The Foiled Plan (War of Sins Book 2)

We’re the only two people here among hundreds of dead.

As he’d set out to do, Raf had bought a mausoleum for his parents where he’d had them interred together with Michele’s body.

Today is a milestone for him though. It’s the first time he’s visited his parents’ graves since he arrived back in New York.

Over time, he’s opened up about them, and I’d found out that for all the issues in their family, he’d had a good childhood, and his parents had loved him. His mother, one might say, had loved him a little too much—to the detriment of Michele and Gianna.

The mausoleum door is open, but he doesn’t go in yet. He’s just staring longingly at the edifice.

‘What sort of a son am I, when I’m only now paying my respects to my parents?’ He shakes his head, pursing his lips in self-castigation.

‘They would have understood,’ I tell him, slipping my hand through his and offering him my silent support.

‘The last I saw of my father was after Sisi disappeared,’ he starts, his gaze distant. ‘I expected him to chastise me. To tell me off for the failed wedding. Instead, he just patted me on the back and told me he was sorry.’

I squeeze his hand in comfort.

‘My father wasn’t an emotive man. Yet in that moment he showed more emotion than I’d ever seen from him. I felt his love—for the first time.’

‘Do you think he knew about Michele? That he wasn’t his son?’

‘I think he always suspected. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been so adamant about me succeeding him when tradition dictates that the eldest should be the heir.’

‘Why didn’t he say anything, then?’

‘Because it would have shamed him. To have an unfaithful wife who saddled him with a bastard son would have been extremely shameful. The entire family name would have suffered for it.’

‘Instead, it was your brother who suffered, and he never knew why.’

He nods, a pained expression on his face.

‘My father was mostly absent in our lives since he was always chasing one financial high after another, mostly ending up unsuccessful,’ he chuckles. ‘But my mother was always there for me. For every step of the way,’ he takes a deep breath, moving forward as he places his palm on the door of the mausoleum.

‘I always felt bad about deceiving her with my handicap. Because even though she thought me useless, even though she saw me as nothing but a burden, she still cared for me as if nothing happened. Sometimes I wonder if she convinced herself of that…’ A sad smile plays at his lips.

‘It sounds like your mother loved you a lot.’

‘She did. I know she was awful to Michele and to Gianna. But to me she was the best mother I could have asked for. She loved me even when she thought I was defective, and in essence,’ he looks down at me, ‘I think that’s the definition of love.’

‘She taught you a wonderful thing, then, Raf. Because not everyone knows how to love,’ I tell him gently. ‘Not everyone knows how to be a decent human being.’

His lips spread in a tight smile.

‘She certainly wasn’t practicing what she was preaching,’ he chuckles. ‘She was only a decent human being with me, and I’ll always have those fond memories…’ he trails off and I can sense the conflict within him—the fact that the mother he’d loved had been awful to everyone else.

‘She may have been an enemy to your sister and brother, but she was still your mother. Just because she was a bad person doesn’t erase the fact that she was, in fact, a good mother to you.’

‘Thank you,’ he murmurs. ‘I needed to hear that. Sometimes I find myself hating her, even though I still love her,’ he confesses.

‘You miss her,’ I state, and he nods numbly, his eyes misted with tears.

‘It’s ok to mourn her, Raf. You’ve held back until now, haven’t you?’ I ask tentatively, because until this point he hasn’t really let himself face the reality that his parents were dead.

‘I don’t know how to feel about them,’ he says brokenly. ‘I’m sad they’re gone, but I also know that, objectively, they weren’t good people.’

‘Raf…’

‘I miss them. Does that make me a bad person too?’ he asks quietly.

I pull at his arm, tugging him towards me. His brows go up in question, but as I bring my hands to his face, cradling his head and bringing it to my shoulder, he doesn’t object.

I gently caress his face, feeling his suffering as my own.

‘It doesn’t make you a bad person,’ I whisper. ‘It makes you human. So grieve, my love. Let yourself feel the pain. Because they were your parents. And no one can take that from you.’

I hold on to him as he sobs quietly.

This giant of a man is leaning on me—both literally and figuratively—trusting me with his vulnerability.

‘Thank you,’ he whispers in my hair after some time.

