Chapter Eighteen
Malachi's POV
"This is Cassie," Alicia said, gesturing to the woman across from her. "My best friend."
Cassie looked between us with open curiosity. "And who's this?"
I kept my eyes on Alicia, waiting. Wondering what she'd say. How she'd introduce me. What words she'd use to define whatever this thing between us was becoming.
"He's my brother-in-law," Alicia said. "Travis's younger brother."
Brother-in-law.
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. Not because they were inaccurate. But because of how easily she said them. How quickly she reduced me to nothing more than a family connection. A relation by marriage.
Like I was just another Blackwood. Just another name on the family tree.
"Brother-in-law," I repeated, tasting the bitterness of it. "Right."
I pulled out the empty chair and sat down without asking. Maurice took up position nearby, silent and watchful as always.
"What are you doing?" Alicia asked.
"Sitting. It's rude to stand when ladies are present."
Cassie grinned. "I like him already."
The conversation that followed was painfully polite. Cassie asked questions. I answered. But my attention never strayed from Alicia.
The way she held her coffee cup with both hands. The way her eyes darted to the door like she was planning an escape route. The way her leg bounced under the table, betraying her nerves.
She wanted me gone. But I wasn't going anywhere.
After about fifteen minutes, Cassie's phone buzzed and she made a show of checking it. "I hate to do this, but I have to run. Work calls." She stood, grabbing her bag. "It was so good seeing you, Alicia. And nice meeting you, Malachi."
"The pleasure was mine," I said.
She hugged Alicia and whispered something I couldn't hear, then left us alone.
Alicia immediately stood. "I should go too."
"Sit down, Alicia."
"I have groceries in the car. They'll spoil."
"They'll be fine for five more minutes. Sit."
She hesitated, then obeyed. Good girl.
"Why are you following me?" she asked, her voice tight with anger. "This morning I don't have to see you, and now you show up here?"
"Following you? This is my friend's restaurant. I come here all the time."
"Convenient."
"Very. Though I have to admit, running into you was the highlight of my day."
Her face flushed. "Stop."
"Stop what?"
"This. Whatever you're doing. It needs to stop."
"And what exactly am I doing, Alicia?"
She opened her mouth but couldn't seem to find the words. Because admitting what I was doing meant admitting it was working.
"Let me drive you home," I offered.
"No. I have my car."
"Then I'll follow you. Make sure you get home safely."
"I don't need a bodyguard."
"Didn't say you did. But you're getting one anyway."
She grabbed her purse and stood again, fire in her eyes. "You're insufferable."
"And you're beautiful when you're angry. Did you know that?"
She didn't respond. Just turned and walked out, her back straight and proud.
I watched her go, admiring the view.
"Well, well," Dante's voice came from beside me. "Who was that?"
I turned to find him leaning against the bar, arms crossed, that knowing smirk on his face.
"A caged bird," I said quietly.
"Excuse me?"
"She's trapped. In this family. In a marriage she never wanted. In a life that's slowly killing her." I picked up my espresso and finished it. "My little caged bird."
Dante's eyes widened. "Your...? Malachi, please tell me she's not—"
"Travis's wife," I confirmed.
"Jesus Christ." Dante ran a hand through his hair. "You can't be serious. You're going after your brother's wife?"
"I'm going after what should have been mine from the start."
"This won't end well. You know that, right? The family will—"
"I don't care what the family thinks." I stood, straightening my jacket. "I don't care what anyone thinks. She's mine. She just doesn't know it yet."
Dante stared at me for a long moment. "Does the old man know?"
I gave him a dark look. The kind that said everything without words.
"Right. Stupid question." Dante grabbed two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. "Come on. If we're going to talk about this disaster waiting to happen, we need alcohol."
We moved to a private booth in the back. Dante poured generously, and I accepted the glass.
"So why are you really back in the city?" he asked.
I swirled the amber liquid in my glass. "I don't want to spoil the show."
"The show?"
"Let's just say some people in this family are about to get what they deserve. And I plan to have a front-row seat."
Dante studied me. "This is about Mario."
"Among others."
"Revenge, then."
"Justice," I corrected. "There's a difference."
He drank deeply. "How's business in Dark City?"
"Blooming. The expansion went better than expected. We control most of the shipping routes now."
"And the Zhao family?"
My jaw tightened at the mention of our rivals. "They're a problem. But problems can be solved."
"Solved how?"
"However necessary."
We talked for another hour. Business. Territory. The moves and countermoves of the criminal underworld that most people pretended didn't exist. Dante was one of the few people outside my organization who knew the full extent of what I did. What I'd built in those three years away.
By the time we finished the bottle, Dante was drunk. His words slurred, and he could barely stand.
"Come on," I said, pulling him to his feet. "I'm driving you home."
He protested but couldn't form coherent sentences. Maurice helped me get him to the car, and I drove through the city streets toward his apartment.
When we arrived, I noticed lights on inside. Someone was home.
I helped Dante to the door, and it opened before I could knock.
Pearl stood there, her eyes going wide when she saw me.
"Malachi?" she breathed. "Is that really you?"
"Hello, Pearl."
She looked older. More mature. But she still had that same look in her eyes. The one she'd had three years ago when she'd tried to kiss me at Dante's birthday party.
I'd rejected her then. Gently but firmly.
Nothing had changed.
"Help me get him inside," I said.
We maneuvered Dante to his couch, and he immediately passed out. Pearl fetched a blanket while I made sure he was positioned so he wouldn't choke if he got sick.
"I can't believe you're back," Pearl said softly. "I thought... everyone thought you were gone for good."
"People think a lot of things. Most of them are wrong."
She moved closer, her hand reaching out to touch my arm. "I missed you."
I stepped back. "Take care of your brother. Make sure he drinks water when he wakes up."
"Malachi, wait—"
But I was already gone, closing the door behind me.
Instead of heading home, I found myself driving to the cemetery. The place I'd sworn I'd stop visiting. The place that held pieces of my past I couldn't let go of.
Emily's grave.
I parked and walked through the darkness, navigating the paths from memory. When I reached the oak tree, I stopped.
Two headstones. One large, one small.
I knelt down, pulling weeds that had grown around the base.
"I met someone," I said quietly to the stone. "Someone who makes me feel alive again. Is that allowed? Am I allowed to want that?"
The wind rustled through the trees. No answer came.
"She's married to Travis. I know. I know how that sounds. But he doesn't deserve her. He never did."
I traced Emily's name carved in the granite.
"I couldn't save you. But maybe I can save her. Maybe that's enough."
The night offered no absolution. No forgiveness.
Just silence and the weight of choices I couldn't take back.