Kidnapped

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

-ARES SEIDON >

Darkness surrounded the private burial ground, rain subsiding an hour ago. Everyone but me and Angel, left.

If I felt the mild ache in my chest, the void, the fact that my only parental figure is gone and it was hovering over me like a shadow of grief, I couldn't imagine what Angelos was going through.

She knelt in front of his grave, flowers decorated my old man's gravestone. I'm not worried about where he'll end up. He wasn't a bad guy at heart. He only ever went after people that went after him or his family. That and people that betrayed his trust. They never saw the light of the next day.

What I witnessed today, the scene of a family realizing their ways were wrong, was a rare sight. I never expected this day to come. Their pride always seemed bigger. It looked like the last of their dignity. Like if they let that go, they were nothing.

Once again, I was wrong about people. Either that or it's a hoax. They could be fabricating a version of themselves to get on Angelos' good side.

Luca Angelo Torrono.

One of the most prideful members of the family got on his knees and reflected with an apology. I couldn't believe it. It was unreal, and most likely a figment of fantasy for the family's sworn enemies.

Maybe there might be hope for my parents. But if my suspicions are right, I really can't be with her. Despite my discovery of my emotions, I won't be able to face her.
Athena gave me insight about my own feelings, when I couldn't decipher them myself.

Now that I know, it's like my possessive side amplified. Not only that but my adoration too. Everyone else knows now, but not exactly. They think they know there's something between us. But in reality I promoted physical touch between us, without her dense self figuring out.

I need to figure out how to keep my hands to myself before things get out of hand. She might've been unfamiliar with intimate touch, but she's definitely known to it now. That leaves me to think about her thoughts concerning my need to be touching her.

It was getting colder by the hour.

Seeing her grieve, and not being able to say something or know exactly what to do has never made me feel so pathetically useless. All I could do was walk up to her kneeling position and crouch down beside her.

"If I'd just stayed in the car that day, and not have been persistent in going in after you into that building, we would have already made plans to play VALORANT tonight." She slowly reaches forward, placing her palm on his gravestone. "But atleast now he'll rest forever, hopefully knowing I loved him from the moon and back. Because of him, I know what it feels like to be endlessly loved by a parent."

She crosses her arms and slightly leans against me. "I'm sorry about what I said before." She looks up into my eyes. Those separate dark green and and hazel eyes portraying exhaustion. "We need to go home. We've been here for hours."

She retracts from me, tilting her head. "But this is my home. There's nothing left for me at that house."

Fuck it.

My hand reaches for her cheek. "I'll be there." I attempt to reassure but it seems futile as she looks away from me and into the distance. "We both know that our lives will have to go separate ways. You have a business in another town. You don't have to worry about me anymore."

Somehow, I know that she'll need me with her. I know that eventually she will need my presence like I need hers.

I stand, grasping her hands as I pull her up with me. Then I cup her cheeks, forcing her to look up at me. "Tell me to leave. Say you want me to leave." I challenge, my eyes burning into hers as I wait for a response.