“I don’t need any thanks. What’s got you emotional?” he whispers.
“You. The way you are with the kids. You have been a blessing to us.” I let out a quiet sob.
“Shhh.” He rubs his hand down my hair. “It’s okay. I love you, and I love those kids. Everything is fine.”
“I know. That’s it. These are happy tears, Maxim. You have done so much for them already. They are miles away from the children they were when we saved them.”
“You are too, Olena. It’s going to take time, but our little family is going to be all right. Look around. We have family surrounding us. They will help raise the children to be strong and smart. We aren’t alone anymore.Youaren’t alone.”
His words are like a calming balm to my soul. This isn’t the first time he has said them, but they are still impactful. I need his reassurances. They help me sort through the thoughts in my head.
“You are an amazing man,” I tell him, pulling back to look in his eyes.
“Only because I have you.”
It’s a lie. I know it is because Ivy, Lia, and Thea have all told me about how amazing Maxim has always been. He doesn’t seehimself like the others around him do. That much is obvious from the way he talks about himself sometimes.
Even when we talk about the way he saved us, he doesn’t see himself as a hero.
I think he still feels guilt for the ones he put into the very system he was trying to break. He hasn’t admitted it, but we will get there. I learned from him that talking about our demons can help chase them away.
I want to be that for him the same way he has been that for me.
Maxim wipes the tears from my face before leaning down and kissing each eye. I soak in his love and warmth as he kisses each cheek, then my nose, before finally settling on my lips.
I sink into his kiss, pressing my own against his so that he can feel the way I feel about him.
When I met him, I thought my life was over. I thought he was going to be the man that ruined me.
Instead, he took all the pieces I let fall apart and helped put me back together one piece at a time. He took his time and showed me that he wasn’t the man I believed him to be.
He went from my damnation to my savior.
Pulling back, I smile up at him. “I’m grateful for you.”
He gives me that silly grin. “I’m grateful for you.”
“Good. Now you better start grilling. I’m getting hungry.”
He lets out a boisterous laugh. “We can’t have that now, can we?”
He swats my ass as I walk away, and I look back, giving him a coy smile.
This is it. This is the life I almost lost.
Maxim doesn’t believe he is a savior, but he is.
He saved me.
I’ve kept my eye on Olena all day.
Who am I kidding? I always keep an eye on her. The children too.
Daryna has flourished in her new environment. She’s resilient. Whatever she saw in that house seems to have fled from her mind. I worry she is suppressing it, but she seems to be happy, so I’ve let her live.
Everyone dotes on her too. She is the little princess of the Bratva. Especially Nikolai.
He’s been waiting for Lia to be ready for children, but I can see it in his eyes. He wants them sooner rather than later.
