Page 83 of The Last Ones Standing, Part Two

No more people pleasing. I know the hard stuff that needs to be said to move us forward and I’m going to say it. If I don’t, we’re going to lose what we’ve all wanted, whether willing to admit it to ourselves or not.

“Nyla, you should have trusted Gio before taking off without us.”

She turns her head to look up at me and wrinkles her brows.

“I did trust him. I saw what he was up to once I got to Holly’s and calmed down. I did what I knew he would want.

“I left. I also saw that nothing was changing, and I needed to do something about that. I needed to take control ofmylife,” she says.

“We understand that, but from the beginning, Gio told you we needed to talk to each other for this to work.We’vebeen talking to each other for a year, but you haven’t been in the conversation.”

Her nostrils flare as she sits up, sending the water splashing out of the tub as she turns to look at me.

“I’ve communicated thatIwant children. I’ve communicated thatIwas running out of time to do that. I’ve communicated thatIwant Riccardo dead so I can finally move on withmylife.

“I’ve communicated that I’m not wasting the rest of my life waiting for that to happen. Twenty-six years? Come on, I’ve given my all.

“If not for Ava telling me to do something for me, I’d have nothing and would be out here looking crazy and for what?”

“For us, we made promises to each other, and we plan to keep those.”

“Okay, Jace. So I’m the bad guy because I want to grow out of this pain?”

“No, I’m not saying that. I’m saying we’ve always had you. Gio has been doing what he promised. This is as much a common goal for us as having a family of our own.”

“Yet, we have neither and I’m the only one facing a ticking time bomb.”

Gio sits up and gives a pointed look. “It doesn’t have to be that way. You know I wouldn’t allow it to be that way.”

“I know only what I’ve been shown. Why do I feel like you two are jumping me?”

She stands up and goes to climb from the tub. I reach for her wrist to stop her as she gets one leg out.

“Ny, don’t. We stop walking away from each other right now. You asked for this, now we do it right or not at all.”

She looks down at me and narrows her eyes. “Listen to me, Puppet Master Supreme. You’re not innocent in all of this. I’ve had time to think about this.

“You started this. You didn’t mean that in the sense of getting involved with us. You meant,youstarted this.

“I met that couple throughyou. I became curious because ofyou. So don’t sit there and tell me what I wanted.”

Gio scoffs. I know he’s still pissed at me about Sabrina and Dutch. It’s a grudge I’m willing to face.

I stand and tower over Ny. Reaching for her chin, I lift her face up so I can look in her eyes. Her temper is showing in her gaze.

“I don’t deny it. I saw the way you looked at us. I knew I could have what I wanted with a little time and a bit of a push. Everything I love has always been taken from me, I’m not allowing that to happen this time.

“We heal from here, from inside our unit. Our trinity is unbreakable, this is how we win. You talk to us, we figure things out together. No more separate relationships. We do this as one. He needs us both just like we need him. That’s why you and I are so off when he’s not there.”

She pulls her face from my hand and looks away. I reach to bring her gaze back to me. I’m not allowing her to run this time. No more passive Jace when it comes to our relationship.

“You once asked me what was different that one night. I thought it was because I wasn’t thinking. I wasn’t, but Gio was also there in spirit.

“You had on the jewelry he gave you and the fur. He was with us. We all connect on a spiritual level.

“Sustaining that means communicating, not running, not regressing, not throwing up walls. We communicate because silence gets us nothing, no babies, no family, no happiness,” I finish and drop my hand to return to sitting in the water.

Nyla stands, glaring down at me. Her brows knit as she moves to sit back down with her back facing Gio this time. He wraps her in his arms and kisses the back of her neck.

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