281

281
Emilia’s POV
I was done.
Done pleading.
Done begging.
Done trying to make two grown men see reason when all they cared about was their pride and revenge.
They weren’t listening.
They refused to listen.
So I was going to make them.
I took a slow, deep breath, my hands trembling as I slid them into my coat pocket. My fingers curled around the cool, hard metal of the small gun I always carried, the one Alaric had given me for protection.
Funny.
Right now, I needed protection from them.
I pulled it out in one swift motion, flicking the safety off and pressing the barrel against my own temple.
Alaric froze.
Alonso’s eyes went wide.
The entire room went deathly silent.
“If you don’t stop,” I said, my voice steady, “I will.”
Alaric’s gun lowered immediately, his face twisting in sheer panic. “Emilia-put the gun down.”
Alonso took a sharp step forward. “This isn’t funny. Give it to me.”
I didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
Didn’t waver.
I let them see it.
I wasn’t bluffing, not this time.
“You’re both willing to kill each other over something that happened years ago,” I continued, my voice eerily calm. “You don’t care who gets hurt in the process. You don’t care that it will destroy me. You only care about your damn pride.”
Alaric’s face hardened, but his voice cracked when he spoke. “This isn’t the way-”
“No,” I interrupted, my grip tightening on the gun. “This is the only way you’ll listen.”
Alonso clenched his jaw. “Lower the gun, Emilia. Now.”
“Or what?” I challenged. “You’ll shoot first? Beat me to it?”
His throat bobbed. He didn’t answer.
I laughed bitterly. “Exactly. Because the moment I’m the one at risk, suddenly, the rules change. Suddenly, my life matters.”
Alaric took a step toward me, hands up in surrender. “Baby, please-”
“Don’t ‘baby’ me,” I snapped. “I begged. I pleaded. I tried to make you both see reason, and neither of you cared. So now I’m making you care.”
His jaw tightened, his hands curling into fists. “You don’t understand what you’re doing.”
“I understand perfectly,” I shot back. “I understand that I’ve spent my whole life being someone else’s collateral damage. First Jonas, then you, then Alonso, then everyone in between. I understand that no matter how much I scream, nobody ever listens. So maybe this is the only way to get through to you.”
Alaric looked physically sick.
Alonso’s face was unreadable, but his hands were shaking.
Good.
Maybe they were finally realizing how far they had pushed me.
Maybe they were finally seeing the damage they had caused.
I took a shaky breath. “If you kill each other, I have nothing left to live for.”
Alaric flinched.
Alonso’s jaw locked. “That’s not true.”
I turned to him, my heart breaking. “Isn’t it? If I lose you, if I lose Alaric, what do I have left?”
Neither of them spoke.
“You both say you love me,” I whispered. “Then prove it. Put the guns down. Walk away.”
Alaric’s breathing was ragged, his entire body tense. “Emilia, I can’t just-”
“Then neither can I.” I pressed the gun harder against my temple.
His face twisted in horror. “Stop!”
“Then stop!” I shouted back, my voice cracking.
Alonso cursed under his breath. “For the love of God, put the damn gun down!”
I shook my head. “Not until you both swear to let this go.”
Silence.
Tense. Heavy. Suffocating.
Alaric’s hands were shaking now. “Emilia, please. Please.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “Swear it.”
Alonso looked at me for a long moment, his chest heaving, his expression torn. His eyes-those same eyes I had inherited-were filled with something I had never seen before.
Fear.
Real, raw, genuine fear.
He ran a hand down his face, muttering something in Spanish under his breath before exhaling sharply. “Fine,” he bit out. “I swear.”
I turned to Alaric. “You too.”
His jaw clenched so hard I thought it might shatter. “Emilia-”
“Swear it, Alaric.”
His whole body trembled.
And then, finally-
“I swear.”
The second the words left his mouth, my knees buckled. The gun slipped from my fingers, clattering to the floor.
Alaric lunged forward, grabbing me before I collapsed. His arms wrapped around me, his body warm and solid and alive.
“Jesus Christ, Emilia,” he rasped, burying his face in my hair. “What the hell were you thinking?”
