283

283
Emilia’s POV
“Well,” I said, exhaling slowly, “at least now the marriage can finally go through without worrying about all this hatred between you and Alaric.” I looked at Alonso, expecting-no, hoping-for some sign that he agreed. That this war, this endless, exhausting war, has really ended.
But he just sat there, stiff as a statue, arms crossed over his chest, his expression unreadable.
Then he said, “I still don’t support this marriage.”
I blinked. Laughed, even. Because surely, after everything, he was joking.
“You’re serious?” I asked, the laughter dying in my throat.
I thought we were finally past this.
For the first time in what felt like forever, I allowed myself to breathe, to believe that maybe I could live normally without worrying that they hated each other.
But apparently, I had been a little too optimistic.
“You’re joking,” I said flatly, staring at my father. “Tell me you’re joking.”
Alonso met my gaze, unmoved. “I’m not.”
I blinked. “You just spent hours unraveling this entire mess, and now you’re saying you still don’t support my marriage?”
Alaric, standing beside me, let out a dark chuckle. “Should’ve known this was too good to be true.”
Alonso ignored him. His eyes were on me, his expression unwavering. “I gave you the truth. That doesn’t mean I changed my mind.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it. I was speechless. Actually speechless.
Alaric, on the other hand, was very much not speechless.
“You have got to be kidding me.” He took a step forward, voice tight with barely contained frustration. “You just admitted my father was a monster. You admitted I had nothing to do with what he did. And now you’re still standing there acting like I’m the enemy?”
Alonso’s gaze flicked to him, unimpressed. “I never said you were the enemy. But that doesn’t mean I want you as my son-in-law.”
Alaric let out a sharp breath and muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like unbelievable.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to stay calm. “Dad, I love him.”
Alonso’s jaw tightened. “I never doubted that.”
“Then what’s the problem?” I threw my hands up. “Because I swear, if you say something ridiculous, I might actually lose my mind.”
Alonso exhaled, looking tired, like he was so exhausted from dealing with me. As if I was the difficult one here. “Emilia, I spent years hating his family. That hatred doesn’t just disappear overnight.”
I stared at him, something hot and angry curling in my chest. “But it wasn’t his fault.”
“I know that,” Alonso admitted. “But that doesn’t erase what his father did. It doesn’t erase what I lost.”
“And what about what I lost?” My voice rose before I could stop it. “I was kidnapped, Dad. Taken from my family. I had to spend most of my life with people who I didn’t know we’re not my parents. And now you’re telling me I don’t deserve to have it because you refuse to move on?”
Alonso’s eyes darkened. “That’s not what I said.”
“It’s exactly what you’re saying,” Alaric snapped. “You’re punishing her because of your own inability to let go.”
Alonso’s glare sharpened. “I am not punishing her.”
“Really?” Alaric’s voice was scathing. “Then what do you call this?”
Silence.
The tension in the room was suffocating.
I swallowed, forcing myself to stay steady. “Dad,” I said, softer this time. “I understand that you’ve suffered. I do. But you can’t let that suffering dictate my life. You can’t keep holding onto this hatred. It’s going to destroy you.”
Alonso’s face was unreadable. For the first time, he looked… conflicted.
I took a step closer. “I’m marrying Alaric. That’s not a debate. The only question is whether you’re going to be there or not.”
His throat bobbed as he swallowed.
Alaric crossed his arms. “For the record, I’m not asking for your approval,” he said. “I don’t need it. Emilia and I are getting married either way. But I am asking if you’re willing to stop letting the past control your every decision.”
Another thick silence.
“I need time,” Alonso muttered.
I let out a slow breath. It wasn’t a yes. But it wasn’t a no, either.
It was something.
Alaric sighed, shaking his head. “Take all the time you want,” he said. “Just don’t take so long that you miss your daughter’s wedding.”
Alonso didn’t respond. But for the first time, he didn’t argue.
That should have been enough for me. It should have been. But it wasn’t.
