Chapter 104: You Are Such A Brave Girl
Lucien
"You don't understand, Lucien. She needed the closure and the satisfaction of taking revenge for what he had done to you. Believe me, I tried to reason with her but I understood why she needed to be the one to pull the trigger. And once it was done, she ended it there and she wouldn't let me taunt his followers. She was able to function in the darkest part of our world and hold her own but still emerged with her tender heart intact."
I was silent, still pissed but processing his words and trying to create a visual in my mind of what had transpired. I wanted to understand but I couldn't imagine a situation in which I would allow her to take part in revenge killing but then again, I wasn't Braton.
"I didn't want her to suppress that anger, I had to give her an outlet, Lucien. I was right there with her the whole time."
Without speaking, I glared at him but my expression softened the more he spoke. I could tell that he agreed with me that our goal was to preserve the pure innocent side of her heart but from what I could gather, our Sophie had demanded instead of asked.
He stayed true to our agreement and terms after returning from Dubai. We made a decision with Sophie instead of her and it sounded like Braton had done exactly that. Before we could discuss it any further, she started to move and shift her weight against my arm. I held my breath as she readjusted her position, moving herself until her perfect face was tilted toward me with her eyes still closed. I can't go another second without having her big bright eyes on me. Braton and I can argue about this later.
"Open those eyes for me, sweetheart." I said softly.
My words seemed to slam into her ears and those big bright eyes shot open, filled with a mixture of hope and disbelief.
"You are awake." She said desperately, moving her body toward mine but stopping herself before she could make contact with any part of my torso.
I could tell she wanted to fling herself onto my chest and squeezed me as tight ws she could but she maintained her self control, eyeing me up and down for a safe place to touch that wouldn't do damage or cause pain. She ultimately decided on my face, moving up towards my pillows, holding either side of my face as she peppered my lips, cheeks and jawline with desperate kisses.
I smiled against the firm hold she has on my cheeks as she kissed me all over, loving the feeling of her lips on my skin.
"I am so glad you are okay, we were so scared." She said the words between kisses, practically crawling up onto the bed to give herself more access to my face and neck.
"Easy, baby doll. You are going to suffocate him." Braton said with a chuckle, placing his hand on her back.
"I am sorry," she said sheepishly, leaning back to give me some air that I didn't need.
"Go ahead, sweetheart. I can take it." I said with a smile. She sat back and clutched my hand with tears in her eyes.
"They hurt you so bad, Lucien." She whimpered.
"And I was so scared."
The tears that filled her eyes started to stream down her face as she continued her rant and I let her.
"I get it now, I get it." She sobbed
Braton moved to the other side of the bed, joining her. He wrapped one of his massive arms around her, scooting her chair towards him as he placed the other hand on my chin over the blanket.
"I understand now, I never thought I wouldn't but I do." She said as she cried.
"What do you understand, Sophie?" I asked, keeping my voice as calm as possible as I reached over and wiped tears from her cheek.
"I understand why you sent me away." She sobbed the words and Braton and I exchanged quick glances before reaching for her simultaneously, needing to be close to her.
"I understand because I feel it, I feel it right now. I want to take you home and lock you away somewhere where no one can ever hurt you, I want to hide you and keep you and protect you from anything that might try to steal you away again."
Her words were desperate and anguished, causing my eyes to start to sting with tears as she spoke. Braton sniffed harshly and rubbed at his nose, fighting back his own tears as we held each other. There were so many emotions in the room, everything we needed to get through it.
"We love you so much, Sophie."
"So fucking much." Braton added, she sniffled and gasped as she cried between us.
"Braton told me what you did." I said as she leaned forward to cry on my shoulder.
"Such a brave girl." I praised, stroking her hair.
"I had to, I was so angry. I just had to."
"Can you tell me why, sweetheart?" I asked with genuine curiosity.
She thought about her response for a second or two before answering me.
"Domino's step brother had all the control and I needed to take it from him, so I could give it back to you." She said with grit in her voice that commanded respect.
I swallowed hard as Braton and I beamed with pride for our girl before pressing my forehead against hers.
"We don't deserve you, Sophie but we were so fucking grateful that you are ours."
Braton and Sophie slept beside me the entire night, clutching my hands as I dozed on and off, acting as reminders that I was okay. That we were going to be okay. We have got so much life to live with her.
*******
Braton POV.
During the week, we had five funerals to attend as a result of what happened in the party. The first three funerals were difficult and heartbreaking but the graveside service we were scheduled to attend this afternoon was going to be the most intense. One of our friends was going to bury his mother and he was going to need our support. Not only that but Lucien and I had close business relationship with his father
Watching a man have to put his mother or wife in the ground was something I wasn't looking forward to witnessing. I felt off all morning as we got ready with my intrusive thoughts repeating over and over what if that had been Sophie or Lucien. I shook my head and tried to physically rid myself of the poisonous thoughts as we sat in the back seat of the car with Sophie between us.
She started to fidget with her hair the way she always did when she was anxious. Lucien picked up on her nervous energy and swapped in to comfort her, always knowing what to say and do to soothe our girl's nerves.
"Nothing to be nervous about, sweetheart." Lucien soothed, lacing his fingers between hers as she spoke.
She nodded and grasped his hand but didn't seem quite satisfied.
"This one is going to be harder than the others, just because it is your friend's father. It is going to he difficult to watch." She said softly, looking down at her lap.
"I know, sweetheart. You don't have to go if you don't want to. I will have the guard drop us off and take you back home if it is too much." Lucien offered, shaking her head no, she refused almost immediately.
"No, we do these things together." She said in sweet voice that settled down into my soul.
Reaching out with her other hand, she pulled my hand into her lap and letting my arm drape across her body like a weight blanket.
The car came to a stop in the cemetery and I climbed out first, holding out my hand to assist her as she emerged in a form fitting black dress that hugged her curves a little too well. It was hard to keep my eyes off her and I noticed Lucien was having the same problem as he stared intently at her ass. I held my hand out of Lucien to help steady him once she was on her feet at my side but he waved me off with a scowl, too proud to show any signs of weakness despite the fact that he was still recovering from his injury.
We stood on either side of her, looking down at her to try and evaluate her emotional state as we walked towards the chairs that were facing a casket that was covered in flowers. Sophie had been nervous and fidgety in the car but as we walked towards the crowd with her tucked between us, her chin was lifted and her shoulders were squared. She was finally starting to understand and accept her role and knew that being with us was a position of power and that she belonged there.