Page 238 of The Devil's Fire

“For your own sake. Do you have any idea what kind of danger you put yourself in by showing up at that place? Alone?” Damiano’s anger returned, and his eyes went cold.

“I did it for a reason, and you wouldn’t let me go there if I told you.”

“Damn right, I wouldn’t let you!” He roared out, making me look away.

“You have no idea what kind of people were in that place. They wouldn’t hesitate to kill you! And because of that, I need to send you away so you don’t pull that kind of shit again. Don’t you understand that I want you to be safe? I want you to live a safe and quiet life away from here, away from me, because I can’t give you that.” Damiano looked pained by his own words.

I frantically shook my head in panic.

“I don’t want that! I want to be with you!” I cried out. He let out a dark chuckle as he looked at me.

“You’re the one who wanted to get away from me, and I’m helping you to do so.”

“I didn’t mean it like that! I… I was scared you would blame me and despise me for losing the baby. I didn’t know what else to do but to go away. Everything got too much for me, and I just needed some time for myself.” I explained, feeling my heart about to explode.

Damiano was quiet as he continued to look at me, his eyes softening a bit.

“I wanted to come back to you. I never wanted to stay away for so long, but I was told it was better to stay away from you. I know I hurt you, and I fell apart again. For days, I felt like I had nothing, but every time I thought that, I thought of you. It made me realize that for me, home is with you. You are where my heart is.” I poured my feelings out to him.

“All I wanted was to be with you, to start a family... I know I shouldn’t have left. I should have been there for you, as you’ve always been for me. And I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!” I sobbed, my heart aching as I finally let everything out, fearing this might be the end of us.

“Fucking hell…” Damiano took me in his arms. I held him tightly, not wanting to let him go. Damiano sat on the couch with me curled up on his lap.

“Who told you to stay away?” He asked softly. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

“Arianna visited me.” I said quietly and looked down at my lap.

“Why?”

“Because Michael was here.” I faced him, seeing that he was already looking at me with a frown as his hold slowly tightened.

“He just wanted to check up on me, and eventually, I agreed. But I… uh, went back to the house with him to grab some of my mom’s stuff.” I held my breath as I nervously bit down on my lip.

“You what?!” Damiano furiously erupted.

“You’re only going to get angrier from here…” I mumbled.

I could feel him trying to contain his anger as he formed his hands into fists and looked at me like he was ready to send me away for good.

“I found something.” I went to the room I had jumped into.

Damiano followed me as I grabbed my clutch. I went to get the small treasure chest I had hidden before sitting back on the couch again.

I laid everything out on the coffee table. Damiano picked up one of the letters, his frown only deepening as he looked it over. I handed him the picture, scooting closer to him as he observed it. He turned it around, reading what was written on it.

“That’s Alexei Vasiliev.” He raised a brow as he looked at the picture. If he was surprised, he didn’t show it. I then handed him the note Nestor had sent to my mother. “I went to the LuxePalace, hoping I would find him to talk to him.”

Damiano glared at me, but I tried to ignore it as I continued to speak.

“When we were at the auction, we had a small chat. He said I reminded him of an old girlfriend, and I remembered him calling her Solnishko. That’s why I thought it was him.”

I started to tell him everything I had learned about my mother and her relationship with Alexei, and he listened carefully.

“You should have told me about this.” Damiano said.

“I know, but you would have left me completely out of it -”

“Damn right I would have!” He interrupted me, making me let out a sigh of frustration.

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