Because I was done waiting. Done hoping.
My father was so stubbornly clinging to the past that he was willing to sabotage my future. And Alaric, for all his fire and strength, was just as bad, standing here challenging Alonso like this was another war that needed to be fought.
I snapped.
“You both are so goddamn selfish!” My voice cracked like a whip through the room. “You stand here, chest-deep in your hatred, so consumed by the past that you’re willing to burn everything down-including me!”
Both men turned to look at me, surprised at my outburst, but I wasn’t finished.
“I have spent my entire life being a victim of this stupid war between your families!” I pointed at Alonso. “You let your hatred for Jonas control everything, even after his death! And you-” I turned to Alaric, who straightened, eyes narrowing. “You’re just as bad! You pretend you’re above this, but you’re not. You push and you fight because you think you have something to prove, but at the end of the day, you’re just feeding into the same cycle!”
Alaric’s jaw clenched. “That’s not-”
“No. Shut up.” I cut him off, chest heaving. “I am so tired of this. Of both of you. Do you even hear yourselves? Do you see what you’re doing?” I swallowed back the burn in my throat. “You are both so consumed by your hatred that you’re blind to the fact that this isn’t just about you.”
I took a shaky breath, my entire body trembling, and then-without even thinking-I said the one thing that would shatter everything.
“I’m pregnant.”
Silence.
Pure, heavy, deafening silence.
I wasn’t even looking at them anymore. My hands were shaking, my pulse was racing, and my vision was blurry from the heat of my own frustration. But I could feel the shift in the room. The air had been sucked out, my words crashing down like a hammer.
Alaric was the first to speak.
“What?” His voice was low, hoarse, like he wasn’t sure he’d heard me correctly.
I swallowed hard and lifted my chin. “I’m pregnant.”
His face went blank. He blinked, once, twice, his entire body stiff and unmoving. Like he had been frozen in place.
And Alonso…
Alonso’s reaction was worse.
His face drained of all color. His fists clenched at his sides, his breathing suddenly harsh and uneven. “You’re lying.”
I let out a cold, bitter laugh. “Do I look like I’m lying?”
His nostrils flared. He turned to Alaric, eyes burning with something dangerous. “You-”
“Don’t.” I snapped, stepping between them before he could say something that would make this even worse. “Do not make this about him. This is not about your hatred for Alaric. This is about me. Us. And the fact that I am done being in the middle of your endless war.”
Neither of them spoke.
So I continued.
“I have spent my entire life being the victim of this feud. First, I was taken from my real family. Then I was raised in the aftermath of violence I never asked for. And now, even when the truth is out, I am still stuck between two men who refuse to let go of their goddamn pride.” My hands curled into fists. “And I won’t do it anymore. I won’t let my child grow up in this madness.”
Alaric inhaled sharply. He took a step toward me, his voice quieter this time. “Emilia…”
“No.” I shook my head. “I love you. But I will not bring my child into a world where their father and grandfather can’t even be in the same room without wanting to kill each other.”
Alonso’s expression was unreadable. His throat bobbed as he swallowed, his hands still clenched at his sides.
“You’re giving us an ultimatum,” he said quietly.
“Yes,” I admitted without hesitation. “Either you both find a way to fix this, or I will cut you both out of my life.”
Alaric flinched.
Alonso stiffened.
I let out a slow, shaky breath. “This is not a game. This is not about revenge or power or the past. This is about the future. My future. My child’s future. And I refuse to let it be poisoned by a war that should have died with Jonas.”
Silence.
Long. Heavy. Suffocating.
Alaric was looking at me like he wanted to reach for me, but he didn’t.
Alonso looked like I had just punched him straight in the gut.
For the first time, they were speechless.
And I realized, finally, that I had the power here. I had spent months watching these two men circle each other like predators, fighting a war that had taken so much from both of them. But now?
Now I was drawing the line.
And they had a choice to make. Either they choose their hatred, or they choose me.