Chapter 71
Alessio
Don’t ask me how I managed to make the situation even worse than it had to be, but I did. Emily was pissed, and that was all on me.
1 escaped in the morning because I didn’t want to argue with her any longer and found myself back in the hospital halls, holding the watch I gave Uncle in my hands yet again. Replaying last night over and over in my head, I looked down at the watch.
I was so angry last night, and it was all because she compared me to that monster. I was trying to be good, to do good–and hearing that was like a punch to my pride.
For a moment, I even considered calling Estelle, thinking maybe I should just be the monster Emily seEmilyed to think I was. I hurt her time and time again. It wouldn’t make any difference if I would hurt her once more.
Those were my thoughts until I smacked myself on the head. I couldn’t do it, not to her. Emily she wasn’t like the other women I had been with. She was different–sweet, quiet Emily, who was finally opening up about her feelings, standing up for herself, and what did I do? I completely shut her down because I couldn’t take the truth.
I was the idiot here. I was to blame for all this mess, but saying it out loud was much harder than thinking it. It was a mistake to call her out for lying when I was the one who had scared her in the first place.
Last night, I was ready to admit that, but when she cut me off, I figured we both needed some space. I would patiently wait until she was ready to talk to me again. And when she did, I was going to apologize properly this time, might even go on my knees to beg her for a second chance.
Aside from Mom, she was the first woman to call me out on my bullshit. I didn’t know how to handle it because it was all so foreign to me. But for her, I was willing to change.
Carrying those thoughts, I walked into Gian’s room. I hadn’t forgotten the way he had treated her, and I was serious when I said I was going to take care of it.
He was alone when I entered, looking out the window. “How you doing?” I asked, grabbing his attention.
“Ales!” Gian smiled, surprisingly happy to see me under the circumstances. “Other than my missing hand, fine.”
“Good, good,” I clicked my tongue, observing him. Despite everything, Gian hadn’t changed much. His mouth was still as big as ever, his spirit unbroken. Because of that foul mouth, he was able to speak to Emily the way he did. It was both a relief and a curse.
“Can you feel everything?”
“Yes, my legs, my arms-” he started.
I interrupted him. “And your face?”
Air escaped from Gian’s lips as he looked up, grateful. “Yes, I can–doctors keep saying it’s a miracle,” he said.
Good, that was all I needed to know. I punched him right in the eye, mostly because he deserved it. Hurting him was the last thing I wanted to do, but he left me no choice.
Gian groaned in pain, covering one eye with his hand.
I leaned down. “Me letting you live after you called Emily a dumb brainless bitch is a miracle,” I said before grabbing his neck. Not tight, just enough to make my point. “You’re my brother, I love you, I’m here for you–but what happened is not her fault, do you hear me?” I needed him to understand. I get he was angry, but he shouldn’t direct it towards the wrong person. And yes, I was being a hypocrite because I had done the same.
Gian could only stare at me, the shock from the punch still visible. Then he let out a scoff and rolled his eye, trying to look in a different direction, but before he could–I grabbed his good wrist, twisting it.
It didn’t seEmily like I got through to my brother, and he was going to learn today.
I squeezed his wrist until I got a reaction out of him. “I don’t give a fuck if you don’t like her, but you will respect her, and if you ever call her out of her name again, I will personally take this hand of yours and shove it so far down your throat you’re going to wish you had died that day.”
Gian gulped as my words finally got through to him.
The Return of My First Love
Chapter 71
Just then, Mom, Dad, and Dante walked in. Their timing couldn’t have been more inconvenient, but I het Gian thought otherwise. I had a lot more to say to him, but it was enough for now.
“Is everything okay?” Mom asked, looking back and forth between the two of us. Of course, she would pick up on the tension.
I let go of Gian. “Yeah, he just dropped something on his face.” I lied, glancing down at him. That was going to turn into a nasty black eye, but he asked
for it.
I’d be damned if I would let anyone talk about her like that and not do anything about it. My fingers moved to Gian’s eye, and I touched it gently. He flinched away from my touch.
“Gian is not in the best condition—so we should all keep an eye on him and make sure he’s careful,” I said, looking at him, my gaze sharp. “You get me?”
Gian bobbed his head in agre Emilyent. Mom dropped the bags she was carrying onto the table and rushed over, pushing me aside. “Oh, my baby,” she cooed, showering him with kisses on the forehead. “You need to be more careful.”
As if Mom hadn’t been babying him enough, it had gotten ten times worse. If she had been here beforehand, I would’ve been the one with the black eye. Her heart was broken when Gian had almost lost his life, multiple times, and her screams were something that would haunt me for a long time.
I glanced at Dad and Dante.
Dante was strong, and the little brother I had doubted so much had been a true support systEmily for the family. He knew how to say the right things, something I struggled with every now and then. The little, immature brother that I used to kick around had gained my respect.
Dad looked like hell. I saw the toll the past days had taken on him, and we didn’t need a doctor to tell us he was not doing fine. Yet, he had been here every single day since the accident.
Over the years, I had said many things about and to him, but there was one thing I couldn’t touch, and that was his love for his family.
“Is there something I can do for you?” Dad asked Gian, looking after him rather than himself.
“Yeah,” Gian said, cracking a laugh. “How about you give me a hand?”
Dante chuckled briefly. “I’m happy you haven’t lost your sense of humor,” he said.
“Hmm, how could I?” Gian replied. “Someone has to be the funny brother out here, and it’s certainly not going to be you.”
The next hour was spent having forced conversations, but it was clear everyone was just putting on an act. Uncle was still gone, same as Gian’s hand–there was nothing to laugh about.
Unfortunately, this was the expected reality. We had to move on, look into the future–because that was life. While the world had stopped for us, for others it would continue.
“So when are you going to get the guy that did this to us? Fight back against those Baldinis?” Gian addressed the elephant in the room, which then went quiet. “Or are you not heated enough because it wasn’t Alessio who lost his hand?”
Chapter 72
