Page 35 of Beautiful Vows

Will running away mean everyone died for nothing?

Not only my mother, but her family.

My heart feels heavy as I sit and mull over her words. Only the gentle murmur of water provides a soothing backdrop to the tumultuous thoughts swirling in my head.

Because I was resolute that I was leaving it all behind, but if I do, I’ll be on the run with my babies forever, or I can change everything.

I glance up. The boat is moored up against the harbor, but it sways a little more than it has for the past few hours.

I’ll always love you.

Mom x

My finger slides over the words and her elegant signature when I hear a sound.

My senses become attuned to a slight movement before I notice a faint noise on the deck, like someone is tiptoeing or barefoot.

Instinctively, my hand reaches for the gun tucked against my thigh, my constant companion since I became embroiled in this world.

I crouch low, before tucking myself behind the leather sofa and bracing myself. Ready to defend my life and my babies.

A man in black creeps along the deck.

His large hand holds the handle for a few seconds before he slides open the salon door.

I crouch lower, so he can't see me, then I point and aim my gun.

“Hello, wife.”

I gasp as Dante emerges from the shadows, his eyes full of tenderness.

My stupid heart flips, and I stand. "I could've shot you."

"As long as I die in your arms," he breathes.

He still wants me.

My breath catches in my throat, and time seems to stand still as our eyes meet.

"How did you find me?" My hand shakes with the weight of the gun and of his presence.

"I'll always find you. You know that." His eyes fall to my right hand and at the gun I’m still holding. I lower it and place it on the top of the letter. Relief flashes over his features. “You won’t kill me?”

“Not yet.”

The side of his mouth curves upward. “Noted Lia.”

He moves toward me a few seconds later, slowly at first, then faster, until the distance between us is one irrevocable step.

"You know you can't hide from me," he says, taking that step closer, his gaze never leaving mine. Although his presence is unexpected, my body relaxes so much it's like I've longed for him.

“I’ll never be Lia again.” How can I be? Lia would never kill a man. She’d never had those thoughts less than six months ago.

“You’ll always be Lia to me.”

I wish. But he knows it isn’t true. I know Dante knows everything about me.

Today I’m Aurelia Moretti, the woman who’s determined to take control of her life. The woman who was thrust into a life her mother tried to hide her from.