Mines Forever: A Vallea Mafia Romance Story - Chapter 79: Chapter 83

Verena
He furrowed his brows slightly, as if his dream troubled his mind. His grip around my waist tightened as I tensed up as he kept saying, "I should've been there to protect you", over and over again, his voice filled with regret. It is unnerving to see Eryx this way while he is in deep slumber. A sorrowful expression was evident in the corners of his downturned mouth. He was hiding his true emotions while awake and tried to get me to be more vulnerable, but Eryx was doing a pissed, poor job of dealing with his skeletons.
There were so many things running through my mind just now. Is it referring to protecting me or someone else? Eryx's grip on my waist tightens to the point where his hands begin shaking, and immediately places my hands on his back, "Eryx", I repeat over and over again, trying to push him to wake up being since I can sense he might be having a nightmare. Eryx suddenly opens his eyes and gasps for air and looks directly into my eyes as I place my hands against his cheek.
"Did you have a nightmare?". Eryx breathes in and out as he tries to get control of himself. "I wouldn't call it a nightmare, just something I suffer with from time to time while sleeping".
I raise my eyebrows, "Sounds exactly like a nightmare. Don't worry, your secret's safe with me.", I then wink, trying to ease the tension a bit in the car as we head to our destination within the mountains before our face-to-face meeting with the Sinclairs. After a while, Eryx doesn't say anything back to me, making me even more worried than before that something is truly wrong with him. Eryx takes hold of my hand, "Do not worry yourself about me, Verena, I am perfectly fine. I just have trouble sleeping. I promise it's nothing serious".
I sense deception in his answer. He is hiding something from me.
"I thought we were not going to hide anymore secrets. If you share the reason behind why you can't sleep, I will share a secret of my own, deal". I then stretch out my hand, waiting for him to hopefully reach for it back so I can figure out what is going on.
Eryx scratches his head, "Fine, you win, I've had nightmares for over 10 years now—the same nightmare: seeing my mother covered in blood while I wept with sadness that I wasn't there the night they murdered her." I feel a sense of guilt and shame for not being cautious about the company I was keeping around and cost my mother's life".
I had no idea that Eryx had been suffering this long with this ordeal. Over the years, the conversations around his mother, Angelina, have always been censored to the point where I knew little to nothing about her.
"I'm sorry about you losing your mom, but one thing I know for certain is that she had a great impact on you and your brothers." Eryx stares off to the side, looking out the opposite window of the vehicle, "She was the light of my dad, and my brother's world. I lost her, and I will show no mercy to anyone involved in her murder. Let them live far, quite too long, thinking I had forgotten or simply did not care about my mother's death".
I lean forward and place my head on Eryx's shoulder, "You will get your revenger. We will start with the Sinclairs, see if they know anything, if so then they will be our first examples we show to the rest of the mafia world to mess with the Valleas".
I can feel Eryx's eyes on me, "I like the sound of you saying 'we' as he places his hand around my shoulder. "I'm sure you do, but I am your family, you know, we are partners in this, you and me. There are aspects of this mafia world I can help you with if you would stop being overbearing, allow me to use my feminine charm to get the answers you seek. You don't always have to kill everyone to make a point".
Eryx rubbed his hand down my arm, "There's no fun if I cannot make an example of someone. I need to drive the point across".
I snort, "Violence doesn't always solve anything Ryx. No wonder you keep getting dead ends, you keep killing every person before you truly know the answers to everything. Sometimes it's best to wait things out". Eryx then places his fingers against my chin, tilting it so I can look directly at him.
"I do not have the luxury to always wait things out. I can be patient when I desire to be, but have an empire to run, and if someone cannot obey my order,s then I will get rid of them, plain and simple".
I place my hand against his chest, "You will never be satisfied if you always seek revenge".
Eryx responds back, "If only I did not grow up in this dangerous mafia world, I probably would think the same way as you, Cherie, but unfortunately I did not grow up with my mind being tainted with whimsical things. I was given one opportunity to be my father's successor, and I have accomplished that. I was never granted the opportunity to grow up and be gullible and naïve. Everything I saw was dangerous, deadly, and chaotic. The only way I truly stop this madness I have faced and witnessed is to become the very thing you fear me the most to be, a monster"
I swallow my reservations and avoid eye contact with Eryx. Eryx then turns my face so I can look at him once more. "Tell me that I am the monster you are afraid of.. Tell me, Rena, so I can no longer wonder if you are afraid of me".
He places his hands against my arms. I close my eyes for a second before I open them to look back at him, "I was afraid of what you have become, but I am not afraid of you. I think I just wanted to see this version of you years ago. You took that away from me, making me fall for something that was never real".
Eryx ponders over my response, not with anger in his eyes but with understanding. "Good to know I married a strong woman who is not afraid to see someone getting beheaded,".
I laugh in response to Eryx's dark humor. "Good to know I'm not the only one who has a fetish for sharp things".
Eryx has a twisted but lustful look in his eyes. "I can do a lot of things to you with those sharp things".
"I'm sure you can, but right now my only concern is taking a hot shower, a nap, and trying to prepare for seeing that trifling bitch Ryen again after all these years".
I dreaded seeing Ryen, whom I considered my adversary; she was untrustworthy, and I wouldn't trust her at all. The vehicle then stops as we make our way to a beautiful four-level glass house that sits in the middle of the snowy mountains of Evergreen.
"This is beautiful, I don't bother to wait on Eryx as I jump out of the car, and because I am ready to get out of these bloody clothes and take a shower. Just as I make it close to the porch, I squeal when lifted into the air suddenly. Eryx carries me bridal style, "Woman, it is not safe for you to run off like that." Eryx turns and tells many of the lieutenants who have traveled alongside us for this mission.
"Check each floor of the house, I'm not entering this place until I know for sure nothing seems off". I think, "Eryx, please, I need to shower". Eryx shakes his head, "Don't argue with me right now, Rena. I'm making sure our safety is intact first". He then leans down so no one else can hear, "If you think you are going to be showering by yourself, you've got another thing coming".