Page 149 of Righteous Enforcer
“I won’t deny that Maksim saw it like that, but not me. Not ever. I fell in love with you, Adriano. That's when everything changed. I started feeding the Bratva useless information, trying to keep my father alive while not truly betraying you."
I feel the weight of that time on me as keenly now as when it happened.
"When your father confronted me, he somehow knew I was hiding something. He didn't know what, but he knew enough to threaten me. He would have killed me, Adriano. My being pregnant was the thing that saved me."
My fingers instinctively touch the bandage at my temple. It hurts but also itches.
“He told me to leave, but I felt like the only way I could be safe, our baby could be safe from your father and the Bratva, was to fake my death. My father helped me. He paid for it with his life. Maksim killed him when he couldn't produce me."
Adriano's eyes darken with pain.
"I've spent years running, trying to keep Mirabella safe from both sides. I couldn’t believe it when some of Ivan’s men found me. I got away and then you found me—" I draw in a shaky breath. "I was terrified you'd discover the truth and hate me. But I never stopped loving you, not for a single day."
I force myself to meet his gaze directly, no more hiding.
"I'm sorry, Adriano. I'm sorry for every lie.”
“I came to save you,” he says, and the words shock me. If he was there, what happened? “But you were having dinner with Ivan, looking cozy as you discussed a job spying on us again.”
I shake my head. The movement makes the room spin. “Never. I told him you and Alessandro would never trust me again. I told him I would rather die than betray you."
I squeeze his hand, desperate for him to believe me.
"I don't expect forgiveness. I don't deserve it. But I want you to know the truth, all of it, before you decide what happens to me."
Adriano's silence feels like an eternity. I've laid myself bare, confessed all my sins, all my secrets. Now I can only watch as he processes the truth.
His thumb strokes across my knuckles. "You know what's funny? I tried so hard not to love you again. I convinced myself I couldbe cold, that I could just be Mirabella's father and nothing more to you."
I can’t decide if what he’s saying is good or bad for me.
"I failed miserably." A wry smile touches his lips. "Even when I thought you had betrayed me, I couldn't stop loving you."
"Adriano…" I sniff, realizing that I’m not dead to him.
"When Ivan had that gun to your head," he continues, "and I realized I might lose you for real this time… I knew. I knew I'd been lying to myself all along."
He brushes my tears away. “You sent the text, didn’t you? You warned us about the Vitales and the Bratva. You saved my life when you could have let Ivan kill me. You were willing to die rather than see me hurt.” He shakes his head in wonder. "How could I not forgive you after that?"
The weight that's been crushing me for years begins to lift. “So you forgive me?”
"I forgive you. All of it. I understand now why you made those choices. And how difficult and scary the choices were." His gaze holds mine. "What I can't do is live without you anymore."
A sob catches in my throat. "What about Alessandro?"
"Let me worry about my brother. He's seen what you risked for our family." His hand cups my face, careful of my injury. "I want to put all of it behind us now. I want you and Mirabella with me, as my family. For real this time."
"That's all I've ever wanted.” I won’t lie. A part of me wonders if I’m dead and this is heaven.
When his lips meet mine, I know it’s real. It’s true. For the first time since I met him, there are no more secrets between us, no more lies. Just truth and the promise of the future we should have had all along.
The door opens again, and Alessandro steps in. Wounded and weak, I instinctively reach for Adriano's hand, needing to draw strength from his touch.
Adriano shifts, positioning himself between his brother and my bed. His stance says he's prepared to fight for me.
"Stand down, Brother," Alessandro says, his voice calm, practically amused. "I'm not here to finish what Ivan started."
“She’s staying, even if?—”