His arms come around me as he molds me to his body, his heat transferring to me.

‘Humans are never black and white. You may care for me now, but before, you saw me as the enemy,’ I murmur as I caress his cheek, my eyes meeting his. ‘We’re always going to be the bad guy in someone’s life.’

‘Indeed,’ he nods.

‘That doesn’t mean we should stop celebrating the good, does it?’ I give him a small smile. ‘We have no control over how people perceive us, whether purposefully or not.’

‘You’re right,’ his lips tug up in a smile in spite of his sadness. ‘You’re so wise for one so small,’ he pats my head, ruffling my hair.

‘Hey,’ I pout, ‘I’m not that small.’

‘You’re small enough for me to do this,’ he says, immediately scooping me up and taking me in his arms—or rather, one arm—and proving to me that I am, indeed, that small.

‘Raf,’ I choke on a giggle, ‘you’re going to drop me, put me down.’

‘Not going to drop you,’ he lays a loud smooch on my temple, and with me in his arms, he takes a step inside the mausoleum, finally making the courage to face his parents.

The three tombs are all laid side by side.

‘There’s no place for another one,’ I add, thinking he’d want to be buried with his family at some point.

‘There’s no need for another,’ he shrugs.

‘But…’

‘I have a new family,’ he cuts me off. ‘You‘re my new family. And that’s where I’ll spend my eternity. With you by my side.’

I blink at him, his words taking me by surprise.

‘Raf,’ I whisper.

‘I’m not willing to part with you. Not even in death,’ he tells me, the light hitting his piercing eyes at an angle and making them even more intense.

‘You’re so sweet,’ I blink back tears. ‘So very sweet,’ I bring my cheek to nuzzle his.

He lowers me gently to the floor, and taking my hand in his, he points towards his mother’s tomb.

‘Hello, mamma,’ he clears his voice. ‘I’m sorry I haven’t been here until now,’ he pauses, taking a deep breath. ‘I love you and I will remember you fondly as the best mother I could have hoped for.’

Bringing his other hand up, he wipes at the moisture in his eyes.

‘I wanted you to meet someone,’ he tugs me closer to him. ‘This is Noelle, my wife, and she is my heart,’ he says with so much sincerity, my own feelings threaten to overwhelm me. ‘I wish you could have met her. She’s the strongest woman I’ve ever known, and against all odds, she’s charmed her way into my heart.’

I swallow hard, listening to his words and realizing once more how much I love this man, and how much he loves me back.

‘You would have liked her. She has such a kind and gentle soul…’ he stifles a sob. ‘She brought light into my life when I thought everything was doomed. She’s a pianist, like you, and God, if you heard her play… She has the ability to hypnotize people when her fingers hit the keys. She’s so talented… You would have really loved her.’

‘Thank you for your son, Mrs. Guerra,’ I add when he pauses. Surprised, he turns to me, but I just continue. ‘You’ve raised a gentleman. He is the best man I know, and he truly makes me happy. I’ve never met someone as sweet and loyal as your son. He makes me feel safe when my own shadow scares me. He’s there for me when the entire world is against me. I have no words to describe how much I love him and how much I’ll continue to love him. Please know I will take care of him,’ I say as my hand brushes against the cold stone.

‘Noelle…’ Raf groans.

‘I love your mother, just for the simple fact that she gave me you.‘

‘Pretty girl, you’re killing me,’ he whispers, taking both my hands in his and bringing them to his lips.

‘It’s the truth. Nothing but the truth.’

‘Sometimes I have a feeling that ours was meant to be,’ he says as he peppers kisses on insides my wrists ‘That everything I went through, every little thing that seemed insurmountable at the time, brought me one step closer to you. That all that suffering was the price I had to pay to find you.’

‘You’re making me cry,’ I turn my head to the side, blushing profusely.

‘Against all odds we found each other, Noelle. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.’

‘Me neither,’ I whisper. ‘Never.’

‘I adore you, my little piece of heaven,’ he murmurs, bringing his lips on mine for the sweetest kiss.

‘I love you, Raf. Forever and ever,’ I speak against his lips.

‘Forever and ever,’ his words linger in my ears.