I let out a choked, watery laugh. “That I wasn’t about to let my father and my fiance kill each other in front of me.”
Alonso let out a heavy sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. “You’re insane.”
“No,” I corrected, pulling away from Alaric just enough to look at them both. “I’m just tired of losing the people I love.”
Silence.
Thick. Heavy.
Alaric reached up, brushing a shaking hand over my cheek. “Don’t you ever do that again.”
I leaned into his touch. “Don’t ever make me have to.”
His throat bobbed. He nodded.
Alaric shook his head, muttering something under his breath. “I should’ve never let you leave the house.”
I shot him a look. “Maybe if you weren’t so hell-bent on killing my father, I wouldn’t have had to follow you.”
Alaric exhaled harshly, dragging a hand through his hair. “We’re really doing this, huh?”
“Yeah,” I said, exhausted. “We are.”
Alonso eyed him warily. “You expect me to just forget everything?”
“No,” I said before Alaric could speak. “I expect you to try.”
He let out a slow breath. “I don’t know if I can.”
“Then you better figure it out,” I said, my voice firm. “Because I meant what I said. If you can’t do this for me, I will walk away from both of you.”
Silence.
And then, Alonso exhaled. “Dios mio.” He rubbed his temples before finally looking at Alaric. “I hate you.”
Alaric gave a dry laugh. “Yeah, well, the feeling’s mutual.”
“But I will try,” Alonso muttered. “For her.”
Alaric sighed, running a hand down his face. “For her.”
I let out a shaky breath, relief crashing over me so hard I nearly collapsed.
The car ride home was silent.
Not tense.
Not angry.
Just silent.
Alaric’s hands were gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles had turned white. His jaw was clenched, his entire body rigid as he kept his eyes locked on the road.
I didn’t say anything.
I was too exhausted to speak.
Too drained to even process what had just happened.
It wasn’t until we pulled into the driveway, the car coming to a slow stop, that he finally broke the silence.
“I’m sorry.”
His voice was raw.
Shaky.
Like he had been holding it in the entire way home.
I swallowed, turning to look at him. He wasn’t looking at me-his hands were still gripping the wheel, his head bowed slightly, as if he was bracing himself for impact.
“Alaric-”
“No.” He finally turned to face me, his eyes dark with guilt. “Let me say this. Let me just…say it.”
I pressed my lips together, nodding for him to continue.
He exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down his face. “I was out of my mind with rage, Emilia. When I found out what Jonas did to Alonso’s wife… what my own father was capable of… I lost it. I let it consume me. I let it turn me into the same kind of monster I swore I’d never be.”
I inhaled slowly. “Alaric-”
“I didn’t care who I hurt in the process. I didn’t care that I was shutting you out, that I was pushing you away. I didn’t even care that I was breaking every damn promise I ever made to you.” His voice broke, his jaw tightening as he looked away. “I almost lost you tonight. I almost-” He stopped, squeezing his eyes shut. “Jesus, Emilia.”
My heart twisted.
I reached out, resting my hand over his. “But you didn’t lose me.”
His eyes snapped back to mine, raw and filled with something I couldn’t quite place. “How can you even look at me after everything I’ve done? After what I almost did?”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “Because I love you.”
His entire body went still.
“Because I know who you are, Alaric,” I continued, my voice softer now. “I know you. I know the kind of man you are. And I know that if the roles were reversed, if someone had hurt me like Jonas hurt Alonso, I don’t know if I would’ve been strong enough to let it go either.”
His throat bobbed. “That doesn’t excuse-”
“No,” I agreed. “It doesn’t. But it helps me understand.”
He let out a shaky breath. “You deserve better than this.”
I reached up, cupping his face in my hands. “You are better than this.”
His eyes searched mine, desperation and regret swirling in them. “Tell me how to fix this.”
I smiled sadly. “You already did.”
A heavy silence filled the space between us. Then, finally-hesitantly-he leaned forward, pressing his forehead against mine.
“I don’t deserve you,” he whispered.
“Probably not,” I teased. “But you’re stuck with me anyway.”
A small, breathless laugh escaped him. “Thank God for that.”
I smiled against him, my heart finally feeling lighter.