Unraveling Him | A mafia Story

Chapter 43 - We are buddies now

Vivian silently walked out of the room, closing the door behind her and my eyes finally fell on my wife. She met my gaze right away, her lower lip slightly trembling, indirectly beckoning me closer and I moved so fast, leaving the kid's side and coming toward hers.

"Roman," She mumbled, ever so weakly, drained, she was utterly drained, both physically and mentally and I only wondered how much more she can take in, how much more before she explodes all over the place.

She crashed into my chest and I wrapped her up between my arms, pulling her closer, "Hey, hey," I said, soothingly, my hand cradling the back of her head, my fingers all bunched up in her soft hair. She clutched into me like she was clinging to life itself and I tightened my hold, "Emma, you are scaring me, what's wrong?" I asked over a whisper, unable to stop the panic from digging a hole right through my chest.

I felt her hot tears fall down into my chest. Tears I had once thought she was not capable of shedding, tears I wish I'd never have to see again. I'd rather her scream and fight with me, I'd rather her punch and threaten me with her knives. I'd rather see her angry but not this...this was not her and I don't want it to ever be her.

She edged her head backward and I cupped her face in my hands, angling it up so those broken eyes could look at me, so I can figure out what was wrong, "Why does everywhere hurt so much," She mumbled, meaning both physically and mentally. Her beautiful face was bruised in ways that had every nerve in my body fire, press, and pulse with a crushing pain; beside her mouth, over her temple, her cheeks, and...just everywhere.

This wasn't fair.

I lightly brushed my finger over the redness at the corner of her mouth, "What did she do?" I asked, ready to burn down the fucking mansion to ashes with everyone in it just at the thought that someone within the boundaries of our house caused her pain too.

"She said that she is my..." She shook her head, unable to mutter the word out loud, lines twisting between her eyebrows, confused and so very lost, "My grandmother."

"What?" I whispered, my eyebrows pulling closer in shock and bewilderment. Her words didn't make much sense as I tried to think it all through. How?

Emma's expression twisted with pure hurt again, "She said she couldn't ever tell me because of Isaac," She added, explaining and I started to make more sense of the brand new information, "And after Isaac, Nikolas...he knew, he knew but," She shook her head, feeling disoriented, "He didn't let her tell me," Oh, the fucker, I'd totally expect this from him, "Why would he do that?" The weakness in her voice nearly ruined me, "He knows how I've spent my whole life trying to learn anything about my mother, and the woman who gave birth to her was right here, in our house, and he...he hid that truth from me."

Her pain was more of that feeling betrayed than of her discovering this truth. Because this news didn't hurt, no, it's the opposite, it could finally give her a way to learn more about her past, and it could give her the needed closure she's been seeking for years. The thing that stung her most was her brother, the one she trusted in more than she should, and how he kept her away from the one thing she desperately needed.

"I did everything for Nikolas, so why would he do this to me," She added, brokenly, proving my assumptions right and I pulled her into my embrace again, trying to find an explanation to excuse his behavior, anything that could lessen the hurt she is experiencing now but I failed.

"Take me there later tonight, will you," She requested, and even though I wanted to protest because of her current health state but she carried on, "I need to ask him this, face to face," She added, desperate for an explanation and I knew she needed this in order to mend her inner turmoil. I nodded my head, unable to refuse any request of hers, not when she asked for it ever so weakly, "I will arrange it in a bit," I said, assuringly.