The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 185 - One Hundred and Eighty-Five

Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Five

Malachi’s POV

"Alicia, please. I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to protect you. Zhao Wei just tried to kidnap you. You’re not safe—"

"I wasn’t safe with you either. That’s why I left."

The words hit harder than any bullet.

"I know. I know you’re afraid of me. I know what you heard on those recordings. I know I’m not the man you thought I was." I took a step toward her. She took a step back. "But I’m the father of your child. And I’m not going to let anything happen to either of you."

Silence.

Her face went white. "How... how did you..."

"I know, Alicia. I know you’re pregnant. I know you’re carrying my baby. And I know you’d rather be anywhere in the world than here with me right now."

Tears started falling down her face. "Please leave. Please just leave me alone."

"I can’t do that."

"Why not? Why can’t you just let me go?"

"Because I love you."

The words hung in the air. Raw. Honest. More vulnerable than I’d been in my entire life.

"You don’t love me. You don’t even know what love is."

"Maybe not. Maybe I’m so broken that I don’t know the difference between love and obsession. But I know I’d die before I let anything happen to you. I know I’d burn the world down to keep you safe. And I know that our child deserves better than growing up without a father."

"Our child deserves better than growing up around a monster."

There it was. The truth she’d been too afraid to say.

I was a monster. And she didn’t want our baby exposed to what I was.

"You’re right," I said quietly. "I am a monster. I’ve done terrible things. Things that would make you sick if you knew the details. I’ve hurt people. Killed people. Laughed while they begged."

She flinched.

"But I’ve never claimed to be anything else. I’ve never pretended to be good. The difference between me and most monsters is that I only hurt people who deserve it. Who’ve hurt my family. Who’ve threatened what’s mine."

"That doesn’t make it better."

"I know. But it’s the truth." I looked at her directly. "I can’t promise I’ll change. Can’t promise I’ll become someone you can look at without fear. But I can promise that you and our child will always be safe. That I’ll protect you from everything. Including myself if I have to."

"How? How can you protect us from yourself?"

"I don’t know yet. But I’ll figure it out. Because the alternative is losing you. And I can’t do that."

Marco stepped forward. "I think you should leave now. She’s made it clear she doesn’t want you here."

I ignored him. Kept my eyes on Alicia.

"I’m not asking you to come back. I’m not asking you to trust me. I’m just asking you to let me help. Let me protect you until Zhao is dealt with. Then I’ll leave. I’ll give you whatever space you need."

"I don’t believe you."

"I know."

"You’ll just keep coming back. Keep finding me. Keep trying to control me."

"Maybe. Probably." I took a breath. "But right now, Zhao Wei knows where you are. He just sent twelve armed men to take you. Next time he’ll send more. Better. And he won’t stop until he has you."

"Then I’ll leave. I’ll go somewhere else."

"Where? He found you in Italy. He’ll find you wherever you go. The only way to stop him is to eliminate the threat."

"And you can do that?"

"Yes."

She stared at me. Trying to decide if I was telling the truth.

"If I let you help. If I let you deal with Zhao. You’ll leave after? You’ll let me live my life?"

Every instinct screamed at me to say no. To tell her I’d never let her go. That she and our child belonged with me.

But I forced the words out. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Yes. If that’s what you want."

"I want you to leave now."

"Alicia—"

"Leave. Let me think. Let me... I need time."

I wanted to argue. Wanted to tell her there was no time. That Zhao would try again soon.

But I could see the exhaustion on her face. The fear. The overwhelming stress of everything that had just happened.

Pushing her now would only make things worse.

"Okay. I’ll leave. But I’m not going far. And if Zhao makes another move, I’m coming back."

She nodded. Didn’t say anything else.

I looked at Alessandro. At Marco. "Keep her safe. Double your security. He’ll try again."

"We don’t need your advice," Marco said coldly.

"Maybe not. But you need my help. Whether you want to admit it or not."

I walked toward the door. Stopped. Looked back at Alicia one more time.

She was watching me. Hand on her stomach. Protecting our child even now.

"I meant what I said," I told her. "I love you. And I’m going to make sure you’re safe. No matter what it costs."

Then I left before I could change my mind.

Before I could do what every instinct demanded and lock her in a room where I could protect her.

Maurice was waiting in the hallway. "We should go before they call the police."

"They won’t call the police. The Morettis don’t involve authorities any more than we do."

We made our way out. The fighting had stopped. Zhao’s men were gone. Some dead. Some fled.

The Moretti estate looked like a war zone.

We got in the car. Drove away.

"What now?" Maurice asked.

"Now I eliminate Zhao Wei. Permanently."

"And Alicia?"

"I keep my word. I give her space. Let her decide what she wants."

"You think she’ll choose you?"

"No. But I can hope."

My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.

I opened it.

A photo. Of Alicia. Taken through a window. Her hand on her stomach.

Below it, a message.

She’s beautiful when she’s pregnant. Shame I’ll have to kill the bastard she’s carrying.

- Zhao

I showed Maurice.

"He knows about the baby."

"Looks like it."

"He’s threatening her. Threatening my child."

"Yes."

I stared at the message. At the threat to everything I’d ever cared about.

And I made a decision.

Zhao Wei was a dead man.

I’d just given him all the mercy he was ever going to get.

Now I was going to show him exactly what kind of monster he’d made the mistake of threatening.

And when I was done, there wouldn’t be enough left of him to bury.

That was a promise.