Chapter Two Hundred and Nine

Malachi’s POV

Married life was surprisingly ordinary.

We fell into routines. Lia woke up every three hours. Alicia fed her. I changed her. We took turns walking her when she cried at night.

We had family dinners at the estate. Sophie came home on weekends. The Morettis dropped by constantly to see Lia.

It was domestic. Normal. Everything I’d never thought I’d have.

"You look content," Maurice said during one of our video calls. "It’s unsettling."

"Thanks."

"I’m serious. I’ve known you for fifteen years and I’ve never seen you this relaxed. Marriage suits you."

"Alicia suits me. Marriage is just the paperwork."

"Still. It’s good to see. How’s fatherhood?"

"Terrifying. Amazing. Exhausting. All of it."

"And the business? Any regrets about walking away?"

"None. You’re doing better than I ever did. The family’s thriving without me."

"The family’s thriving because you removed the rot. Because you forced us to evolve." Maurice paused. "Tom wanted me to ask if you’d consider coming back for Thanksgiving. Just a visit. Let the family see Lia. See you settled and happy."

"I’ll ask Alicia."

"She runs the show now?"

"She always did. I just finally admitted it."

After we hung up, I found Alicia in the nursery. She was folding tiny clothes while Lia slept in the crib.

"Maurice invited us to Dark City for Thanksgiving. Family dinner. Everyone wants to meet Lia properly."

"Do you want to go?"

"Part of me does. Part of me wants to show off my daughter. Show off my wife. Let them see what I chose instead of the empire."

"And the other part?"

"Wants to stay here where it’s safe. Where the past can’t touch us."

"The past is always going to be there, Malachi. Dark City. The family. What you used to be. But it doesn’t control us anymore. We control it."

"So we should go?"

"We should go. Face it together. Show them we’re happy. Then come home to our life here."

"Okay. I’ll tell Maurice yes."

The decision made, I tried not to think about it. But as Thanksgiving approached, the anxiety crept in.

"You’re worried," Alicia said one night. We were in bed. Lia asleep in her bassinet beside us.

"What if going back changes things? What if I see the mansion and remember who I used to be? What if the darkness calls and I answer?"

"Then I’ll pull you back. That’s what I’m here for."

"What if it’s not enough?"

"It will be. Because you’re not that person anymore. You chose differently. You chose us."

She was right. I had chosen. Every day I chose.

But facing Dark City felt like walking back into a life I’d barely escaped.

We flew out the week of Thanksgiving. Lia’s first plane ride. She slept through most of it.

"She’s a natural traveler," Alicia said.

"She gets it from you. You ran halfway across the world."

"I didn’t run. I relocated strategically."

"You ran."

"Fine. I ran. But it worked out."

Maurice met us at the airport. He looked at Lia and his entire face softened.

"She’s beautiful. Congratulations."

"Thanks. How’s everything?"

"See for yourself."

The drive through Dark City was strange. Familiar but distant. Like looking at a photograph of someone else’s life.

We weren’t staying at the family mansion. I’d arranged a hotel. Neutral territory. A place we could leave if we needed to.

"Smart," Alicia said when I told her.

"I learned from the best. You always have an escape route."

The Thanksgiving dinner was at Tom’s house. Smaller than the mansion. More intimate.

Family gathered. Cousins I hadn’t seen in months. Tom. Maurice. Rose and Violet.

And Travis. With Emily.

"Congratulations," Travis said when he saw us. "On the wedding. On everything."

"Thank you. How are you?"

"Good. Sober. Happy." He looked at Emily. "Really happy."

Emily held out her hand. "I’m glad you came. Both of you. It means a lot."

"Fresh starts," Alicia said. "We all deserve them."

Tom held Lia for the first time since the brief visit to Italy. "She’s grown."

"She’s almost three months old. They grow fast."

"I missed this with you. With Travis. I was too busy building the empire. Too busy following Pa’s orders. I’m sorry for that."

"It’s okay."

"It’s not. But I’m grateful you turned out better than I had any right to expect. You became the man I should have been."

Dinner was surprisingly comfortable. Stories. Laughter. Lia being passed around and adored by everyone.

"She’s going to be so spoiled," Alicia said.

