Merciless Union by Faith Summers
47
Aria
It must be the impact of drowning mixed with the medication that makes me keep falling asleep.
Every time I drift off, I fear that either I won’t wake up or when I wake properly, I won’t remember any of what happened.
Every time my eyes open, though, I see Lucca. He’s always with me, right by my side, holding my hand.
As long as I see him, I know he’ll anchor me to this world with his love.
I want to ask if our baby is okay, but the words don’t come when I try to speak.
I know I’m in a bad way just for that. I was already in a state, so only God knows how drowning must have taken its toll on my body.
When I took that gulp of air like my first breath of life, I could feel how drained out I was.
It feels like days pass that I’m like that, but it could be hours. All I know is where I am and who’s with me.
I sleep again, and when I wake the next time, that groggy feeling isn’t there anymore.
Lucca lifts his head from the edge of the bed and reaches for my hand.
His silver eyes are red with dark circles underneath them, and he looks more worried than I’ve ever seen him.
As he squeezes my hand, I panic at what that worry might mean.
“The baby,” I gasp.
“Is fine,” he says quickly with a little smile and rubs over my knuckles. “The baby is fine.”
My entire body sighs with relief on hearing that.
He kisses the tops of my hands and smiles at me. “You did good, Aria; you’ll be fine too.”
“I feel like days have passed.”
“Only two.”
“And you’ve been here the whole time with me.” My voice sounds so weak.
“Every second. You’re going to be in for a week or two, so they can monitor you and the baby. I will be here so don’t worry. You just have to rest, and I’ll take care of you.”
“Thank you. Thank you for everything. I can’t believe we’re here. I didn’t think we were going to make it.”
“Me too, Printsessa.”
A dark thought fills me when I think of my father. “Did Raphael get away?” that’s the first time I’ve called him by that name to anyone.
“No.”
My spirit lifts. “You got him?”
“I got him, and now the world knows he’s dead. Things are still in motion, but I found a way to expose him and Pasha without repercussions. People need to know the truth about who was responsible for all those crimes.”
I’ve never felt more relieved in my life.
“It’s over?”
“It’s over.”
“We can really just be a family?”
He nods. “We can.”
“You, me, and our little baby.”
I smile and savor the kiss he gives me.
* * *
I was in that hospital bed for two weeks. I got home an hour ago, and I was surprised that the place felt different.
It’s the first time I’ve felt like I belong here. That suffocating heaviness I first felt is no longer in the air, and neither is that icy presence of misery.
I want to believe it’s because the ghosts who live here are now at peace.
As long as the lie existed and the truth a secret, they were unsettled, the same as those in the world of the living.
Now we are all at peace, and it’s been a great first hour in my new life.
I decided this morning that when I stepped back through the doors of my home, I’d be a new woman. I’d change the house and make it a home and celebrate the beauty of the manor and the grounds the way it was intended.
When Marylin gets back next week, I’m sure she’ll agree with me.
From my hospital bed, I set the ball in motion for my new life, making sure I planned everything in a way that allowed me to spend every chance I get with my baby and my husband. But also to make sure I accomplished my dreams.
The first thing I did was contact the admissions tutor at Berklee. I made arrangements to transfer my credits and complete my music studies at UCLA next September. I enrolled in their part-time course and got in.
Then as the new owner of Cervantes, I had my first virtual meeting with the board of directors who just wanted to touch base with me. My last order of business was to appoint Sienna as the company’s new C.E.O.
When I feel better, I’ll get down to the nitty-gritty and do all the other stuff I’m supposed to do. I know the company will be in good hands with Sienna taking care of business. She was more excited than I’ve ever seen her with her new role.
Lucca also relinquished any rights he might have to the company through our marriage, insisting my mother would have wished it so. He wanted to preserve the purity of my mother’s gift to me, so I obliged. I know he did it because of the previous connotations the company represented. Everybody wanted to take it from me, and I understood without him saying so that he didn’t want to be a part of that.
It will be interesting to see where everything takes me.
Right now, all I just have to do is focus on my visitor.
When I walk into the living room, Dr. Belmont is standing by the window, looking at the gardener trimming the hedge. This is the first meeting we’ll have where I’ll feel like my old self. I almost feel like we need a re-introduction.
He turns when he sees me and smiles that big warm smile of his that has always assured me. I didn’t realize that until just now.
That’s a genuine smile that represents him and not the doctor he is.
This is just a visit to touch base, and we’re not talking much today about painful memories and events.
That’s next time, but I have yet to tell him so.
“Look at you,” he beams, giving me a brief hug the way a father would greet his daughter. “You look amazing. Like you’ve been given a new life.”
“That’s exactly how I feel.”
“Lucca told me you got your memories back.”
“Every last one with specific details too. I sometimes wonder if I’m making things up, but it’s so vivid. Maybe there is still a part of my brain that’s damaged, and there are memories I’ve lost naturally, but I feel pretty damn good.”
“That’s really great to hear.” He chuckles. “It’s always the best news when I hear anything like that.”
“I can imagine. I’ve come a long way. So much has happened, and I feel this new sense of self and purpose. But I still need you.” I nod, and tears sting the backs of my eyes when I think of just how far I’ve truly come.
He takes both my hands and gives me that warm smile again. “I will always, always be available to you as long as you need me. You’re a strong woman Aria. Much stronger than you realize. I think your mother would be very proud of the woman you became.”
“Thank you.”
Soft piano music filters into the room.
It’s the interlude to Clair de Lune. Like always, my heart warms at the sound, and so does my soul.
“I think your husband is calling you,” Dr. Belmont states with a proud grin.
“It seems so.”
“I’ll see you in a week.” He gives me a curt nod and leaves.
I then follow the tune to the sitting room, where I find my Peter Pan boy playing the piano, playing me to him the way a siren sings to a sailor.
My violin is sitting on the little table near him.
“I’ll never get tired of hearing that piece,” I tell him.
“That’s good since I plan to play it for you forever. Come here.” He cocks his head to the side, motioning me over.
I walk over to him, and he stops playing so he can pull me into his lap.
He pulls a little envelope from his jacket pocket and hands it to me.
“What is this, Pakhan?”
He gives me a wolfish grin. “Open it.”
I do and see it’s a stamped letter from the court releasing him from his legal guardianship.
“Oh my gosh, when did you get this done?”
“Days ago, and I picked it up from the lawyers before I got you. Dr. Belmont did all the psych stuff to declare you mentally capacitated, and I did the rest. You won’t have to worry about anybody trapping you ever again.”
Freedom.
This is what it feels like. Like my soul can fly on the wings of loving this silver-eyed man who slipped into my life so long ago and became a dream to me.
“Thank you for doing this for me. I really appreciate it, Lucca.”
“I appreciate you.” He smiles. “I promise you the world, Aria. I want us to do everything we always wanted to do.”
“We will.” I giggle.
“How about we start with a duet for old time’s sake, Printsessa? We haven’t done this in a while.”
We’re fifteen years overdue.
“I’d love to.” I get up and grab my violin. Then we play, and we sound like we always did.
Like we belonged together.
