Page 167 of His Cursed Heart

"The sole of the foot." Is all I say, and another man comes next to Ivan, lifting his foot off the ground.

I kneel on the ground, looking at Ivan's angry face. He is still fighting his fate; too bad I'm here to break him in pieces.

"Remember this, Ivan. I will not let you die until she wakes up. I won't let you torment her dreams and make her leave me. As long as I have to live without my wife, I will hold you between life and death. I will torture you until Althea returns to me." I swear in front of everybody and I press the burning metal into his skin, marking the bastard with my name.

He will talk about me in hell. He will make everyone know that no one messes with my wife and gets to live.

His scream makes my men grin, and his moans are desperate.

"Vincent is asking for you, Keaton." Venus tells me and I soften my muscles at the thought of him.

"Have fun with Venus, motherfucker." I say and walk out of the room, letting Venus do whatever she wants with him.

I move quickly to the bathroom and wash my hands before going to Vincent. I don't want to infect him with whatever that bastard has.

I knock on his door and a sob comes from inside. My hands turn into fists. I can't hear him like this. It's

pure torture to know that this little boy holds this much pain.

I already failed him.

Althea would've known what to do, but I stand here, outside him room, trying to not break before him. Because we both might lose the most important person from our lives.

The door opens suddenly and Vincent little body is looking up to me. He cries harder when he sees me and he raises his little hands toward me. I almost fall in front of him, but I need to be strong. One of us has to be strong.

I take him in my arms and he glues to me like a spider monkey. His neck is buried in mine and his hands are squeezing my shirt in a tight hold. The whimpers are wrecking his body, his voice raspy.

"I'm here, Vince, just calm down." I pet his back gently, kissing his head multiple times.

"Althea," He cries harder when he says her name. He continues to cry her name like it's his prayer.

"She's going to fine." I try to say the words as hopeful as I can.

Vincent shakes his head, not believing me. He just cries, pleading for his sister. The one who raised him. The one who helped him with his first steps, and the one who always wiped his tears away. Vincent cries for Althea the way a child cries for his mother.

I squeeze him tighter to me, trying to protect him from this world. It's just me and him right now.

I hear another whimper and I look at his bed, seeing my mother trying to hold her emotions in. She looks devastated, and she eyes the little boy in my arms with so much pain and torment, that it kills me. She comes slowly next to me and hugs me with everything she has.

"Kea-Keat-" Vincent tries to say my name but he fails. He never got my name right and I always told him to call me whatever he likes.

"You can call me Everette, or Everest, bug." I soothe him and encourage him to say what he wanted to say.

"Posso chiamarti papà?" I close my eyes when he asks me something in Italian. The only thing that I understand is the word 'papa'.

Does he want Hanibal?

My heart breaks at the thought that Vincent will never be satisfied with me. That no matter how hard I try, I will never be good enough for him.

I can be your dad, too, bug. Please let me show you what a real dad is.

"You know I'm dumb, Vince. You have to say it in English." I try to joke, even though my body screams in pain.

He presses his face harder in my neck and I can hear the angry noises he makes. I almost laugh at the fact that he's angry because I don't understand Italian.

Mom caresses his hair, trying to encourage him too. Her smile is broken, and she looks at me with pride.

"You'll be fine, Ev." She kisses my arm. "And next time I come to visit, please let me know if you get another wild animal as a pet. I'm too old for this kind of heart attacks." And she leaves the room.

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