"She’s a Blackwood. Spoiling comes with the territory."

"And a Moretti. They spoil even more."

"She doesn’t stand a chance."

After dinner, Maurice pulled me aside. "There’s something you should know. It’s been kept quiet. But you deserve to hear it."

"What?"

"Robert. Alicia’s father. He surfaced. In California. Tried to blackmail the Morettis. Said he’d go to the press about Alicia’s connection to them if they didn’t pay."

My blood went cold. "When?"

"Last week. Marco handled it. Quietly. Robert’s been dealt with."

"Dealt with how?"

"He’s alive. But he’s been made to understand that approaching this family again would be very bad for his health. He signed papers. Legal documents. Giving up any claim to Alicia or Sophie. Agreeing never to contact them again."

"Does Alicia know?"

"Marco wanted to tell her in person. But since you’re here, I figured you should know first. Decide how to handle it."

I thought about it. About Robert. About the man who’d tried to sell Sophie. Who’d terrorized his daughters. Who’d never stopped being a threat.

"I need to tell her. She deserves to know."

"Agreed."

I found Alicia in the kitchen helping clean up. "We need to talk."

"That sounds ominous."

"It’s about your father."

Her face paled. "What about him?"

I told her everything. Robert’s attempt at blackmail. Marco’s response. The legal agreements.

"He’s really gone? He can’t come back?"

"He’s really gone. The Morettis made sure of it."

She sat down hard. "I should feel relieved. But I just feel tired. Like even now, even after everything, he’s still causing problems."

"He can’t anymore. It’s over."

"Is it? Is it ever really over?"

"Yes. Because we choose to make it over. We choose to not let him have power anymore."

She was quiet for a long moment. Then she nodded. "Okay. It’s over. He’s gone. We move forward."

"We move forward."

That night in the hotel, Lia asleep between us, Alicia turned to me.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For protecting me. For making sure I’m safe. For building a life where my father can’t touch us."

"That’s what husbands do."

"Not all husbands. Travis never protected me. My father never protected anyone. You’re different."

"I’m trying to be."

"You are. Every day you’re different. Better. The man I need you to be." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"The man you made me want to be."

She kissed me. Soft. Sweet. "I love you."

"I love you too."

We spent the rest of the week in Dark City. Visiting family. Showing off Lia. Letting everyone see that we were happy. That we’d made it.

On our last day, Tom pulled me aside. "Thank you for coming. For letting me be part of this. Part of her life."

"You’re family. Of course you’re part of it."

"I wasn’t always a good father. But I’d like to be a good grandfather. If you’ll let me."

"You can be. Just show up. Be present. That’s all she’ll need."

"I can do that."

The flight home to Italy felt like exhaling. Like we’d held our breath the whole time and could finally relax.

"Dark City isn’t home anymore," Alicia said as we landed.

"No. Home is the villa. The Morettis. Our life in Italy."

"Are you okay with that? Never going back?"

"More than okay. That Chapter is closed. This is our life now."

Signora Moretti met us at the villa with Sophie. Both of them immediately taking Lia and cooing over her.

"How was America?" Signora Moretti asked.

"Good. But we’re happy to be home."

"This is home. This will always be home. For all of you."

That night, back in our bed, in our villa, with our daughter sleeping beside us, I felt it.

Peace. Complete peace.

No anxiety. No worry. No fear that the past would drag me back.

Because I’d faced the past. Faced Dark City and the family and everything I used to be.

And I’d walked away again. Chosen again. Chosen this life. Chosen Alicia. Chosen Lia.

"What are you thinking about?" Alicia asked.

"About how three years ago I walked into a dark room and found you crying and my whole life changed. About how I spent two years loving you from a distance. About how I almost lost you. About how I got you back. About how we’re here now with our daughter and it’s more than I ever thought I’d have."

"That’s a lot to think about."

"It’s a good life to think about."

"It is. We built something good."

"We did. And we’re going to keep building it. Every day. One choice at a time."

"Together."

"Always together."

Lia made a small sound in her sleep. Not quite a cry. Just a noise.

We both froze. Waited. She settled back down.

"We should sleep while she sleeps," Alicia whispered.

"We should."

But we didn’t. We just lay there holding each other. Listening to our daughter breathe.