Page 74 of King of Obsession

‘Alessio, for the love of -.’

I lifted a hand to pause her tirade before she went wild on me and wordlessly pushed an offering into her hand.

She unfurled her palm, revealing a jade bead bracelet.

The same one she’d lost on the night I’d rescued her in Naples.

She stared at me, at the weary, shitty lines on my face, and then down at the cluster of aquamarine beads in her hand.

I had no words left to say.

So I didn’t.

Her eyes narrowed as she brought them closer, studying the beads.

Seconds later, her face transformed into a soft smile.

‘No freakin way,’ she whispered in that gentle way she had that threatened to send me to my knees in supplication. ‘My grandparents gave me this to me on my sixteenth birthday. I thought I lost it.’

I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak. Still, I had to, and my vocalization was raw, hoarse. ‘You dropped it when you ran. I kept it.’

I’d done more than keep the jade gems; I’d turned them into prayer beads, my aquamarine-stringed rosary.

They’d been my peace, my ritual in meditation, especially after my father’s death.

I panicked if I ever misplaced them, even for one moment.

I’d never traveled, moved, or spent an hour away from them.

Many times, I’d thought about returning them to her.

I hadn’t, needing to remain connected to her somehow.

She stared back at me, eyes wide in disbelief. ‘You’ve held onto them all this time?’

I nodded, twisting my lips.

She took in my words, shaking her head in incredulity. ‘What am I freakin’ going to do with you?’

Her voice was edged with exasperation, and I sighed, almost stepping away until I caught the tenderness in her eye.

It shored me and gave strength to my weakened limbs.

‘Is this your apology?’

I shrugged. ‘It’s what you want it to be.’

We locked eyes for a long moment before I bit my lip and made to leave.

She reached a hand to stay me. ‘Wait.’

I turned back to her, hope rising.

‘One thing, Alessio, you said you subsidized my grandmother’s hospice care?’

I had to tell her the whole truth. ‘I bought the fuckin’ facility.’

‘For her?’

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