*Adrik*
I could feel Sephie’s emotions were everywhere all at once as she was trying to goad Stephen’s sisters into an outburst. I knew she was still trying to figure out a way to push all the pain and hurt she got from Stephen to his sisters. I also knew that Ivan, Misha, and Andrei were feeling much the same as I was. I wasn’t sure if it would work to push our anger to her, but we tried it. She was so adept at controlling her anger. It was like it had the opposite effect on her as it did everyone else. It calmed her. She could almost think clearer when her anger levels were extremely high, especially when she had to deal with her fear and panic. Both of those emotions were coming up for her when she thought about what she felt from Stephen. If we could help her keep her anger high and controlled, then she could concentrate on figuring out a way to push everything to his sisters, effectively breaking them.
It was a brilliant plan. We just weren’t exactly sure on how to make it happen or if it would work going into this dinner.
Judging by the state that two of the sisters were in when they left, I’d say it worked. I’d even go so far as to say it worked better than we dreamed possible. There was much to discuss later.
Battista was stunned, as was Vitaliy. He hadn’t seen Sephie’s eyes until now. When she looked at me after Stephen’s sisters left, they were still black. I kissed her forehead. “Take a breath, love. It’s over now,” I said, keeping my lips against her forehead. She leaned against me, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, they were the deepest depth of the ocean blue.
“I know what you did. Thank you,” she said as she smiled sweetly at me. I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers, pulling her chair out so she could sit back down. As she did, she leaned over to Stephen. “How you doin? You okay? Was it too much? I might’ve gotten a little carried away there,” she said, trying to make him laugh.
He turned to look at her, speaking quietly, but I could still hear him. “It was perfect, Seph. I think I know what you did, but we’ll talk later. My mom is gonna be so pissed,” he said, shaking his head. He caught my arm as I was pushing in Sephie’s chair. “Thank you,” he said.
“Anything for family, Stephen.”
--
We finished dinner, with Battista and Vitaliy asking plenty of questions. As usual, Sephie kept the focus on her when Battista was around. He suspected there was something different about me still, but I was hoping he didn’t have any idea about the guys. I wasn’t sure I wanted him to know about them just yet either. He also didn’t realize that we were all as connected as we were now. I felt protective of that.
Once we were back in the penthouse, the guys were eager to discuss what really happened. As soon as we walked in, Sephie pulled Stephen to her and hugged him. He held onto her so tightly that I was a little worried she’d be able to breathe. She stayed there, helping him calm his storms.
When he finally loosened his grip on her, she looked at all the guys. “I know what you all did tonight. It worked,” she said, her sweet smile on her face as she looked at each of them.
“We weren’t sure if it would work or not, but we figured you’d need help. You’ve felt different the last couple of days. Like you were struggling to contain it all,” Misha said.
“You guys can feel the difference in my anger now too?” she asked.
Misha nodded his head emphatically. “Yeah, this one was way different. Not like you at all. We even asked Boss if you were okay because we were scared of asking you,” he said. He looked a little embarrassed at the admission.
“Oh, my adorable Russian guardian, it’s never directed at you,” she said, walking to him.
“I know it’s not, but I also didn’t want to make you talk about something you didn’t want to,” he said, as he slung his arm over her shoulders.
She looked to Ivan. “You saw something different about one of them, didn’t you?” she asked.
“Uh, yeah. Not human different. It was just as clear as Battista’s associate. Did you see it this time, princess?” Ivan asked.
“No. I think the only reason I saw it last time is because you were touching me. I think I need to be touching you in order to borrow it,” she said. “I did, however, look in all their heads. Totally regret that as now I won’t be able to forget what I saw.”
“Did you look after you broke them?” Andrei asked.
“No? What do you mean?”
“When they went frozen in place. You literally broke their minds. I don’t know how, but you figured out a way to give them everything you got from Stephen, plus some. They couldn’t handle it. The youngest one, especially. She might not recover. The middle one is questionable on recovery,” Andrei said.
“The oldest sister changed after you called her out. I saw it when she grabbed the other two to leave,” Ivan said. “She did a good job of hiding it when I first saw her, but it was also clear on her when they went to leave that her demon is running the show.”
“You didn’t break her mind the same way you did the other two, but she was just as disturbed when she left,” Andrei said. He looked slightly nervous as he looked from Sephie to Stephen. He quietly added, “she was replaying scenes from childhood when she left, only Sephie managed to make her feel what Stephen felt.”
“You’re sure? It really worked?” Sephie asked, completely surprised.
Andrei nodded. “She might’ve looked like she was holding it together on the outside, but she was a hot mess in her head. She’s stronger than the other two. I think that’s the only reason she didn’t break.”
Stephen calmly looked at Sephie. “This is literally everything I’ve dreamed of happening. How did you know?”
Sephie shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I’m not completely convinced I did anything yet. It was different when you let me see in your head. I don’t usually feel what other people feel when I look in their heads like that. Like, I’m looking for hard data, not emotions. But with you, I felt everything. I still don’t know how I didn’t break down from it,” she said.
“Because I asked you to hold it for me and give it to them,” Stephen said.
“You did?”
He nodded his head. “You were the only one that would’ve been able to do it. That’s why I showed you everything. That’s also why you likely missed the part about me asking you to hold it until you saw them. It’s a lot. I’m kind of a jerk for doing it,” Stephen said.
Sephie laughed. “You’re not a jerk for unlocking a new level on me, Yoden. I didn’t know I’d be able to do that. I don’t know how you did, but I’m glad for it. And you feel better because of it, too. I can see it. You’re lighter now. You’ve been carrying that around, by yourself, for too long. They’re the ones that need to be burdened with that. Not you.”
Misha got his faraway look in his eye for a few moments. He grinned. “They’re gonna be carrying it around for a very long time.”
“It’s also a testament to how incredibly strong you are, Stephen,” she said, walking back to him. With her arm around his waist, she added, “you’ve been carrying all of that by yourself for your entire life and it’s made you stronger. They had it for 30 seconds and it broke them. Don’t forget that.”