63

63
Alaric’s POV
I was sitting in my office, staring at the same stack of paperwork I’d been staring at for hours, my mind elsewhere. The mansion was quieter than usual, the kind of quiet that made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. It was the calm after a storm.
I couldn’t concentrate. Not on business, not on the next move I needed to make. My thoughts kept drifting back to everything that had happened-the betrayal, the punishment I’d meted out, the look on Emilia’s face when she saw the toll it took on me. I’d managed to maintain a mask of strength, but inside, I felt like I was bleeding out, slow and quiet, in a way no one could see.
A knock at the door pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Enter,” I called, leaning back in my chair, rubbing a hand over my face.
The door swung open, and Allesio stepped in. He looked different today-not as tense, not as tightly wound as he usually was. It was subtle, but I noticed it immediately. He’d ditched the suit jacket and tie, opting instead for a simple black shirt that made him look younger, less like my right-hand man and more like the cousin I’d grown up with.
“You look like shit,” he said, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
“Thanks,” I said dryly. “That’s exactly what I needed to hear.”
He chuckled, stepping further into the room. He held up a bottle of whiskey, an expensive one I recognized from the stash we kept for special occasions. “Thought you could use a drink,” he said. “Or ten.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And you?”
“I could use one too,” he admitted, setting the bottle down on the desk and grabbing two glasses from the cabinet. “Figured we both could use a break.”
I hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”
He poured us each a generous glass, then handed one to me before settling into the chair across from my desk. We sat there in silence for a moment, both of us taking a sip, savoring the burn of the alcohol as it slid down our throats.
“This feels weird,” I admitted after a moment.
“What does?” Allesio asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Taking a break,” I said, swirling the amber liquid in my glass. “We never do this.”
He shrugged. “Maybe that’s why we should.”
I let out a short, humorless laugh. “Maybe.”
He leaned back, taking another sip. “I was thinking,” he began slowly, “about how things used to be. Before all of this. Before the mansion, the power plays, the endless stream of problems.”
I glanced at him, surprised. Allesio wasn’t one to wax nostalgic. He was always focused on the present, on the tasks at hand. But today, he looked different-almost wistful, like he was seeing ghosts of the past.
“You remember those summers at Nonna’s house?” he asked, his eyes distant, like he was looking at something only he could see.
I couldn’t help but smile, just a little. “Yeah,” I said quietly. “I remember.”
We used to spend every summer at our grandmother’s house in the countryside. It was the one time of year when we could forget who we were supposed to be, when we could just be kids. We’d spend the days swimming in the river, racing through the woods, getting into trouble and laughing about it later.
“I remember you stealing her cigarettes,” I said, smirking. “You thought you were so smooth, sneaking out to smoke behind the barn.”
Allesio laughed, a genuine, full-bodied laugh that I hadn’t heard in a long time. “I was smooth,” he argued. “Until you snitched on me.”
“I didn’t snitch,” I corrected. “Nonna caught you because you reeked of smoke. I just didn’t lie for you.”
He shook his head, grinning. “You were always the golden boy, Alaric. Even then.”
“Yeah, well, look how that turned out,” I muttered, taking another drink.
His smile faded, and he studied me for a long moment, his expression more serious now. “You know, you don’t have to be this all the time,” he said quietly.
“This?” I repeated, raising an eyebrow.
“This,” he said, gesturing vaguely at me. “The boss. The kingpin. The one who carries all the weight.”
I scoffed, looking away. “Someone has to.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “But it doesn’t always have to be you. Not with me.”
There was a beat of silence, the kind that felt heavier than it should. I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I didn’t. Instead, I drained the rest of my glass and poured another.
“Are we doing this?” I asked, changing the subject. “Are we really taking a break?”
“Damn right we are,” Allesio said, raising his glass in a mock toast. “To doing something we never do.”
“To that,” I echoed, clinking my glass against his.
We fell into a comfortable silence after that, drinking slowly, letting the tension of the past few weeks melt away, at least for a little while. It was strange, how quickly we fell back into an old rhythm, one that reminded me of the days before everything became so complicated.
Eventually, Allesio leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his expression more serious. “What are we going to do next?” he asked.
“About what?” I asked, even though I already knew what he meant.
“The organization,” he said. “The trust issues. The fallout from everything that’s happened.”
I sighed, rubbing a hand over the back of my neck. “I don’t know yet,” I admitted. It was the truth, and saying it out loud felt like admitting a weakness I wasn’t used to showing.
Allesio nodded slowly. “I figured as much.”
“That obvious, huh?”
He gave me a small, sad smile. “Only to me. I’ve known you too long, Alaric.”
I looked at him, really looked at him, and for the first time in a long time, I saw the man behind the lieutenant. The cousin who’d been there for me through everything, who’d never once faltered in his loyalty, even when I’d pushed him away.
“Thank you,” I said quietly. The words felt inadequate, but they were all I had.
He frowned, like he didn’t know how to respond. “For what?”
“For everything,” I said. “For being here. For sticking by me, even when I’ve made it difficult.”
He waved a hand, dismissing my words, but I could see the emotion in his eyes. “Don’t get sappy on me now,” he said, but his voice was softer than usual.
I chuckled. “I’ll try not to.”
We sat there for a while longer, drinking in silence, lost in our own thoughts. It was nice, just being here with him, without the pressure of business, without the weight of all the decisions I had to make. Just Alaric and Allesio, cousins who’d shared more than most brothers.
Eventually, he stood up, stretching his arms over his head. “Alright,” he said, setting his glass down on the desk. “I think I’ve had enough to drink for one night.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, though I hadn’t finished my glass. “Me too.”
He clapped a hand on my shoulder as he walked past me, squeezing it gently. “We’re going to get through this, Alaric,” he said. “We always do.”
I nodded, meeting his gaze. “I know.”
He gave me one last, lingering look before heading for the door. “Try to get some rest,” he called over his shoulder.