Chapter 72: Cherish

Chapter 72: Cherish
A Few Weeks Later…

Haden

I sat silently in my chair, surveying the room like I was still on the battlefield. It was supposed to be a joyful occasion—Enzo and Ella’s cousin LaNae’s baby shower—but I couldn’t relax. Not really. The space was filled with pastel blues and whites, oversized teddy bears, and the scent of cake and catered pasta dishes. Everyone was either laughing, chatting, or holding up miniature onesies with soft oohs and ahhs.

Enzo looked like the proudest man in the room. He stood beside LaNae, one hand on her lower back, nodding along as she unwrapped yet another stack of bibs and tiny booties. I had to admit it… I was happy for the bastard. He’d wanted a family of his own for a long time, and now he had one coming.

Ella was seated not far from me, smiling as she chatted with her grandmother. She looked relaxed, peaceful—even glowing under the soft lights of the event hall. Meanwhile, my grandfather was helping himself to a second plate of meatballs, completely at ease, like we weren’t in the middle of a storm that just hadn’t touched down yet.

I scanned the room, trying to let the scene settle me. But my body stayed coiled. Watchful.

That was when Tony caught my eye. He was leaning against a column near the buffet table, but the second our gazes met, he gave a subtle tilt of his head—his signal for we’ve got a problem.

I stood without a word and followed him outside.

The air hit my face like ice. It was quiet out here, only the muffled sounds of celebration bleeding through the walls behind us. Tony didn’t speak right away.

“What’s going on?” I asked, voice low, measured.

He didn’t answer. Just nodded to my pocket. “Check your phone.”

My brow furrowed as I reached in and pulled it out. A message lit the screen—Luca. With an attachment.

Luca: This was delivered to the Russo hotel.

I opened the image.

My stomach dropped.

It was a photo from our wedding. Ella and I, standing beneath the arch, her in that stunning gown that nearly brought me to my knees. But her face had been violently blacked out. Her body? Punctured. Holes jabbed through the paper like someone had taken the time to destroy her piece by piece.

The phone dinged again.

A second image.

The back of the photo. A single word scrawled across it in messy, deliberate handwriting:

CHERISH

My grip tightened. Jaw locked. That one word screamed volumes.

Maxim.

That sick bastard.

This wasn’t just some warning—it was a death sentence dressed in sentiment. He was telling me to cherish the time I had left with her. He wanted to kill her. Because he couldn’t have her, he was going to try to erase her. End her. Take away the one thing in this world that tethered me to anything good.

A hot pulse of rage burned behind my eyes. My fingers twitched with the instinct to pull a trigger. I rubbed the spot at my temple where tension always flared when I was holding too much in. Breathed. Once. Twice. A third time. I needed to keep it together. For now.

When I turned to go back inside, I already felt her eyes on me.

Ella.

She was watching from across the room, concern etched in every soft line of her face. Her expression said everything. She knew something was wrong. She always did.

I gave her the faintest smile. It didn’t reach my eyes, but I hoped it would be enough. I couldn't ruin this moment for her family. Not here. Not now. And I damn sure wasn’t going to scare her when she was the one in danger.

But my composure didn’t fool the people who really knew me.

Enzo kept glancing my way, his brow furrowed like he was trying to solve a puzzle only he and I could see. I gave him a nod—later. He understood.

Grandpa approached next, a slow gait and a cautious glance. I felt my body tense before he even said a word. He’d been trying. Ever since that night at the Dungeon. But none of his efforts could erase what happened.

We wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t brought her there.

“You look ready to kill,” he muttered under his breath, his voice deep and low enough not to draw attention as he passed by Ella’s great aunt with a warm smile.

“I am,” I replied without looking at him.

“Maxim?”

I nodded once. “The fucker won’t learn until he’s buried.”

His jaw flexed. “His obsession is abnormal. I warned his father about it years ago. Should’ve done more. He’s gone rogue now. I’m sorry I put Ella in this.”

“You should be.” The words left my mouth like stone.

Silence lingered between us, heavy, unspoken, until Ella’s soft footsteps approached.

She stepped into my space, her expression gentle, worried. “You okay?” she asked.

I forced a smile, barely more than a twitch of my mouth. “Yeah.”

She didn’t believe it. I could see it in her eyes, the way they studied me. But she didn’t push. That was Ella. She knew how to pick her battles, and she trusted I’d tell her when I could.

Instead, she stepped closer, and I wrapped my arms around her. Held her tighter than I probably should have. Pressed my lips to her temple and let my eyes meet Tony’s over her shoulder.

No words needed.

He gave me a subtle nod, already moving toward the exit with purpose. He didn’t need direction. He knew what had to be done. And so did I.

Maxim had drawn a line in the sand.

Now it was time to burn the fucking map.

.
.
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Joella

Something wasn’t right.

