"That's it. Again. In and out. You're safe. You're safe now."
"They killed her." The words tear out of me. "The Kozlovs. They came to the house. Just like this. Guns and masks and—"
"When?" His voice is gentle.
"I was eight. Hiding under the dining room table." Tears are streaming down my face, mixing with snot and I don't care. "I watched them shoot her. Watched her fall. Watched the blood pool and I couldn't—I was too scared to help her."
"Aurora."
"I should have done something! Should have tried to save her instead of hiding like a coward!"
"You were eight years old." His voice is firm now. "You were a child. Hiding wasn't cowardice. It was survival."
"She died alone—"
"She died knowing you were safe. That's what mothers do." He pulls me into his arms. "She would want you to survive."
I collapse against him, sobbing. Great, ugly, horrible sobs that shake my whole body.
He holds me through it. One hand in my hair, the other around my waist, keeping me together while I fall apart.
"I'm sorry," he murmurs. "I'm so fucking sorry. For all of it."
"Why—" I hiccup. "Why are you trying to end the engagement?"
He's quiet for a long moment.
"Because I heard Leo. On the phone. Bragging to a friend about what he's going to do to you after the wedding." His arms tighten. "About breaking you in. Making you pay for rejecting him in college."
My blood goes cold.
"He was bragging about assaulting you again," Axel continues, voice rough. "About owning you. And I—I can't let that happen."
"So you told my father?"
"I told him I want to end the engagement. That Leo isn't suitable. I didn't tell him why. Didn't tell him about us, about the baby." He pauses. "But I need to apologize to you."
"For what?"
"For my son trying to assault you in college." His jaw clenches. "For raising a monster who thinks he has the right to your body. For not seeing what he was before I arranged this nightmare."
Fresh tears spill over.
"And Leo's fighting this cancellation," I whisper.
"Yes. Because he's obsessed with owning you. With proving he can have what he wants." Axel pulls back to look at me. "And because he thinks I want you."
My breath catches.
"He accused me of wanting you for myself. And I didn't deny it."
The air between us shifts.
"This is insane," I breathe.
"I know."
Outside, the gunfire stops.