Chapter 211 A Sacrifice (CIELO)

Chapter 211 A Sacrifice (CIELO)
I called Bruce as soon as I arrived at his property. The two-story house was surrounded by a giant, sturdy wooden gate. There were no guards out front. Just a grand mansion on a mountainside. It was indeed a perfect place for a hideout. But Bruce would be a fool if he thought I didn't know about the house. I knew he bought it about five years ago from an old man who was dying. He had no family to inherit his house. He then sold it through a real estate agent, and Bruce was interested in it. He bought it under the name of one of his men, then renovated it to his style.
"I'm right in front of your safe house. Open the gate."
There was the sound of rustling blankets and a growl.
"Seriously? How did you know about my safe house?"
"Dead serious. Doesn't matter how I found out about your safe house. Open the gate or I'll bulldoze it."
"Don't you dare. I love this house."
"Then drag your ass out of bed and open the gate."
"Alright."
He hung up, and a moment later, the giant wooden gate opened. Bruce's safe house and its spacious yard came into view. It was a two-story house, fully wooded. It looked like a cabin, in a fancy version. Bruce's two cars were in the driveway. One was the one he often used to go to the bank. The other was probably there for Talia. She couldn't hide in that house forever with a baby. Occasionally, she had to go out to buy groceries for Zaiden.
"What are you doing here?"
He appeared in the doorway, shirtless in sweatpants.
"Where are Talia and my son?"
I pushed his chest away from the door and strode into the house like it was my own.
"They're not here."
"You dare lie to me, I'll rip your tongue out with my bare hands."
He sighed softly. He ran after me as I climbed the spiral staircase to the second floor.
"Zaiden has a fever. Talia just went to bed about an hour ago after he stopped crying. I hope you haven't disturbed her. She's exhausted."
"If Zaiden was sick, Talia should have taken him to the doctor."
"My personal doctor has already examined him and given him medicine. It's just a common fever, common for babies his age. But still, he was crying, and Talia was overwhelmed."
"I want to see him."
There was nothing Bruce could do to stop me from seeing Talia and my son. So he showed me Talia's room.
"Promise me you won't put her in trouble. If you have something serious you want to talk to her about, wait until morning."
"Bruce, I know what I have to do. You think I'm that cruel to Talia, huh?"
He shrugged softly.
"Seems so."
I ignored his sarcasm and went straight to Talia's room. It was adjacent to the master bedroom, and it was unlocked when I pushed it open. It was proof that Talia had completely trusted Bruce, so she no longer needed to feel unsafe in his house.
Talia was curled up on the queen-size bed. The blanket covered her body all the way up to her shoulders. She looked cold even though the heater was set to maximum, and she had a blanket covering her entire body. I worried that she might also be sick from being so exhausted from taking care of Zaiden. Guilt gnawed at me as I saw how gaunt Talia's face looked. The lines of exhaustion were clearly etched across her features.
When I brushed aside the golden strands of hair that covered half of her face, she jumped awake and automatically grabbed my wrist. It was ironic. She probably had that reflex because Ethan had held her captive for over two weeks at his estate.
“Cielo?”
Her voice sounded hesitant. She blinked a few times to make sure I was real, and not just a figment of her dream.
“I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“But you did.”
“Go back to sleep then. I’ll be back in the morning.”
As I turned to leave, Talia suddenly grabbed my wrist. She squeezed it.
“What are you doing here?”
“You’re exhausted after taking care of Zaiden all day. You should sleep. Things can wait until tomorrow morning.”
“But I can’t wait any longer, Cielo. I’m tired of waiting.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably.
"I've been waiting for you to come for weeks. All my hopes were dashed when you never came to pick us up. Whatever your decision, I'll accept it. I'm ready to listen."
I sighed softly.
I kicked off my shoes and climbed into bed beside her. She looked confused as I lay down in the empty space beside her.
"Come here."
Despite her hesitation, Talia approached me and snuggled into my arms. She was smaller than I last remembered. Her large belly was gone, and she was back to her old self. A beautiful, petite woman with golden hair. It wasn't that I didn't like seeing her chubby. I liked her any way she looked because she was still the most beautiful woman in my eyes.
"I've always wanted to be with you, Talia. There's never a moment I've lived without thinking about you and Zaiden."
"Then why have you been so cold to me all this time? Why have you ignored me as if I weren't there?"
"Because I'm so fucked-up."
I took a deep breath of the soothing scent of her shampoo. It felt like returning home after years of aimless wandering.
"I'm sorry my confusion affected your life."
"I can tell it affected yours, too."
"Yeah. My life was a mess without you two. I was lost. When you left, it became clear that I couldn't live without you."
"If you couldn’t live without us, why did you act like you didn’t need us all this time?"
"Like I said, I was confused. Things weren't as simple as they seemed on the surface. My job conflicted with the life I wanted. I was a greedy man. I wanted both my job and you and Zaiden. But in the end, I realized I couldn't have both of you. I had to make a sacrifice. I had to choose between you two or my job."
"And what did you choose?"