Chapter 167

The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 167 BOOK 3 CHAPTER 3 ~DANTE~

I pick Willow up into my arms and carry her downstairs near a fire pit.

“Why does this keep happening to her?” I ask my mother. “It doesn’t make any sense. Even the doctors don’t know what is wrong with her.”

I’m tired of seeing her like this. Anya asked me to protect her sister and I wasn’t doing a damn good job at it. If she was here, she would be disappointed with me. I hate myself for not granting her wish.

Why couldn’t the doctors help her by now? What more was needed to help her?

“It is a bit strange,” Autumn whispers. “I’m worried about her.”

I was also, but not because I cared about her. I was worried because I promised Anya that I would protect her. I didn’t want to break my promise to her.

She wanted me to marry her sister to give her a better life. What good was marrying her if I couldn’t figure out what was happening to her?

“Just keep her close to the fire Dante.” My mother orders me. “If it’s anything like the last time, she would be okay in a few minutes.”

I did as she said. I held Willow close to me. It was the first time I was willingly holding her like this. I’ve made sure to keep a distance between us in the past. However, today was the first day I allowed myself to be this close.

I don’t know why. I can’t explain it.

I can’t stop myself as I gently move her hair out of her face. I couldn’t deny that Willow was beautiful, very beautiful. She was like a breath of fresh air in my dull life. She was someone I had to keep away from my darkness; if she got any closer, it would pull her in and destroy her life just like it had done to mine.

Willow looked nothing like Anya. I was scared at one point that she would remind me of her sister; I was terrified that it would be painful if she did. However, it turns out that not only did she look nothing like Anya, but she also had a completely different personality. They were two completely different women.

I didn’t know how to feel about it. Part of me hoped that I could find some of Anya in Willow, while a more significant part of me wanted the opposite.

I could feel her skin returning to its average temperature, and I let go of a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

“Her color is returning,” Autumn says.

“What’s happening?” Clarissa asks as she enters the room.

“Did something happen to Willow?” She gasped when her eyes fell on her.

Before anyone could answer, Willow opened her eyes; I was the first person she saw. Her lips part, and her cheeks turn a bright red.

Her reaction confused me. She almost looked flushed under my gaze.

“How are you feeling?” I ask her.

She bites down on her lip before saying softly, “I’m fine. Did it happen again?”

I nod, and her eyes grow sad. “Am I going to die?”

My jaw clenches at her question; it’s the last thing I expected her to ask me. I don’t know why I felt angry because of that one question. It made no sense to me.

“Of course not,” I growl. “You’re not going to die. Anya asked me to keep you safe, and I’ll do just that. We called a different doctor. I hope this one will have more answers than the last, and even if he doesn’t, we will find someone else. I won’t stop until I get some f*****g answers.”

She looks surprised by my response. It took me a few seconds to realize I was still holding her. I abruptly let go of her and stood back, letting my family take over for me.

I don’t say anything else as I storm out of there. I didn’t want to care for Willow. I didn’t want to worry over her, and I sure as hell didn’t want to hold her like I did just a moment ago.

I knew Anya never loved me, and I knew that she used me since the beginning. I knew everything after her death. However, that didn’t change the way I felt about her. She claimed that I was under a spell; she claimed that I would forget about my feelings for her after she was gone.

It’s been weeks since then, and I still haven’t recovered. I think I love her even more now that she’s gone.

“Hey,” Damon says as he joins me outside. “Can we talk?”

My hand tightens into a fist at my side. I didn’t want to talk to him. Things were still rocky between us. It was hard to forgive Damon for stuff he’d done in the past. He was my brother, I knew that, and I would die before I let anyone hurt him. However, I was still so damn pissed. He should have told me the truth.

Instead, he kept me in the dark. If I’d known, then Anya may have still been alive today.

“Now is not a good time Damon.”

“When will it ever be a good time, Dante?” He demands. “I’ve said I’m sorry a million times. Tell me, what can I do to fix this?”

I spun around and growled at him. “Go back in time and undo what you did. Maybe then I could forgive you.”

He sighs and throws his hands in the air. “You’re never going to let this go, are you!”

I don’t answer his question. Even I don’t have the answer to give to him.

“At least answer me this.” He says suddenly. “When the hell are you planning on stopping?”

“Stopping?”

“Yes.” He says. “I know about the fighting ring. When are you going to give it up? Don’t you think you’ve suffered enough already?”

I want to laugh out loud at his question. Suffered enough already?

I could never suffer enough after letting Anya die. Never.