Page 64 of Twins for the Mafia Heir

Chapter 34

Achilles

When I return to the safe house, it’s dark and locked up, but Piers answers my code knock. He must see something in my expression, because when he looks over my shoulder and sees that ‘Raleigh’ isn’t with me, his face goes pale.

“What happened, Achilles?! Were you attacked? Where’s-”

“Gone,” I say, too sharply. “She’s gone, Piers.”

Before he can ask more, I push past him into the house. I want to collapse in the armchair in the living room and at least pretend to sleep, but my old friend won’t leave me alone so easily.

“Gone- Achilles, what the hell are you talking about? Did Fantasia find you?”

No, no,no. Every word is another knife twisting in my gut. “I’m not talking about this right now, Piers,” I snap. “Just let me-”

“No, you’re not doing that with me,” Piers persists, stepping in front of me so suddenly I almost slam into him. “You’ve had the entire world on your shoulders since before we even met. Now you’re showing up on my doorstep telling me you’ve got a new bride- and losing her hours later?!”

“I didn’t lose her,” I snap, desperately trying not to wake up the entire house with my rage. “I put her on a plane and sent her back to her people!”

Piers stares at me through the darkness, his brows lowering as I watch. “I see,” he says.

It’s not the reaction I expected, and that only makes me angrier. “What exactly do yousee?” I demand.

“You clearly thought that was best,” Piers says. “It would keep her out of Fantasia’s clutches, and that’s probably safest. But didRaleighthink so? Did she even want to leave?”

Raleighdoesn’t even exist, not like either of us know her. Or thought we knew her. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Leave it, Piers,” I say, trying to brush past him again. He grabs my arm and I swing around, ready to throw him to the ground. He braces against me, keeping us both upright. I have height on him, but he’s stouter than I am. I snarl, but he doesn’t flinch.

“It doesn’t matter what she wanted,” I snap, “because she lied, Piers. She fucking lied to me. She wasn’t who she said she was. Our marriage was a fucking sham, and she never should’ve been here anyway. I’m not going to play goddamn pretend anymore.”

Piers releases me, his brows furrowed more in confusion than anger. “Who-”

“It doesn’t matter who she actually was,” I say, almost more to myself than to him. “It only matters that she should never have been here, and now she’s going back where she belongs.”

My friend cocks his head at me, and my irritation flairs. It’s not for him to believe or not believe me. I’m doing what’s best for my family.

I storm past him and tuck Sidony’s presents into the corner of the living room. The sight of them sitting against the wall sends a whole new jolt through my chest, but I ignore that too.

Sidony has been asleep for several hours in the den, on a bed that’s actually made up with blankets and pillows. I should join her in there, but I know already that I’m not sleeping tonight. For a long moment, I stand in place in the living room and look around. Piers comes to my side again, and at least this time he seems to be thinking before he speaks.

“You can’t… go after her?”

“Why would I want to do that?” I snap.

Piers shakes his head. “It wouldn’t hurt you to want things, you know.”

What a stupid thing to say. Of course it does.

It already has.

Piers goes to bed for the few remaining hours of darkness, leaving me alone at the dining room table. As the sun is rising and he re-emerges from his room, he notes that I haven’t moved and brews us coffee without asking if I want any. Still, the first touch of scalding black coffee against my tongue feels like a crutch I’m going to be clinging to for the rest of the day.

Sidony comes out of the den later that morning, probably roused by the smell of breakfast Piers is making now. She holds Lilac in one arm and rubs sleep out of her eyes with the other. “Morning, daddy,” she says, but doesn’t stop at my side. At first I think she’s wandering around the corner to the bathroom, but then I realize with a sinking stomach that she’s looking through the house for ‘Raleigh’. When she comes back to the dining room, she still doesn’t look too alarmed. “Daddy, I can’t find Raleigh anywhere. Is she going potty?”

Lacking sleep is bad. Missing a woman I shouldn’t miss, like I’ve lost one of my own lungs, is worse. But having to explain thedisappearance of another person from her life to my four year old daughter…

This is the part I’ve been dreading since I left Emma at the airport.

Piers peeks out of the kitchen and over at me, but I ignore his gaze. As someone who grew up an unwanted orphan, he doesn’t believe in softening truths for young people, and that’s all well and good. He can use that ideal when he’s dealing with his own future children. As for me…

---