Page 44 of Lorenzo's Claim

“Now is not the time, Red.” I sighed. “I fucked up. I know I did, but I still need to have the conversation with Ana about running off unprotected every five minutes.”

“Maybe not tonight, though, yeah?” He let out a deep sigh, knowing I’d do whatever I wanted to anyway.

I noticed shortly after that Evelina was approaching us alone, her face strong and unreadable. There may have been tears in her eyes a moment ago, but you’d never have known that if you didn’t see it in person.

“I’ll wait in the car.” Red smiled at Evelina as she approached. “Goodnight, Evelina.”

“Goodnight, young man.”

Red settled into the driver’s seat, waiting for us to finish.

“I don’t know if she ever told you, but they were so incredibly close. She was the apple of his eye.” She spoke softly, not taking her eyes off her granddaughter.

“But wasn’t that spot reserved for you? You were his wife, after all.”

“He adored me, I know he did.” She breathed out a big breath, the corners of her mouth turning up as she thought about her late husband. “But he had a special place in his heart for her.”

“Is that why he trained her?”

“Partly. Victor was all about Miles, wanting to make him the best of the best, but in my opinion, Miles fell short. He was never the right choice. Victor overlooked Anastacia time and time again, and my husband had enough, so he took it upon himself to train Ana.”

“And Victor still focused on Miles? Despite what your husband said to him?” I asked.

“Indeed, Miles was his sole focus. Anastacia didn’t really matter. He never thought she was good enough. He never thought she’d be able to replace him. She wasn’t strong enough for that job in his opinion.” Evelina clenched her fists, the anger getting to her. There was clearly more to that family dynamic than I’d found out previously.

“And what was your opinion?”

“That she could do that job with her eyes closed. There was no one better to lead after Victor, but he was blinded by focusing on his son. He dismissed her without a second thought.” She sighed.

“I never knew.”

“Of course, you wouldn’t know, Lorenzo. She wouldn’t have told you.” Evelina turned to face me. “That woman brushes everything off. She may put on this mask and armour, but deep down, she’s so much more than what you think.”

“I’m sure she is.” I turned my attention back to Anastacia, who was kneeling beside the grave, her hair blowing behind her in the wind as the moonlight illuminated the tears that glistened on her cheeks.

“I know you aren’t innocent in this marriage. I wasn’t born yesterday. I know you have some sort of hidden agenda, but trust me, Ana isn’t the easy target you think she is.” She informed me, and I already knew she wasn’t as easy as I expected her to be.

“Red will drive you home, I can get Ana to drive me back.”

“Do you have a death wish?” She laughed as the smile finally reached her eyes.

“Is she really that bad?”

“Do you want to find out?” She rounded the front of the car as she replied.

“Good point. It looks like I’ll be driving then.” I smiled as she disappeared into the passenger seat.

I made my way over to where Anastacia knelt. She quickly wiped her eyes, hiding any sign of upset from me as if wanting to slip that mask back into place. She didn’t want to look weak in front of me.

“Are you ready to go?” I asked, hovering behind her.

“Yeah, just give me a minute.” She whispered, tracing her fingers across her grandfather’s name. “I love you,dedushka. You will always be my sunshine,” she whispered before letting out a shaky breath. “Let’s go.”

She rose to her feet, not wanting to look at me.

We didn’t exchange words, but that didn’t stop me from doing what I did next. I pulled her into my arms, resting my chin on her head as she relaxed into me. She didn’t cry. She didn’t speak. She just let me hold her. I didn’t know what came over me. I wasn’t usually comforting, and I never wanted to be affectionate towards her, but seeing her so upset stirred something in me, something I couldn’t name.

It might have been the first time we’d actually been that close without wanting to kill one another—or fighting for dominance—and honestly, I should have hated it… But tonight, I didn’t.

---