble I brought to this family, now ripped apart because of my monster father. I don’t know how long I sob for, but it’s only when Romeo lets out a hungry cry that I wipe the tears away and move to the plush chair near the window to feed him.

I didn’t get a chance to express my milk so have no bottles made up. Releasing my breast, Romeo latches on easily and I watch as he feeds. My boy, so innocent, with no idea of the chaos that is happening around him or the world he lives in. I’m not naïve enough to think he won’t take over his father’s empire one day, because he will. Romeo is Nico’s heir and no matter my apprehension or disapproval about letting him be part of this organization, I know I will have no choice. It’s his birthright, just as it was my husband’s.

I run a finger down his soft, contented, cheek as more tears blur my vision.

I wish I could change his fate but that means not having Nico.

And that’s a life I will never imagine.

Nico is mine and I am his. I know that like I know the sky is blue and the grass is green.

Even with fears for my son’s future, I know deep down that everything is exactly as it should be, so I inhale a calming breath and shake away all my negative thoughts. I refuse to let them drown me. I am Nico’s queen, and I will be resilient because I have no other choice but to be.

Romeo will be strong, just like Nico, and the heir he is meant to be.

And with his father’s influence he will be everything that Nico is and more. Because like me, he has no choice.

As a unit, a family, my boys will rule this world exactly as they were born to do.

And I will be the proud queen beside them every step of the way.

Epilogue

Ocean

One month later…

As I suspected, things since Dante’s death have been difficult, to say the least.

Though Nico puts on a brave face, I feel and see the anguish he holds tightly inside him. It’s why he has distanced himself from me. Though he showers both me and Romeo with love and affection, I know he has put space between us. He is trying to save face. Like I will think he is less of a man if he shows me his pain. It’s frustrating, but it’s a process and one we will get through.

As for Allegra… she wears her pain, sorrow, and grief like a badge of honor. She is a shell of herself, spending most of her time locked away in her room and only allowing Valentina and Nico to visit. It hurts that she is pushing me away, but I know it’s not about me. It’s her way of dealing with everything that happened and I would never deny her that. One day she will let me in, and I will be there with open arms to support her.

Valentina, bless that woman, has been a godsend. She really is the backbone of the Marchetti family with her selfless ways and her strength. She is everything good in this world and I can only be thankful that she is my family.

As for my own mother? From what Nico told me, she had my father’s disappearance investigated only days after Nico killed him. Yes, I knew my father would find death at Nico’s hands, and my husband told me that the night he didn’t come home was the night he exacted the revenge both Dante and I deserved.

Though he spared me the gruesome details, I couldn’t help but feel relief that the man who had inflicted so much pain on me was now dead and could no longer hurt me. Nico was questioned about my father’s disappearance, due to my mother informing the police that he had come to New York to retrieve his daughter from Nico Marchetti, but nothing came from it. As far as the agents were concerned, Samuel Caldwell was involved with some bad people, Vadim Mikhailov in this case, and their deaths were put down to a deal gone wrong between them. The case was closed and thankfully we could all move on from it.

I officially changed my name to Ocean. Like shedding my skin, I shed my birth name and am now formally Ocean Marchetti. Emilee Ocean Caldwell died the day I ran from my parents and though I have a couple of fond memories of growing up, the bad ones outweigh the good and she doesn’t deserve my forgiveness. Therefore, I will never speak to my mother again and she will never meet her grandson. She has no business being here in my new life, so she can stay in Seattle where she belongs.

As for the secret birth control I was keeping from my husband, it was no longer an issue. Allegra had provided me with a month’s worth of pills and once I finished them, I couldn’t bring myself to ask her for more considering everything else that was going on. She was grieving her lost love, and it would be selfish of me to even consider asking her, so I let it be, resigning myself to the fact that I would most likely be pregnant again very soon. Not that Nico has had his usual high sex drive, but we are still making love and I’m not naïve enough to think that it won’t happen. It did before and I’m sure it will again.

I’m not mad about it anymore. To be honest, I think it’s exactly what our family needs after Dante’s death. It will give my husband something else to focus on. Valentina another grandchild to nurture and love. And Allegra… well I don’t know what me having another child will do, but maybe, just maybe, it will help her in some way. I just want her to be okay. I know it will take time, but we have a lot of it. I didn’t know Dante well, but I know he wouldn’t want this for her. He would want her to thrive. Live her life and be happy. And one day she will be. I know it.

“Tesoro,” my husband calls.

“In the bathroom.”

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