THE MAFIA’S ORPHAN WIFE

THE NIGHTMARE

THE WRONG DECISION

Chapter 8: The Nightmare

I woke up screaming.

Sweat on my skin. Heart pounding.

The same dream. James’s hands. Sarah’s laugh.

The door burst open. Adrian.

"Lanny?" He was in sweatpants again. Hair messy. "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing," I gasped. "Just a nightmare."

He didn’t believe me. He sat on the edge of my bed.

"Talk to me," he said.

So I did. I told him about James. About the hitting. About the day I found them.

When I finished, my face was wet.

Adrian was quiet. Then he did something I didn’t expect.

He pulled me into a hug.

Not s****l. Not fake. Just... warm. Solid.

"I’ve got you," he murmured into my hair. "No one hurts you again. Not while you’re mine."

I cried into his shirt.

For the first time in years, someone believed me.

"Adrian?" I whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Why me? You could have any woman."

He pulled back just enough to look at me. "Because you didn’t want anything from me. You just wanted to survive."

He wiped a tear from my cheek with his thumb.

"And because you’re brave," he added softly. "Braver than anyone I know."

He stayed until I fell asleep.

On my floor. Like a guard dog.

When I woke up, there was a blanket over me and a note:

`Sleep. I’ll handle the monsters. - A`