Page 74 of Deception & Desire

And yet…

She deserves this. She deserves to see the people who care about her. She deserves to smile again, to laugh, to find joy in this house that must feel like a glorified prison.

But my instincts rebel at the thought of letting my guard down for even a moment.

The first guests arrive just as I’m triple-checking the living room windows. I have to stop myself from drawing the curtains despite the fact it’s the middle of the day.

Cassandra walks in with her husband, Rocco. I haven’t seen either of them since the wedding, and the air between us suddenly becomes tense. These are Mia’s people, not mine.

Rocco, for all his talk of retirement, still carries himself like a soldier as he approaches. “Leon,” he greets me, shaking my hand. “Still the over-prepared type, I see.”

“You caught all that? I thought you were supposed to be retired,” I reply simply.

He smirks. “I’m on sabbatical.”

Further conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Isabella and Teo, who ease the tension with warm greetings and hugs between the women.

I almost don’t notice Marco slipping in. Mia’s father is dressed sharply and already heading for a glass of whiskey, as if that might do anything to ease the nerves of facing his daughter’s wrath.

It’s not my place to intervene. However, a part of me hates the man for causing her such unnecessary strife. The same part that hates him hates me, too.

And then, she arrives.

Mia steps into the room, her hand immediately going to rest lightly on Cassandra’s arm. Her presence is commanding and soft all at once, causing the room to seemingly swell all around her.

She’s wearing a simple black dress that blows out over her now-quite-noticeable bump. Her hair is swept up to expose the curve of her neck.

For a moment, I can’t breathe.

It’s not the dress or her smile, though both are stunning. It’s the light in her shockingly green eyes, the way she stands taller as if she’s reclaiming a part of herself I thought I’d stolen.

I step toward her without realizing it, my feet moving on instinct.

“Leon,” she says softly as if I hadn’t just interrupted her conversation. Her voice is like a balm and a dagger.

“You’re…you look beautiful,” I manage, and it feels like the most honest thing I’ve said in months.

Cassandra’s eyes flicker between us knowingly. “She does, doesn’t she? It’s that pregnancy glow, I think. I’m so jealous, you know. When I was carrying Cory…”

She carries on talking, but all I hear is the attentive chuckle that escapes Mia’s lips. All I can see is the way she tucks a strand of wine-red hair behind her ear, as if I haven’t been twitching to do it for her since the moment she entered the room.

I clear my throat. “Excuse me.”

For the rest of the night, I’m distracted. Teo speaks to me about Guild operations. I nod, but my attention drifts to Mia. Isabella tries to goad me into teasing Marco about his drinking. I brush her off, my gaze glued to Mia as she laughs with Cas.

Even as I exchange pleasantries with Rocco, my mind is on her.

My Mia. My wife. My family.

Tonight, she is surrounded by people who love her, and for the first time in a long time, she looks free.

Mia clears her throat, stepping toward the center of the room. The quiet hum of conversation dies down as everyone turns to her.

I can feel her nerves as if they were my own, see the way she clutches her hands together, and my chest tightens. I want to go to her, shield her from the weight of all those eyes, but I stay rooted where I am. This is her moment.

“I just wanted to say thank you,” she begins, her voice soft but steady. “For being here today. It means the world to me that you’d take a moment away from the insanity of your lives to celebrate something so small.”

“We love you, Mia!” Cas heckles, earning a ripple of laughter from the room.

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