Page 171 of Divine Empire
“No,” I say firmly. Stepping closer, I move slowly so that she can tell me no or back away before my hands fall on her shoulders. She doesn’t move away. “She wasn’t killed, it wasn’t even an accident. She was sick—she just didn’t tell anyone.”
Other than Leon, apparently. But that was far too recently for it to count.
Anya exhales slowly. “Sick?”
“Since she was little,” I explain, tucking a bit of hair behind her ear. “Her parents made her hide it so that she could marry and secure a match for their family’s needs. Dad told me it was juvenile Huntington’s disease. She was always going to die young, she just did her best to put it off and hide the symptoms until she couldn’t.”
I felt my stomach drop as my father explained everything, realizing that’s why Cleo stayed home almost all the time, and why she was rarely seen in public. It was easier for her to hide the rapidly increasing progression of her condition if she wasn’t exerting herself. She was declining in health for years and we never noticed, because she never allowed us to.
“How horrible.” Anya frowns, looking up at me. “Are you okay? Do you…are you going to go home to be with your family?”
“I’m with my family,” I say softly, offering a forced smile. “When I decided to stay here, to become Bratva, I made this family my priority, Anya. I madeyoumy priority.”
“Matteo,” she begins to protest.
“I’ll go for the day of the funeral,” I interrupt. “But I’m not staying. I’m…I’m really sad for my nephews and for Leon, but they don’t need me. He has Apollo and Rayna, they’re going to stay with him and help with the kids for a while. They have Jade, Ana, and my other brothers. They have my dad. I’m meant to be here, and this is where I’m staying.”
Her throat moves with a tight swallow. “Are you sure?”
“I am.” I wrap her in a hug, pulling her head into my chest and breathing out heavily. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be, baby. I meant it when I told you that. It’s going to be hard for me just leaving you for the day.”
“I could try and com?—”
“No.” I hug her tighter, loving that she’d even attempt to offer.
“But—”
“You’d hate it, baby. So many people you’ve never met. The grief in the air…No, you’ll stay here and Aunt Irina will come over to have a girl’s night with you so you don’t spend the whole time that I’m gone worrying about me.”
“I don’t know if a girl’s night will stop me worrying,” she admits, biting her lip.
We both know that she gets nervous when I’m not around, and I don’t like being away from her either. The air feels thicker and harder to breathe in when my Anya isn’t nearby.
“No, but it might help distract you enough that time goes by faster,” I suggest, pulling back to cup her face and meet her eyes. “I promise I won’t be long, the flights will be the most time-consuming parts. I’m just going back to pay my respects and hug my nephews. Maybe my brother too, if he’s up for it.”
“And Jade, of course,” Anya says, a hesitant smile blooming on her lips.
“Always,” I agree, nodding. “She’s probably pretty sad, she might need a Matteo hug—you know how healing they can be. Cleo never made friends with her either, but Jade has more empathy than anyone else I know. You two have that in common.”
Part of me wonders if Anya is feeling more sad than I am, and she’s never even met Cleo.
“Maybe I should call her?” my fiancée suggests quietly. “To see if she wants to talk about it?”
My heart thumps hard.This girl…
“I’m sure she’d like that,” I agree and she smiles. “Maybe in a few hours? The house is probably full of people keeping her busy right now, but I bet she’d love to hear from you.”
Jade and Anya have quickly become close since they started texting. I don’t know if their friendship will develop as strongly as Jade and Ana’s has. Not until Jade lives here permanently, at least. Anya needs physical presence to open up, and Jade is so busy with her life and kids that virtual relationship building isn’t as seamless for her as it was for me.
Anya nods, contemplating. “Did you talk to Leon?”
“Just my dad.” I doubt anyone has talked to Leon, other than Apollo and Rayna. Maybe Cassio, too. “He probably won’t reach out or answer if I call. All his attention will be on the kids. He wasn’t in love with his wife, but he loves Bastian and Leo more than anything.”And he knows what it’s like to live without a mother you once had.
“I wish he didn’t have to go through this.”
“Me too, baby.”God knows he didn’t deserve it. “Bad things happen to good people far too often, but all we can do is try to support him through it as best as he’ll allow. Leon is more like Apollo than me. He’ll want privacy and he won’t ask for help.”
“Don’t ever leave me, okay? I have to die before you.”
“Meraviglia, don’t you know? We’re immortal.”
