Page 27 of Cherished Union

She shakes her head. “No,” she tells me. She’s close to tears. “It’s typical,” she says. “Men making decisions for women when they have no idea what pain they’ve been through. We’re never factored into their decisions. So don’t sit there and pretend like you care about her, when your actions are leading her to be in a position to be around him.”

“I agreed with him, Vivi,” Jade tells her.

“Yeah, I know. I heard. But not once did you think about Ade. Had you done so, you’d have realized that she is not you and she is not Rocco. She is sweet, kind, and caring. She’d do whatever it takes to make everyone happy, just as she is doing now by agreeing to go into the wedding with the man who almost killed her.”

I get to my feet and close the distance between us. She collapses into my open arms and cries. She’s scared for me, and her emotions are coming out. I hate that there’s nothing I can do to help her. She’s been through so much, watching what happened to me and then having to leave the life she knew. Not to mention she’s anxious about what life in Indiana’s going to be like. Everything that we’ve heard about Hayden hasn’t been good.

“It’ll be okay,” I promise her.

She shakes her head. “You don’t know that,” she whispers. “What if he hurts you?”

“He won’t,” I assure her. I keep my arm around her and turn back to my family. “We’ll have him waiting for me by the doors. That way he’ll not be near us for too long. He’ll walk me down the aisle and then take his seat. The only other time I’ll have to be near him is when we have our dance, and we’ll be in front of hundreds of people. He’s not going to hurt me.”

No one looks convinced, but we have no other choice. This is the only way it can happen.

“He won’t touch you,” Rocco growls after a few terse minutes of silence. “He does and we’ll take him out, the war be damned.”

Vivi scoffs.

“Don’t,” I say quietly.

“Let her speak, Ade,” Elio instructs me. The damn fool knows damn well what Vivi is going to say.

“You should have not given a damn about the war in the first place. But then again, no one matters to you, right, Rocco? I mean, except Jade and Elio. The rest of us are just relatives you could do without.”

I tighten my arm around her and hold her close. She’s hurting and is lashing out. I can’t blame her right now. Everything is up in the air, and she’s scared.

“She’s right,” Rocco begins. “I’ve fucked up, as have Elio and Dario, but we’re trying to make amends.”

“We know,” I tell him. We really do know that they’re trying, but Vivi’s finding it hard to wrap her head around everything. “Look, we understand what’s going on. It’s just a lot to take in, especially for Vivi. But we’re going to get through today, we’re going to plaster smiles on our faces, and we’re going to act like the perfect family. We’ve made our decision, so we’re going to keep to our plan. Today is just a day,” I say, my voice clear and precise.

“I’m proud of you, Ade.” Rocco grins as he walks over to Vivi and I. He wraps his arms around us both and holds us tight.

I rest my head against his chest and smile. There’s one good thing that has come from our parents losing their damn minds, and that’s how close Vivi and I are getting to our brothers. It’s something that I hope continues.

“Hate to break up this touching moment,” Dario drawls, and I smile. Since he found out what happened between our father and I, he’s changed. Gone is the childish, arrogant, lazy brother who thought he should be handed everything. In his place is a man I respect. He’s finally stepping up and becoming the man I always knew he could be. “But we need to get going.”

Rocco releases us and takes a step backward. “I’ll head our father off, make sure he’s waiting for you at the door. Don’t worry, Ade, it’ll be okay.”

I nod. I know it will be. Jade takes Vivi’s hand, and they follow my brothers out of the room, leaving me alone.

I take this moment to take a breather. Inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly. My nerves are through the roof, but I ignore them. There’s nothing I can do to ease them. They’ll go as the day wears on. I'm just worried about what’s going to happen when I see my father again.

“Ade,” Jade says a while later. “You ready?”

I take one last deep breath and move toward the door. “I’m ready,” I tell her as I open it.

She gives me a blinding smile and nods. “Then let’s get you married.”

She takes my hand, offering me strength, something I’m so grateful for. We walk toward my father.

“You may not realize it, Ade, but you are so damn strong. You are poised and graceful, but you are damn strong, and I’m proud of you. You should be too. You have come out of your shell since you’ve been free of your parents. You are protective of Vivi and respectful to your brothers. Your brothers are in awe of you, Ade. Never forget that.”

I swallow back the tears. “Thank you, Jade, for taking on Vivi while I was unable to.”

She squeezes my hand tighter. “You’re my sister, Ade, that means Vivi is too. I’ll do whatever I can to protect you.”

Just as I’d do the same.

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