Accepting Owen (Emilia's Perspective)

Chapter Fifteen

We woke from our nap in time for dinner, and I wore a red sundress with sandals to the dining hall. Owen was dressed in pair of khaki shorts with a white t-shirt. We asked one of the wait staff take some photos of us, and she was excited to help.

After we had taken out pictures, we sat at a table. "I hear the water," Owen said, smiling brightly. "I can hear it hitting the sides of the boat. It doesn't even feel like we're moving."

I listened to the sounds of the waves, feeling my body sink into my chair as I relaxed. "It sounds like a white noise machine. We're in a walking meditation," I joked.

"It's soothing, for sure."

After we made our order with the waitress who approached our table, Owen squeezed my hand under the table and leaned over to give me a kiss on the cheek. "I'm so glad Malik chose me," he whispered.

I smiled brightly at him. "I am, too. This is exactly what I wanted my marriage to feel like. I didn't think it would be so easy. I hoped for it, but I always halfway expected the person to not like me and try to reject me."

He sipped at his wine after the waitress poured his glass. "I could never reject you. There are some things we need to talk about, though."

I clicked my teeth together to cage my tongue as anxiety shot through me. "Okay?" I said, unsure.

"Do you think we should move to Chicago?"

I chuckled, rolling my eyes at how much he'd scared me for something we'd already talked about a few times before. "I don't mind either way. Like I said, my brother is there. My dad wants us to move there because he thinks EJ will be helpful in getting you involved." I purposefully left out the part about my brother keeping an eye on my husband to make sure he was good to me.

"Why doesn't he do it? While we're here."

"Dad doesn't have the kind of time." I took a drink of my red wine. "Dad has too much on his plate as it is. EJ only has Chicago so he's much freer. Plus, apparently, my dad has some concerns about his health and I completely forgot to ask him about those with everything going on. Shit."

"That's okay. Like Elijah said, if it's super important I'm sure he'll tell you. He probably just didn't want to worry you before there was anything to really worry about."

I sighed, trying to accept what he was saying. "I'm worried anyway. He's always been a little distant but he's a good dad. If something happened to him, my mom would go crazy and she's the glue of our family."

"She has never talked to me at all."

I sighed again, this time heavier. "My parents believe that women are meant to be quiet. Mom is strong, but she's silent most of the time. I think she used to be more... alive, but she's just been in this for too long. I remember when I was little she used to scream at my dad about how dangerous our lives were and how she always thought we were at risk. She doesn't have any of that in her anymore, but she's bored now. Bruni is a much bigger name now, so Dad isn't often in real, feasible danger. I think she misses the thrill of it. She just stays quiet now."

"I can't imagine her screaming at Malik," he said quietly.

"When we were little, especially after what happened with Malcolm, my mom was terrified the he just wouldn't come home sometimes. She had two kids at home, one of whom was just betrothed to another child. If something happened to my dad, my brother would've been expected to learn very quickly how to step up."

"When he was a kid?" Owen said, furrowing his eyebrows together in confusion.

"Yeah, even as a kid. He never really was a kid though. He was just a small adult. His entire life he's been a fighter." I flashed back for a moment to holding him in my lap as he sobbed over the first person he killed. He'd only been ten years old, and had shot a man to prove himself to my dad and the men around him. I was eight, then. He was so disgusted and heart broken.

Elijah described the entire situation to me, as I played with his bloodied hair to try to calm him.  Dad had told him there was someone stealing from the family, and he expected Elijah to be a man and stop it. They'd tied the man to a chair and gagged him, but he still pleaded for forgiveness.

Dad stood further away as our Uncle Finn put a gun in Elijah's hand. Elijah had stared at it for awhile before he pulled the gun up, and pointed it at his face. The man screamed against the gag, with snot and tears running down his face, as he rocked slightly in the chair trying to get away.

Elijah said the man begged for a chance until the gun fired, when Elijah turned his head away and pulled the trigger. He told me how it felt as they made him cut the ropes off the man, even though Elijah was trembling to his core. Then he and Uncle Finn carried the corpse to the car, which was when he felt blood raining down on him.

Elijah slept in my bed for several nights after, needing to feel loved and supported. Dad told Elijah the next morning how proud he was for his strength, and for how he didn't she'd a single tear. He told him he was going to be a wonderful leader.

"Baby," Owen said, shaking me out of my memories. "Are you okay?"

I blinked a few times, taking in my surroundings. I blew out a breath as I remembered where I was. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine," I mumbled.

"What happened? Is something wrong?"

"No." I shook my head, looking down at the plate in front of me. How long has this been here? "I just relived a memory I haven't thought about in awhile."

He looked me up and down, like he was checking for something, before nodding and taking a bite of his food.