Page 84 of Plus-Size Bratva Possession
“Please,” he said softly. “I need to do this.”
I relented, sitting on the toilet lid while he tended to the gash on my temple. His touch was impossibly gentle as he cleaned away the dried blood and applied bandages.
“I thought I was going to lose you,” he said, his voice low and raw. “When Ricardo had that knife at your throat, I...”
“But you didn't,” I reminded him. “We're here. We're okay.”
He shook his head. “It was too close. If our families hadn't arrived when they did—”
“But they did,” I interrupted, placing my hand over his. “Because of you. Because you made sure Dom could track us.”
He leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine. “I can't lose you, Elena. I won't survive it.”
“You won't have to,” I promised. “I'm not going anywhere.”
We finished patching each other up in silence, the simple act of caring for one another saying more than words could.
Chapter 26 - Gastone
Elena was about to ring the bell at Caspian’s when I didn’t know what came over me. “Wait,” I cried out and grabbed her hand, making her stop.
She paused, but linked her fingers through mine.
“It’s going to be okay,” she said, making gentle circles along my wrists.
“I’m not so sure,” I said, the nervous anxiety coiling through my body. “They have every reason to hate me.”
“They’ll understand. Trust me,” she said softly. “Think of it as ripping off a bandage.”
Tonight was the first night I saw her family in the hopes of making peace. For so long, I denied them any chance to do so, and now, I was here hoping for the same. I felt like a hypocrite. I wanted to do nothing more than run.
But I also didn’t. Elena had slowly become my world, and this was her world. I couldn’t split her into two.
This meant that today, I finally had to make amends.
Today, I would apologize to the men I'd wronged for years, and hope they could forgive me, if not for my sake, then for Elena's.
“Ready?” she asked, after I’d talked through everything in my head.
I nodded and gave her hand a squeeze. “Ready.”
She knocked, and moments later, Caspian opened. His expression was neutral as he looked at me, then softened when he turned to Elena.
“Finally,” he said, embracing his sister. “Everyone's waiting.”
He stepped back, allowing us entry, and I felt his eyes on me as I passed. I could hear voices as we walked to the living room, but when we entered, the chatter turned down.
Gio, Federico, Dante, Luca, and Achille all looked at me with various degrees of skepticism. Beatrice gave me a little awkward wave while Kate smiled warmly.
I returned her smile, though I felt my cheeks shake from the nerves. My eyes darted around for my sister, for Larissa, and there, I saw her seated by the window with a little bundle in her arms.
My niece. I wanted to rush over and beg for her forgiveness; to say I was a fool for not holding that baby. A baby, who was also my family.
“Come,” Caspian said softly, patting me on the back and guiding me in.
For a moment, I stood there feeling awkward, like I knew I had to say something, but nothing came to mind. But then, Larissa caught my eye and gave me a gentle, encouraging smile, and I felt more confident. She was my sister. This was her family, too, and she was mine.
Even though I never admitted that to her. God, I’ve treated her like shit.
