Chapter 123 Chapter One hundred and twenty Three

Chapter 123 Chapter One hundred and twenty Three
Alessia

It wasn’t our first kiss, nor was it our second. But this one felt entirely different. It wasn’t simply because Diana had initiated it. It was the way she had done it without that bridge she had built. As if, for those few seconds, she had forgotten every reason that limited her. She didn’t even talk to me before leaving this morning. Had she forgotten?

I stared at her, trying to figure out what was going on inside that beautiful head of hers.

Her gaze flicked toward the nurse standing a few feet away before returning to me. “Do I need a reason to kiss my wife?” She put emphasis on the last word.

“No.”

The wind picked up. It caught the edge of her mourning veil and sent it fluttering behind her. She caught it with one hand.

“Well…” She looked down, suddenly fascinated by the ground.

“I missed you.”

She did that little kicking thing with her feet again. My brows lifted.

“You missed me?”

She looked up.

“You didn’t?” There was something almost accusing in her voice.

I fought back a smile.

“I did.”

Her shoulders relaxed. Her cheeks turned pink. I stared at her for another second.

That was it? She kissed me in front of the house, embarrassed herself, admitted she missed me, and now she was satisfied? I stepped closer.

“How much?” Her eyes widened.

“What?”

“How much did you miss me?”

She swallowed. “I don’t know.”

I grabbed her and placed her on the pillar, trapping her in between my arms. She gasped. “That isn’t an answer.”

She looked away. “A lot.”

“How much is a lot?”

“Alessia.” I smirked, enjoying how much effect I had on her. “I’m asking a serious question.” I took a few strands of her hair and placed them behind her ears, letting my fingers linger around her neck.

“You’re teasing me.”

“Maybe.” She bit her lips. “I missed you enough to kiss you before I even said hello.”

My smile disappeared. That answer hit somewhere deeper than it should have.

I took her hand and kissed it. “I missed you too.” Her fingers tightened around mine. And for a moment, neither of us said anything because, for once, I didn’t have a clever response. The nurse quietly cleared her throat. We both looked toward her. She immediately looked away. “I’ll… go check on Thomas.”

“Thomas?” Diana’s eyes widened, like she just remembered something she shouldn’t have forgotten. She disappeared through the door.

The smile on my face fell. I looked at the nurse and said, “Don’t tell her anything.” She nodded.

I hated keeping it from her. But I wasn’t ready to tell her that Thomas had coughed blood.

Kendrick, who had been leaning against the motorcycle nearby, finally pushed herself upright.

“Your woman was badass today.” I looked at her.

“What did she do?”

“You should have seen her.” Kendrick grinned widely. “She slapped Jemima. Twice.” My chest warmed with something dangerously close to pride. “She did?”

“Then she grabbed her by the hair and threatened to bury her beside you.”

I chuckled. “I should massage her hand later.”

Kendrick rolled her eyes. “Of course that’s what you heard.”

“What else was I supposed to hear?” Her amusement disappeared. “But there’s something else.” My expression hardened.

“What?”

“I already texted Natasha to look into it.”

“Look into what?”

Kendrick glanced toward the house before lowering her voice. “Jemima isn’t Jemima.”

My brows drew together.

“What?” She explained everything.

The mark Diana had seen near Jemima’s hairline. The way she had reacted at the funeral. How she’d appeared perfectly fine despite the gunshot wound Chiara had inflicted on her. And then she added what Zach had done. By the time she finished, my hands were clenched into fists.

Someone had impersonated Jemima.

And Zach had publicly mutilated a corpse simply to test whether I was truly dead. He dared threaten my wife. My anger burned hotter with every second. But strangely, revenge wasn’t the first thing on my mind anymore.

Thomas and Diana were. I looked toward the house again.

“We’re leaving for Pardi City tomorrow.”

Kendrick frowned.

“Why?”

“Thomas.” Her expression changed immediately.

She understood.

Pardi City had better specialists. Better medical facilities. And, more importantly, people I could trust. If Thomas needed a bone marrow transplant, I would find the best person in the world to handle it.

“We can’t keep him hidden here if he’s getting worse.” Kendrick nodded slowly.

“Have you told Diana?”

I looked toward the door. “Tonight.”

Kendrick studied me. “And the orphanage?”

My jaw tightened. “I have no plan on doing that. When we are gone, look into the matter and find out whoever it is. End him.” She didn’t argue.

I had spent my entire life chasing revenge. Now there was something far more important to protect.

And nothing—not Kendra, not the organ he or the ghosts of my mother’s past—was going to take them from me.



Dinner was a full table.

Kendrick had prepared the meal, and somehow the safe house felt less like a place we were hiding in and more like a home.

Diana kept adding more food to Thomas and Adam’s plates. I added more food to hers. “You need to eat too,” I told her.

“I am eating.”

“You’ve barely touched your food.” She glanced down at her plate. It was packed with rice, four pieces of chicken, and boiled eggs. On the second plate was sweet potatoes.

She looked at me. “It’s because you keep adding more with each bite I take.” I raised a brow. She sighed and picked up her fork.

“Yes, boss.”

Thomas laughed.

Adam had arrived later than us because he had to pretend he had made it to the hotel first before sneaking out to be with Diana.

Now he sat beside Thomas, who seemed determined to argue with him about everything. “You should see the gardens in Pardi City,” Adam said. Thomas leaned closer.

“What else?”