I knew it the moment we stepped back into the house. The baby shower had ended hours ago, and while the laughter still lingered faintly in my memory, the scent of frosting, the bright pastel balloons, it all felt distant now.

Hollow.

Tony was already waiting when we pulled up. Not relaxed and grinning like he usually was. He was posted by the gate.

Tense.

His arm draped across his chest, fingers grazing the holster on his side like muscle memory. He barely even nodded when we pulled in.

When I looked up at the house, I noticed the subtle changes immediately.

Two new guards stationed on the second-floor balconies. Vehicles I didn’t recognize discreetly parked behind the hedges. Men in suits pretending not to look at me as I got out of the car.

I felt it in my chest first, a slow, tightening squeeze. Something was off.

Haden’s hand pressed against the small of my back, warm and firm like always, guiding me inside. But I could tell he wasn’t just guiding, he was shielding. A wall of silence had settled over him since we left the shower. His jaw had been locked the whole ride home. Eyes narrowed like he was trying to calculate a war I wasn’t yet invited to understand.

When we got inside, he hung his jacket up, then stepped away to speak quietly with Tony in the hall. I didn’t try to listen in. I didn’t need to. The way Tony kept glancing over his shoulder toward me said enough.

They were hiding something.

Again.

I waited until Tony left. I gave Haden time. Space. But the moment he walked back in, I was done pretending not to notice.

I met him in the living room, arms folded across my chest, heart pounding behind my ribs. “What’s going on?”

He looked at me like he wasn’t sure how much to say. His eyes softened, the way they always did when I confronted him like this. But there was steel underneath the softness. A part of him that didn’t want to let me in.

Not tonight.

He took a deep breath and sat down heavily on the edge of the couch. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

Wrong answer.

I moved in front of him. “Haden, don’t do that. Don’t lie to me. I know you think you're protecting me, but keeping me in the dark doesn’t make me safer. It makes me vulnerable.”

His jaw clenched. He looked up at me, and something shifted.

“Sit down,” he said quietly.

I didn’t. “Just tell me.”

A beat of silence. Then another. He pulled his phone from his pocket and held it up. Opened a message. When he handed it to me, I wasn’t prepared.

It was a photo.

Of us.

Our wedding day.

I stared at it, completely caught off guard by what I saw. My face was gone. Scratched out. Blacked over like someone couldn’t bear to look at it. My body was riddled with holes, punched through the print like someone had lost control halfway through.

My breath caught.

“What… is this?”

He didn’t answer. Not immediately.

I swiped my thumb over the screen to find another image.

The back of the photo.

One word.

CHERISH.

My throat went dry. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t think.

“What does that mean?” I asked, even though deep down I already knew.

He looked up at me then. No more hiding. No more shielding.

“It means he’s not letting go,” Haden said. His voice was gravely, low, dark, and dangerous. “It means he’s done waiting and now, he’s coming for you.”

My knees buckled, and I slowly sat down beside him, the phone still clutched in my hand like it might burn through my skin.

“Maxim?” I whispered.

He nodded once.

The name alone was enough to send ice down my spine.

“He sent this to the Russo hotel. Luca intercepted it before it made it anywhere else.”

“So he knows where we are?” I asked, voice shaking.

“No, but he knows how to reach us. That’s enough.” His hands were fisted on his knees, like it was taking everything in him not to go hunt the man down that second. “The photo...it’s not just a warning. It’s a message. Cherish the time you have left. That’s what he meant.”

My stomach twisted. I pressed my palm over it, trying to steady my breathing. “He wants to kill me.”

Haden didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.

The silence was its own confirmation.

I looked around the room like I might find some grounding. The bookshelf we picked together. The family portraits on the wall. The soft light glowing from the chandelier above us. Yet suddenly none of it felt safe.

Fear crept in slowly. My safety, our babies. We couldn't stay here.

Tears burned the back of my eyes, but I blinked them away. I reached out, grabbing his hand, forcing him to look at me

“Do you think he’ll try something?”

“I know he will.”

My fingers tightened around his. “Then we need to go away. We need to disappear until it’s over. I don’t care about the house or the events or the politics, Haden. I just want to be safe. I want our boys to be safe. We can go-”

“No.” His voice cut through the air with finality. He turned to me fully, both hands gripping mine now. “If we run, he wins. I’m not going to give that sick son of a bitch the satisfaction of seeing us retreat. You are not going anywhere unless it’s under my protection. Do you understand me?”

I swallowed hard. “And if he gets close?”

“I will handle it.”

“You can’t guarantee that.”

“I can.” His voice was fierce, eyes flashing with a fire I had only seen a few times before.

He pulled me in then, pressing my forehead to his. His voice softened.

“Nothing will happen to you, Ella or to our boys. I don’t care what it costs me.”

I closed my eyes. Let the tears fall this time.

Because I believed him.

And it terrified me all the more.