Chapter 109: Scar
His eyes remain fixed on me.
But now it’s my patience that snaps.
I march straight toward the mobster and lift my chin, even though I barely reach his shoulder.
“And what are you going to do? Kill me too?”
I hold his gaze.
He doesn’t answer.
Too tired to make a scene in front of his brother’s family, I walk to his car on my own.
Ramzi follows behind me, still radiating anger.
Despite that, he opens the door for me and carefully fastens my seatbelt before taking the driver’s seat.
Through the rearview mirror, I watch his armed soldiers climb into black SUVs to escort us.
Ramzi grips the steering wheel as he speeds through the streets of Chicago.
Cars move aside for his sports car.
The bruised skin over his knuckles makes it obvious what his rage has already cost today.
He hurt people.
He killed people.
Because of me.
“Did what you saw yesterday scare you?” he asks with a humorless laugh. “Maybe you really can’t handle my dark side, huh?”
I don’t answer.
“You’re wearing the damn ankle monitor again.”
His sentence feels like another prison sentence.
My heart races.
“They’re already waiting for us at home.”
“What? No! I don’t want that!”
“Too fucking bad. You broke my trust.”
Eventually, he pulls up in front of our mansion.
The ridiculous fountain is gone now. Ramzi had it removed after one of his rage-filled episodes.
But now I’m the one who’s angry.
I don’t even wait for him to open the door before I jump out and run.
“You’re not running away anymore, Sereia.”
I hear his deep voice behind me.
I hurry through the garden, foolishly trying to put distance between us.
Another wave of nausea hits me—a vivid reminder that I might be carrying this cruel man’s child.
I run faster.
Tears stream down my face.
Sobs escape my throat.
But strong arms wrap around me from behind.
Ramzi pins me gently against a tree and stares into my face.
The moment he sees my tears, his anger changes into something else.
He closes his eyes.
Takes a deep breath.
Shakes his head.
Then looks at me again.
“I need you to tell me, Flame. Look at me and tell me... what do you want from me? Anything. Say anything, and it’s yours. But don’t ask me to let you go, because I’ll die before I allow that to happen. I’ll give you everything except distance.”
A bitter laugh escapes me.
Only hours ago I had already decided I didn’t want to leave him.
But now...
Now I don’t know what to think.
“Why did you secretly go to my brother’s house?” he asks, distressed. “Why did you let me think I’d lost you? Fuck, Flame. I destroyed everything when I realized you ran away the first chance I gave you freedom. Why the hell would you do that?”
That’s when I explode.
“Because I think I’m pregnant, okay?!”
I scream as tears pour down my cheeks.
“I was so distracted by everything happening in our marriage that I didn’t realize I was late. Then it hit me this morning, and I panicked when I thought about the possibility.”
“Flame...”
“I didn’t run away from you, Ramzi. Think about it! If I had, I wouldn’t have gone to your brother’s house, you idiot! I ran to Milena because I needed someone to talk to. I’m scared, and I have no idea if I can be a good mother because I never had one to teach me how.”
“Oh, baby.”
“No, I’m not finished!”
I wipe at my tears, but they keep falling.
“I didn’t even get to tell Milena anything. I got distracted playing with Alice and completely lost track of time. It may not seem like it, but unlike you, I don’t do things just to punish you. I just wanted one minute to process everything.”
“Flame.”
He tries to pull me into his arms, but I manage to step away.
“No. Don’t touch me. And don’t worry. I’ll wear the ankle monitor like you want.”
My voice breaks at the end.
My heart hurts so much.
I try to walk away, but Ramzi catches me and pulls me against him.
His hard body traps me in place.
I’m too exhausted to fight anymore.
All I can do is place a hand against his chest to keep some distance between us.
“Flame... are we having a baby?”
“I... I don’t know.”
“Please don’t hide this from me, baby.”
That vulnerability again.
In his eyes.
In his voice.
I am his weakness.
And Ramzi doesn’t know how to live with that.
“I haven’t taken the test yet. I wanted to do it with you.”
My husband cups my face gently and pulls me into a kiss.
There are still tears in my eyes.
He presses kisses to my cheeks too.
Adoration.
Devotion.
I resist for a few moments, but he’s too dominant, and I’m too willing to surrender.
So I let him kiss me.
“I messed up, baby. I’m sorry...”
He kisses me again and again.
Caressing my hair.
My shoulders.
Anything he can reach.
As if he needs physical proof that I’m still here.
“I thought I’d lost sight of you. And I don’t know how to breathe without you. I’d rather die than let you leave.”
“Ramzi...”
“I love you, Flame.”
The words steal the air from my lungs.
“If this suffocating agony of not being able to breathe without you... if the idea of losing you hurts more than a blade through my chest... if imagining a future without you only makes sense in death... then that’s what this is.”
“Don’t lie to me,” I whisper.
Because I’ll believe every word.
I’ll love every word.
And afterward, they’ll destroy me.
He grips my face firmly, as if he wants to carve me into his memory.
“I feel it, Flame. I feel all of it. Every part of me aches and burns with this certainty. It burns... and I don’t know who I am without you. I love you, Sereia Draneth. The piece of ice beating inside my chest beats for you.”
“I understand,” I whisper, unable to say the words back.
Even though I feel them.
Even though my tongue burns to say them.
I’m not ready.
Not yet.
And he seems to know that.
To understand.
Because despite my refusal to say I love him too, Ramzi only smiles.
Then, while looking into my eyes, my husband lifts me into his arms and carries me inside.
He doesn’t stop until he lays me down on the bed.
Together, we cling to each other, seeking comfort and reassurance in one another’s presence. Our heartbeats gradually find the same rhythm, our bodies warm against each other, and my fingers trace the familiar contours of his skin.
Every texture.
Every scar.
Every scent, touch, and kiss.