Chapter 223

AUTHOR'S POV

4 MONTHS LATER 

Domenico stood beside the frail woman on her sick bed. There was a time when he would hold her hand, and she'd open those eyes and smile at him, but that had changed over the years. His mother's hatred for him intensified after Adler died. 

He could see the accusations in her eyes when she looked at him, and despite the fact that he was here because she had called for him, he still dreaded what he would face when she woke up.

His father, not his mother, was the source of the musty smell in the room, which was filled with heated blankets and old books.

Leaning against the wall with a shoulder, Domenico watched her face, his arms folded across his chest. Tempted to wake her up so they could get her guilt trips over with, Domenico resisted the urge instead, checking his watch and looking out of the window.

Finally, she stirred, and he held his breath, watching her lids flutter open before finally becoming stable. And t