“There are huge markets.”

“How huge?”

“I don’t know. I will check it out and give you feedback.” Thomas nodded, his mouth full with food. Diana used a serviette to wipe his mouth.

“What about animals?”

“Some.”

“What kind?”

Adam began listing them. Thomas listened with fascination. Then he turned to Diana. “I wish I could go there.”

“You can go.” The room fell quiet. All eyes glanced at me. “I can?” he asked.

“Yes.” He looked at me as though he was waiting for me to tell him I was joking. “I will take you.”

“Yeah!” He stood up from the chair he was sitting in and hurried towards my chair. He tiptoed and dropped a kiss on my cheek. I froze. “Mommy Alessia, you are the best.”

He took my hand and brought it to his head.

I couldn’t stop the small smile that appeared on my face. Diana looked at me gratefully. The dinner ended with laughter and bickering.

Something I never would have imagined happening in my home. Not so long ago, the idea of having people around my table had irritated me. Now I found myself watching Diana laugh and wishing the night wouldn’t end.

Diana took the children to bed while I went into my room. I walked toward the island by the window and took out a bottle.

I poured whiskey into a glass. Then I stared at it. I couldn’t drink it.

I chuckled bitterly because I have never listened to doctors before. No matter how injured I was, I’d always treated pain like an inconvenience. Yet here I was, thinking about my health. I lifted the glass and brought it to my nose. Then I set it down.

A knock came at the door. I turned. The door opened after a few seconds. The nurse entered, holding a tray. “I-I want to dress your wound.”

I pulled open my shirt and sat down. She placed the tray beside me. Her hands were shaking slightly as she began unwrapping the bandage. I watched her.

She seemed nervous. But I didn’t question it because I knew why.

She removed the old bandage. It slipped from her fingers, then it landed on the tray before falling onto the floor.

The contents spilled everywhere. The sharp smell of antiseptic filled the room.

“I-I’m sorry.” She immediately bent down to collect everything. When she stood up, her foot slipped. She fell forward straight onto me.

Before I could push her away, the door opened. My head snapped to the direction. Diana stood there.

Her eyes went straight to the nurse who was lying against my chest. The nurse scrambled away from me immediately. “I’m sorry!”

Diana didn’t answer. Her face had gone completely blank. I stood up.

“Diana.”

She looked at me, and I didn’t see anger but something else flashed across her eyes.

Fear. The kind of fear she’d been trying so hard to overcome. My chest tightened. “It isn’t what you think.”

“I slipped and—”

“Get out.”

\~~~~~~~~~~~

Diana

I wanted to tell her how grateful I was, but this wasn’t what I expected to greet me.

The words from the radio earlier still echoed faintly in my head—some meaningless talk about needs and satisfaction. Now they felt personal. Was this her way of dealing with the fact that I still couldn’t let her touch me the way she wanted?

Was I being selfish for not letting her touch me… and still not wanting anyone else to touch her either?

“Get out,” I said to the nurse.

She didn’t need a second thought. The door shut behind her, leaving the room uncomfortably quiet.

Alessia stepped forward. “She slipped and fell over me.”

I looked at her. “You don’t have to lie to me. You had an urge and you satisfied it because I can’t.”

“That’s not true.” She reached for me.

I stepped back. “You said you would wait for me until I’m ready.”

Her hand froze in the air between us. For a second, neither of us moved. The sharp smell of antiseptic still hung in the room, mixing with the faint scent of her cologne.

“Diana.” Her voice was low, controlled, but I could hear the strain underneath. “Look at me.”

I forced myself to meet her eyes. There was no guilt there. No satisfaction either. Just something tired and frustrated and… hurt.

“She fell,” Alessia repeated, slower this time. “While changing the bandage. That’s all.” She pointed at the open bandage on her chest.

I wanted to believe her. Part of me already did. But the image of the nurse’s body pressed against hers stayed stuck behind my eyes, feeding every insecurity I tried so hard to bury.

“I walked in and saw her on top of you,” I said. “What was I supposed to think?”

“You’re supposed to trust me.”

Her words hit me hard.

“I do trust you,” I whispered. “That’s the problem. I trust you enough to know you have needs. Needs I still can’t meet. And I hate that. I hate that every time you try to touch me, I freeze. I hate that my body still reacts like you’re someone else.”

Alessia took a careful step closer, then another, until only a small space remained between us. “We will work on it together.”

“How?” I asked.

“We will figure it out. Right now,” she said, “I need you to help me finish getting this bandage changed. I have something to tell you.”

“What’s that?” she asked, already picking up a bandage.

“I contacted Rasmussen and asked him to get a team of doctors ready. We are going to Pardi City tomorrow.”

My hand paused. “I am not seeing a psychologist. I already told you. I am not mad!” I said, agitated.

She didn’t say anything for the first few seconds.

“You are not.” She agreed. “I spoke to Suzzy concerning Thomas’s health.”

It wasn’t about me. But Thomas?

“So we will have him checked and carry on with the bone marrow transplant.”

I froze in place, still trying to process what I just heard.

“Bone marrow transplant, in Pardi City for Thomas.” Alessia nodded.

My lips quivered. Then all the dams broke loose. I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.

For years, it was just me sitting beside Thomas’s hospital bed, pretending not to be terrified whenever his breathing changed. I smiled at him when I wanted to fall apart, convincing myself that he would be okay. Now a hand was reaching out.