Chapter 235: As Don, I Can't Let You Go
Chapter 235: As Don, I Can't Let You Go
Camilla
Months ago I would have revealed the idea of being back here, honestly, I would have cried and refused to ever let them go but killing Edward had killed me in ways I still can't describe. I held no regrets but his death didn't take away my trauma, it didn't take away my pain. I have been hurting for so long that I couldn't help but be changed in the process, something I know Domenico, Gregorio and Adriano hadn't prepared themselves for in their plans to see me again.
"I am sorry for wishing you death right afterwards." I match his tone beat for beat with amusement, his only response being a slight curl in his lips.
It was then that I realized how much he had changed too. Adriano always had a powerful sense of authority about him, something that had set my skin aflame from the very first moment I saw him at that wedding a long time ago. But now…now he felt restrained. For the first time today, I felt a crushing sense of awareness as I looked along the way he held himself because it was restraint and I realized that had changed him.
He forced the title as Don had been every bit of cage as he had feared it would be and even within the walls of the house he built for his family, he was trapped inside of it with no way out.
"That is quite alright, princess." He smirked as he broke the silent tension between our stars even if it felt a little forced in the end.
"To be completely honest, I don't think I would blame or stop you if you tried."
He broke his stare from me at that and I didn't speak anymore to it. There was nothing I could say right now to fix any of this, nothing that would be real at least. Taking another sip from my coffee, I didn't care at the possibility it could be drugged or some sort of gesture to try and woo me back here for good. As stupid as it was, I knew I was safe here at least for now. Too much had been left unaddressed between us for too long but there were still things I needed to know that I couldn't leave waiting.
Was that why Adriano was here? I simply could not tell anymore.
"Can I ask you a question?" I asked softly, not sure if I was prepared for the answer but parting my lips to speak anyways.
In this, I could not be a coward no matter how much easier of a person that would be to crawl into.
"Always," he said instantly, only wincing once and it was too late to take it back. That one word felt like a shot to my heart but all I did was shake it off as I turned to him, refusing to hold off on this any longer. I needed to know where we stood now.
"Am I a prisoner here now?" I asked, tilting my head upwards slightly as though that could somehow make things feel like there was even ground between us. We both knew there wasn't however.
His eyebrows furrowed as he clenched his jaw, a long slow breath leaving his lungs and telling me the answer for him. It made me angry, no it made me furious but I had been prepared for it. He simply confirmed what I had suspected, our fight was far from over.
"As the Don, Camilla. You know I can't let you go." He mumbled but every word was more than clear.
He said what was expected of him and yet, I had wished with every part of me he wouldn't have. He just drew a line between us, one I know would inevitably have to be crossed at some point in the near future. To his credit, he genuinely didn't seem like he wanted things to be this way but then again, here we were.
"And what about, as Adriano?" I dare to push, the coffee in my hand long having lost its appeal.
I could tell he didn't expect that question and didn't know what to make of it either, earning me another sigh that had me wanting to strangle him. He had changed
"As Adriano…." He frowned, twisting his body toward mine and seeing where my hand unconsciously rubbed at my wrist.
"You should know that talking to you right now is the only thing keeping me from knocking Domenico out for handcuffing you against your will no matter how good of a place his reasons came from."
He spoke so unwavering that I knew he was telling the truth, jarring me in a way I hadn't expected to feel in his presence anymore. He made it sound like he cared and I hated it wasn't enough.
'We just want you, sweetheart. Nothing more.' Gregorio's words repeated themselves again in my head, leaving me haunted by perhaps the most grueling truth of all. In the end, it didn't change a damn thing.
I told Adriano to leave, I didn't care that it was his own house, that the guilt I had felt for Domenico had worn off or that out of the three of them. Gregorio was the only one to treat me as his equal. Offering to feed me hasn't been for me and it wasn't meant to be an act of dominance. Gregorio simply had wanted to be there I think and I wished that it could have been enough for me. In some ways, I suppose it was as he was the only person I was currently stepping foot outside of Domenico's bedroom but then again, I didn't not come with good intentions. They would see that soon, whether they wanted to or not.
This time, I would not let them knock me out to subdue me like my father had done only mere nights ago. No, they will soon see that a little bit of food and sleep was more than enough to kick back up the fight in me that I had temporarily gone without, this time the kind that would not fade so easily.
"Camilla!" A small voice cried out as I loomed around the hall, being met with the grand staircase that led down to the living room on the right and the kitchen on the left. There, spread out on the couch and armchair that surrounded a new coffee table. Sitting there were Adriano, Gregorio and Domenico, all three straightening up at the young girl's squeal and the sight of me making my way down the stairs. I barely spare them a glance though.
I was much more focused on the small brunette who had just leaped out of her uncle's arm and not even letting me make it to the last step before her body slammed into me.
"Hey, Harper." I chuckled as she threw herself into my arms, forcing me to sit down where I stood at how hard she clung to me.
"Good to see you haven't lost any energy." I kissed the top of her head, smiling at the feeling of her little giggle against my chest.
My mind could see the fact that there were three eyes on us right now, very likely stunned by this entire interaction but I didn't care. She was the biggest reason I came back and to see her smile, to see that she was already less pale and that she couldn't be harmed by anybody at The Safe, it was worth all of it. Even the part where I realized there were trackers in my shoes and were forced to ditch them on the freezing cold road.
"Come," she smiled as she pulled away from me, her fingers wrapping around my hand and tugging me over to the living room.
"Uncle Adi is going to make lunch for us. He cooks delicious food." She said, my betraying eyes carrying over to the only person I could think that name would apply to.
The man, as cold and as collected as Adriano Jaxson was utterly adored by this little niece of theirs and Gregorio very likely having the same treatment. I hadn't expected to feel sad as her hand left mine and over to the blond whose eyes were trained on me, the child going straight to his arms and laughing as he scooped her up.
"And, uncle Greg said that if I was quiet while you slept, we could play pranks together on uncle Nico while he helps in the kitchen." She loudly whispered, still smiling from ear to ear after the trauma she has been through these last few days.
I admired her more than she knew because I wished I had more of that in me right now. I wish that I wasn't resigning myself at how happy she was, at how much of a family they were to each other despite the flaws that came with it. While I was gone, they.. well they still have their love, their bond and their companionship. It shouldn't hurt, I shouldn't be jealous but I am.
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