Page 122 of Caged

This was never just about me, I am fueled by the love for my little girl.

Every single thing I do in life is to ensure her happiness, her safety.

I will lay down my life for her.

And now I have found a woman, who not only would do the same for me, but also for Elena.

So I can’t ever let her go. Not again.

I understand why she broke me. She’s right, I would have done the same thing.

You sacrifice yourself for those you love.

But, you also sometimes have to admit you were wrong. I should have known there was more behind her actions. That the Mila or Melissa I fell in love with was in there.

I hunted her down for betraying me, when in fact, I should have been chasing her to help her.

I swallow past the lump in my throat, still feeling the torture of believing I was about to lose her.

“I’m sorry, baby,” I whisper into the top of her head.

“For what?” She hugs me tighter.

“I should have realized sooner. I should have known you didn’t do this to hurt me, you were right. I would have done that, if not worse for my daughter. But, I love you, Mila, so damn much. I want a future with you and Elena. I want to give you the life you deserve, the one you crave. Let’s move past this and forge our own path, one where I worship the fucking ground you walk on for the rest of eternity.”

She nuzzles her head against me, and I feel my shirt dampening.

Fuck.

“Look at me, Mila.”

She buries her face harder against me.

“Isn’t that what you want too?”

My chest starts to tighten. I can’t lose her. Not now.

“I want that more than anything.” She sniffles. Pulling away from me, she wipes her puffy and blood stained face with the back of her hand.

“Fuck, Niki. I never cry. No matter what shit life throws at me. I hate what I did to you. I hate what your dad did to us both. You saw Daniil? How do I help him? How does an eighteen year old live with no fucking hand and all that trauma? And Tyler…”

She steps back and holds herself up against the wall, pain etched all over her face. Alexei is tending to Daniil. We thought it best that he gets cleaned up before Mila sees him again. That kid endured some tough shit. His life will be different, but he’s alive, thanks to his sister. Now, I need to protect her.

“Tyler got himself killed and he put your life in danger. Family means nothing without loyalty. I know it hurts, baby. I know you lost your cousin. He made his choice and faced the consequences. I would have done the same thing if I got my hands on him first. And I expect you’d do the same for me.”

I take a step closer as she sucks in a deep breath.

“I failed you all. All my goddamn life, my only purpose is to protect. And I can’t do it. I keep failing. I keep hurting. You can’t let me near Elena too. I can’t risk causing her any pain.”

She won’t look at me but I see the tears streaming down her face.

Her chest starts to shake and I step in front of her, forcing her to look at me.

“You are not on your own anymore, Mila. Never. Do you hear me? Those days of protecting, of fighting to stay alive are over. Remember what I told you?”

She blinks at me.

“Vmeste. Navsegda. Together. Always,” I tell her in Russian.

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