Enraptured

Chapter 87

After I had spent the rest of the evening with my family, thoroughly reminding my wife how much I loved her, I decided to take the next day off to explain to her what I had been doing these last couple of weeks. I had originally wanted to keep it hidden from her in fear of stressing her out more than necessary, but it seemed that my secretive nature only caused more harm than good.

I told her I had been working with my father and brother to find the people who were targeting her. Explaining how we had found the woman who pushed her down the stairs the first time I ran out of the house in the rush. How we had been trying to get more information out of her ever since to find the other people supporting her from behind.

To quell her worries, I had to tell her about the dark side of our family that I had tried so hard to hide. Although I didn't go into detail about it, I had to explain how we couldn't do everything to the book due to the number of enemies that came with holding one of the most powerful companies in the world.

She was a bit appalled at first, slightly taken aback by the fact that I had physically harmed another human being before.

I figured she might've reacted like that, given her past, but I also knew I couldn't hide it from her forever.

With time, she eventually calmed down and accepted the fact that I would have to hurt other people if I wanted to stay alive in this world. Reminding herself that I had only ever hurt bad people who tried to hurt me first.

I gently combed my fingers through her hair, trying to soothe her anxieties.

She looked up at me warily and asked, "But what about the police? Won't they arrest you if they find out what you have been doing?"

I chuckled quietly and reminded her, "Love, I basically own the entirety of New York City. There is not a single thing that happens in this city that I don't know about. No government official or officer in their right mind would try to intervene with my actions."

Her mouth dropped into a small circle in surprise.

Rubbing small circles on the back of her hand, I continued softly, "But even though I have all this power, I still wasn't able to keep you safe... It is something I would spend the rest of my life repenting for..."

Her facial features softened as she took my cheek in her hand, turning my head to meet her eyes. "It wasn't your fault, Metri... You can't know everything in the world... Besides, I'm alright now, aren't I?"

I sighed as I melted into her hand. "But I still should've done better... If I had just insisted on keeping your guards by your side while you're at work.... Or if I had just left a bit early that day... You wouldn't have had to go through all of that..."

She tenderly smoothed her thumb over my cheek and replied, "You couldn't have expected that to happen, so please don't beat yourself over it."

I nodded solemnly as I closed my eyes and leaned even further into her touch.

"What do you plan to do now?"

I pursued my lips and mumbled, "I might have to interrogate Rose next..."

Her chest stilled underneath me, making me crack an eye open in confusion.

"Is something wrong, Belle?"

She bit her lower lip nervously as she looked down at me. "It's just that it seems a bit cruel to treat her so harshly... I can't imagine what it would feel like to be interrogated by the person you love..."

"You're much too soft for your own good, Belle..." I sighed, "I don't want to believe that she would go far as harming you, but it was far too much of a coincidence for me to simply overlook her actions..."