My mafia love

21~ burn

Kelly's POV:

By the time another week had passed, I had begun to understand that healing wasn't a straight path forward but rather a series of small victories disguised as ordinary moments, and perhaps that was why I found myself wandering through the mansion with increasing ease, no longer pausing outside doorways to listen for danger and no longer flinching every time unfamiliar footsteps echoed through the hallways.

The bruises had faded into faint yellow shadows beneath my skin, the dizziness that had plagued me during the first few days had finally begun to ease, and although the scar hidden beneath my hair still ached whenever I brushed against it too carelessly, it no longer felt like a constant reminder of everything that had happened inside that warehouse.

One afternoon, after Sasha had finally declared me healthy enough to stop hovering over every step I took, I escaped into the mansion's gardens in desperate search of fresh air and temporary solitude. The grounds stretched endlessly around the estate, immaculate flower beds lining stone pathways that wound beneath ancient trees, while fountains scattered throughout the gardens filled the silence with the soothing sound of moving water.

I closed my eyes briefly and tilted my face toward the warmth of the afternoon sun, allowing myself the luxury of simply existing without fear pressing against my ribs.

"You should be resting."

The deep voice behind me wrapped itself around my spine before I even turned around.

I opened my eyes slowly.

"Do you have someone assigned specifically to monitor my movements," I asked as I looked over my shoulder, "or is appearing unexpectedly simply one of your many talents?"

Cade stood several feet away with his hands tucked neatly into the pockets of tailored black trousers, his dark shirt rolled to his forearms in a way that should have been entirely unremarkable and somehow wasn't. There was something unfair about how composed he always looked, even beneath sunlight that softened the harshness of his features just enough to make him seem almost human.

"You left the house alone."

"I'm in the garden." I replied.

"You left the house."

I folded my arms across my chest. "I wasn't aware I required supervision to admire flowers."

His gaze drifted over me briefly before returning to my face. "You've recently recovered from a head injury."

"I walked approximately fifty feet from the front door."

"You could still fall."

I stared at him, confused. One day I think he cares, the next day I have no idea what he's thinking.

"You're being ridiculous." I rolled my eyes.

"You nearly died."

The words settled between us heavily because I did nearly die. It wasn't some accident either it was my own mother. This past week, i've had a lot of time to think about Anissa, how I had to come to terms with the fact that she could do something as evil to her own daughter and that i'll never have the mother I wanted. I still have questions that need answering like where she is or what even happened when they found me.

"You sound like you care." I pointed out, part of me wanted to hear him admit it.

"I don't. I just don't want to deal with burning more bodies." He replied. Not a hint of regret in his eyes, he sounded like he meant it.

I went silent, feeling a little humiliated but most of all disappointed. I'm disappointed because I thought maybe it wasn't one sided. Because somewhere between being kidnapped, threatened, rescued and dragged back into this ridiculous mansion, I had developed feelings for the one man I absolutely should not have wanted anything to do with.

He was not the man women were supposed to fall in love with.

Unfortunately, nobody had bothered explaining that to my stupid heart.

I thought it would be best to walk away from him, but I wanted it to seem like he didn't just hurt my feelings. A lot.

"Burning bodies? Even that seems nice of you, I thought you were the type to do such a thing and never think twice about it again, letting them rot."

"I am. But this particular one deserved to burn in hell." One side of his mouth twitched up slightly, like he was hinting something, something he was proud of.

I looked at him, not knowing what kind of sick joke that was and he chuckled.

"I watched your mother's body burn after I shot the bitch in the head."

I stilled.

I didn't even breathe, I just started at him.

Somewhere inside me something cracked in a way I could not immediately name, because I had spent a lifetime trying to convince myself that my mother's absence had been a form of neglect rather than something more deliberate and cruel, and hearing Cade confirm it so casually forced me to confront the fact that the woman who was supposed to protect me had not only abandoned me but had also actively chosen to ensure I would not exist safely in the world she helped create.

She risked her life, just so she could torture me even if it was her last moments.

The honesty in his tone should have comforted me in its clarity, yet instead it left me feeling unsteady because it reminded me once again of exactly who he was and what he was capable of without hesitation or remorse. I should have stepped away from him then, should have used that moment to reinforce every boundary I had been trying to build since arriving here, but instead I found myself still standing in front of him, unable to move as though my body had forgotten how distance worked when he was near.

"She's gone, Kelly. You can do what you like now." and with those words he walked away, leaving me to the thoughts in my head.

I wasn't sad, or grieving, I was just shocked. Even though she did nothing but make my life a misery, she was still apart of me, and that part of me is now gone.

I don't blame Cade for what he did, i'm not even angry with him, I hated her. It was the way he delivered it. He truly does not care about anyone's feelings, nor does he have any.