Page 141 of Tyrant (The Villetti Chronicles)

“I didn’t know you, Noemi, but I’m going to try to make your son happy for as long as I have him in my life. I’m sure you’ll agree he deserves every hard-earned piece of it.”

She threw her rose into the grave and let go of me, stepping back and allowing me a moment alone. I was silent for a long time, staring down at the box containing my mother. I didn’t know what to tell her. It all felt like it’d been said before.

“You were the best part of our family,Mamá. I’ll miss you every day.” I tipped my head up to the sky. “Wherever you are, I want you to know we’ll be okay. I’ll keep my brothers safe and our family together. I know that’s what you would have wanted.”

I pressed my lips to the petals of the white rose in my hand before throwing it down onto the coffin. Taking a breath, I bowed my head, silently saying goodbye one final time.

Turning away, I took Ari’s hand and led her towards the car. A weight lifted from my shoulders, knowing my mother was no longer a prisoner of my father. None of us were. We still had a thousand struggles ahead of us, but I could do it with my love by my side, helping me keep my family together. She was my everything. And it was high fucking time I told her that along with a promise I would stick by her forever.

You are the best thing that ever happened to me, Arianna Michaelson. And when this wake is over, I’ll show you every day just how much I adore your beautiful soul.

Forty Seven

Zayn

My eyes went to the door of the living room. I shouldn’t be nervous about doing this. The thought of it all going wrong kept playing over and over in my mind. I knew Ari loved me. I knew she wanted to stay with me. This wasn’t something I’d ever had to do before. I’d never felt this way about anyone, so of course, I was going to be fucking nervous.

Taking a breath, I walked in and found her watching TV with her legs curled up on the sofa. It’d been over a week since my mother’s funeral, and I was ready to move on with our lives. Ari looked up, giving me a smile when she saw it was me. She put her hand out, but I didn’t move from my spot. Her hand dropped, and she bit her lip.

“Are you okay, daddy?”

I nodded, stuffing my hands in my pockets and paced towards the TV and back.

“Turn that off, Arianna.”

She did as I asked. I could feel her eyes on me as I paced again.

Get it together!

I came to a standstill a few feet away from her and met her confused eyes. Gathering my fucking wits, I slipped my hand from my pocket and rubbed my face.

“I need you to sit there and listen without interrupting. Can you do that for me?”

“If that’s what you need.”

“Yes, it is.”

She sat up, placing her feet down on the rug below the sofa, and gave me her full attention. Her hands went to her thighs, curling around them. I wanted my hands on them, but I didn’t move towards her. I needed to get this shit out of my system without being distracted by my fingers on her body.

“The thing is… Ari, the thing is… there are things in this life I can’t give you and I know you’ve told me it’s okay that I don’t want to get married or have children. That you don’t want those things either, but it doesn’t stop me from wanting to give you everything you deserve. To care for you every day for the rest of our lives. Because that’s what I want with you. A lifetime.”

My hand shook, so I clenched it into a fist to stop myself from getting too worked up.

“I can’t give you a traditional relationship, but I can give you everything I have and everything that I am. I can promise you’ll never want for anything. No matter what happens to me, you’ll always be protected and safe. You know my world is dangerous and unpredictable. If this was a marriage, then you’d be afforded all the legal protections possible as my wife, but things can’t work that way for us.”

I took a breath and shook out my hand. Ari looked up at me, her expression neutral, so I had no idea what she thought about me saying all of this. It didn’t matter. I had to push on and make sure she knew what she meant to me.

“So, I’ve done everything in my power to make sure you’ll be okay if anything happens to me. I’ve had my solicitor draw up all the paperwork necessary, so you’ll be named on the deeds of the house and the club. I’ve had my will changed so you inherit everything as well as giving you lasting power of attorney. There’s stuff you’ll need to sign for all of this, but I’ll arrange for us to visit her offices to do that. Simply put, Arianna, I want to share everything I have with you because I trust you and I need you… and you’re everything to me.”

The fact her expression hadn’t changed bothered me somewhat, but I wasn’t finished yet. Moving closer, I dropped down to my knees in front of her.

“I’m not very good at expressing my feelings, which you probably know, but you are the bravest, strongest, and most feisty woman I know. I can’t live in a world where you aren’t next to me. I promise I’ll care for you and be your daddy for the rest of our lives if you’ll stay by my side.”

I swallowed and stared into her eyes. She still hadn’t reacted, so I turned towards the coffee table, pulled open the drawer and extracted a small box from it. Twisting back to face her, I held the box out for her to see.

“I hope this will demonstrate my devotion to you.”

I opened the box. It contained a discreet gold chain with a little Tinkerbell charm on it.

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