The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 206 - Two Hundred And Six

Chapter Two Hundred And Six

Malachi’s POV

Planning a wedding while caring for a newborn was insane.

"We should have waited," I told Alicia one morning. Lia was crying. I hadn’t slept. And we had a meeting with the wedding planner in two hours.

"No. This is perfect. Chaotic, but perfect."

"How is this perfect?"

"Because Lia will be there. She’ll be part of it. Our whole family will be there. It’s exactly what I want."

She was right. As always.

The wedding was scheduled for mid-November. Six weeks away. Small ceremony in the villa’s garden. Just family.

Both families. Morettis and Blackwoods. Together.

It should have felt impossible. But somehow it worked.

Signora Moretti took over most of the planning. Flowers. Food. Music. She had opinions about everything.

"Italian weddings are sacred," she explained. "Everything must be perfect."

"It’s not really an Italian wedding," I pointed out. "Alicia’s American. I’m American."

"You’re marrying a Moretti. In Italy. With Italian family present. It’s an Italian wedding."

I didn’t argue.

Sophie helped with the guest list. Making sure everyone important was invited. Making sure we hadn’t forgotten anyone.

"Travis is coming, right?" she asked.

"Yes. And Emily."

"Together?"

"Apparently they’re serious now. Living together. Both still sober."

"That’s weird."

"Very weird."

"But good weird?"

"I’m still deciding."

Alicia was mostly focused on Lia. On making sure she was eating enough. Sleeping enough. Growing properly.

"She’s gained half a pound," Alicia announced one morning after a doctor’s visit.

"That’s good?"

"That’s perfect. She’s exactly where she should be."

"Of course she is. She’s our daughter."

"You say that like it guarantees perfection."

"Doesn’t it?"

She laughed. Kissed me. "You’re impossible."

"You love me anyway."

"Unfortunately."

Lia was eight weeks old now. More alert. More awake. More aware of her surroundings.

She’d started focusing on faces. Following sounds. Responding to voices.

"She knows us," Alicia said one afternoon. "Watch. Lia, baby, look at mama."

Lia’s eyes found Alicia’s face. Focused. And smiled.

"See? She knows me."

"She’s brilliant."

"All babies do this at eight weeks."

"Yes, but our baby does it better."

Maurice called with updates on the business. Everything was running smoothly. The transition was complete. The family was stable.

"You really did it," he said. "You walked away and everything’s fine."

"Better than fine by the sound of it."

"Yeah. Turns out not having Pa’s influence has been good for everyone. We’re making more legitimate deals. Fewer illegal operations. The family’s actually thriving."

"Good. That’s what I wanted."

"Do you miss it?"

"No. Not even a little bit."

"Not even the power?"

"Especially not the power. I have everything I need right here."

After we hung up, I found Alicia in the nursery. She was rocking Lia. Singing softly in Italian.

"Where did you learn that song?"

"Nonna taught me. It’s what she sang to my mother. What my mother probably would have sung to me if she’d lived longer."

"It’s beautiful."

"Everything about this is beautiful." She looked around the nursery. At the life we’d built. "Sometimes I can’t believe it’s real. That we’re really here. Really doing this."

"It’s real."

"I know. But a year ago I was married to Travis. Miserable. Trapped. And now..." She trailed off. "Now I have everything."

"So do I."

Lia fell asleep in Alicia’s arms. We transferred her to the crib. Watched her sleep.

"Six weeks until the wedding," Alicia said.

"Six weeks until you’re officially mine."

"I’m already yours."

"Officially."

"Officially," she agreed.

The next few weeks passed in a blur. Lia growing. Changing. Becoming more of a person every day.

The wedding preparations continued. Dress fittings. Menu tastings. Flower selections.

I let Alicia and Signora Moretti handle most of it. My only requirement was that it be small. Intimate. Just the people who mattered.

Travis called two weeks before the wedding.

"I need to talk to you," he said. "In person. It’s important."

"About what?"

"Just... can you meet me? Tomorrow? In town?"

We met at the same café where Alicia had signed the divorce papers. Full circle.

Travis looked good. Healthy. Clear-eyed. Sober.

Emily was with him.

"Thank you for meeting us," Emily said. She looked different too. Softer. Less haunted.

"What’s this about?" I asked.

Travis took a breath. "We’re getting married. Next month. And we wanted to tell you in person. Wanted to make sure you were okay with it before we made it official."

I processed that. Travis and Emily. Getting married.

"You don’t need my permission."

"Maybe not. But we want your blessing. Both of us. We know it’s complicated. We know the history. But we’re trying to build something new. Something better."

Emily spoke up. "I know I tried to destroy your family. I know I can’t take that back. But I’m different now. Travis is different. We’re helping each other heal. Helping each other be better."

"And you love him?" I asked her.

"Yes. Not the way I loved him before. Not the desperate, broken love. But something healthier. Something real."

I looked at Travis. "And you love her?"

"Yes. She understands me. Understands the darkness. Understands what it’s like to crawl out of it."

"Then you have my blessing. Both of you."

Relief flooded both their faces.

"Really?" Travis asked.

"Really. We all deserve second chances. We all deserve happiness. If you found it with each other, that’s good."

"Thank you," Emily said. "That means more than you know."

"Will you come to the wedding?" Travis asked. "I know it’s asking a lot—"

"We’ll be there. Alicia and I both."

After they left, I sat in the café thinking about everything.

A year ago, Emily had been Ghost. Plotting revenge. Trying to destroy us.

A year ago, Travis had been drunk and broken. Barely functional.

Now they were sober. Healing. Building a life together.

Everything changed. Everyone grew.

If they could find happiness after everything they’d been through, then maybe redemption was real.

Maybe healing was possible.

I went home and told Alicia.

"Travis and Emily are getting married."

"I know. He called me yesterday."

"And you’re okay with it?"

"I think so. They’re good for each other. They understand each other’s pain. That’s worth something."

"They want us at the wedding."

"Then we’ll go. Support them. Show them that we believe in second chances."

Lia started crying. Hungry.

Alicia fed her while I watched. Still amazed by all of it. By the normalcy. By the family we’d become.

"Two weeks until our wedding," Alicia said.

"Two weeks until I marry the woman I fell in love with three years ago."

"In a dark room."

"In the darkest room. On the worst night. And you were the only light I’d seen in years."

"That’s very poetic."

"You make me poetic."

"Good. I like poetic Malachi."

"What about other Malachi? Dark Malachi? Dangerous Malachi?"

"I like all of you. The dark and the light. The monster and the man. All of it."

"Even though the monster scares you sometimes?"

"Even then. Because the monster protects us. Protects Lia. And I’m grateful for that."

Lia finished eating. Fell asleep in Alicia’s arms.

"She’s perfect," I said.

"She is."

"We made that."

"We did."

"I still can’t believe it sometimes. That she’s real. That this is real."

"Believe it. This is your life now. Our life. And it’s only getting better."

She was right.

The wedding was in two weeks.

Lia was growing every day.

We were a family.

And for the first time in my life, I wasn’t waiting for everything to fall apart.

I was just living. Loving. Being present.

Being the man Alicia needed. The father Lia deserved.

Being more than what I’d been raised to be.

And it felt good.

It felt right.

It felt like home.