The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 200 - Two Hundred

Chapter Two Hundred

Malachi’s POV

A week passed.

Seven days of peace. Of waking up next to Alicia. Of watching her relax in ways I’d never seen before.

The Moretti estate had become home. Not just for her and Sophie. For me too.

I’d set up a temporary office in one of the spare rooms. Handled family business remotely. Maurice sent daily updates. Pa’s trial was progressing. The evidence Emily had released was doing its job. The old guard was falling.

And I was here. In Italy. Building something new.

"You look happy," Alessandro said one morning. We were having coffee on the terrace.

"I am."

"Domesticity suits you. I didn’t expect that."

"Neither did I."

"What happens when you have to go back? When Dark City calls?"

"I go back when Alicia’s ready. Not before."

"And if she’s never ready?"

I’d thought about that. About the possibility that she might choose to stay here permanently. That our child might grow up Italian instead of American.

"Then I’ll figure it out. I can run the business from anywhere. What I can’t do is be away from her."

Alessandro studied me. "You really love her."

"More than anything."

"Good. Because if you hurt her, if you make her regret choosing you, the Morettis will have a problem with you. Uncle or not."

"I’d expect nothing less."

Alicia appeared in the doorway. She wore a simple dress, her hair down. She looked beautiful. Glowing.

"Travis just texted. He’s landing in two hours."

My jaw tightened. I’d been dreading this. Seeing Travis. Watching Alicia face her past.

"Do you want me there?" I asked.

"Yes. But at a distance. This is something I need to do mostly alone. But knowing you’re there... it helps."

"Then I’ll be there."

We drove to meet him at a café in town. Neutral territory. Public enough to be safe. Private enough to talk.

Travis was already there when we arrived. He looked different. Cleaner. Sober. His eyes were clear in a way I’d never seen.

He stood when he saw us. "Alicia. Malachi."

"Travis." Alicia’s voice was steady.

"Thank you for meeting me."

"Of course."

I stayed back. Let them have space. But close enough to intervene if needed.

They sat at a table by the window. I took a seat at the bar where I could see them but not hear.

I watched Travis pull out papers. Watched Alicia read them. Watched them talk.

Travis’s body language was open. Apologetic. He kept his hands on the table. Nonthreatening.

Alicia listened. Nodded. Sometimes shook her head. But she wasn’t crying. Wasn’t upset.

Just calm. Resolved.

After thirty minutes, she signed the papers. So did he.

They stood. Shook hands. Then, surprisingly, Travis pulled her into a brief hug.

She let him.

When they separated, Travis looked toward me. Our eyes met across the café.

He nodded. Once. Acknowledgment. Acceptance. Maybe even approval.

I nodded back.

Then he left.

Alicia came over to me. "It’s done. I’m officially divorced."

"How do you feel?"

"Free. Sad. Grateful. All of it." She sat beside me. "He apologized. Really apologized. For everything. He’s six months sober now. Working at a rehab facility. Helping other people."

"Good for him."

"He said he hopes we’ll be happy. That he hopes the baby has a better father than he would have been."

"That’s not a high bar."

"Malachi."

"Sorry. But it’s true."

"I know. But he’s trying. That counts for something."

She was right. It did count. Travis was finally becoming someone worth respecting.

"He also said something else," Alicia continued. "He said Pa confessed. To everything. Hong Wei’s murder. The hospital fire. All of it. He’s pleading guilty. Taking full responsibility. Trying to protect the rest of the family."

"That’s not like him."

"He’s dying. Cancer. Six months maybe. He wants to go out taking responsibility instead of dragging everyone down with him."

I processed that. Pa was dying. The man who’d raised me. Who’d made me what I was. Who’d ordered deaths and manipulated lives and built an empire on blood.

He was dying.

I felt... nothing. No grief. No relief. Just emptiness.

"Are you okay?" Alicia asked.

"I don’t know. I should feel something. But I don’t."

"That’s okay. You don’t have to feel anything you don’t feel."

"He was my grandfather."

"He was also a monster. You can acknowledge both."

She was right. As always.

"Do you want to go back? See him before..." She didn’t finish.

"No. There’s nothing to say. He made his choices. He’s facing the consequences. That’s all."

"Okay."

We sat in silence for a moment.

"I’m really divorced," she said finally. "Really free."

"Yes."

"Which means we can... I mean, eventually, if you want..."

She was fumbling. Nervous. It was adorable.

"Are you trying to ask if I want to marry you someday?"

"Maybe. Is that crazy? We’ve only been together a few months. And I just got divorced. And I’m pregnant. And—"

I kissed her. Cut off the rambling.

When I pulled back, she was smiling.

"Yes," I said. "Someday. When you’re ready. When the baby’s here. When we’ve built our life together. Yes, I want to marry you."

"Okay. Good. Just checking."

"Just checking."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

We went back to the estate. Sophie met us at the door.

"How did it go?"

"It’s done. I’m divorced."

Sophie hugged her. "Finally. Now you can move on properly."

"Now I can move on properly."

That evening, the whole family gathered for dinner. Marco. Alessandro. Francesca and her daughter Camila. Signora Moretti at the head of the table.

It felt like a celebration. Even though no one said it.

After dinner, Signora Moretti pulled me aside.

"Walk with me."

We walked through the garden. The same garden where I’d first talked to Alicia after arriving in Italy.

"You’re good for her," Signora Moretti said. "I wasn’t sure at first. But I see it now. You make her happy. You make her feel safe. That’s rare."

"She makes me better."

"Yes. She does. But you must continue to choose to be better. Every day. That’s the hard part. Not the decision. The daily choice."

"I know."

"Do you? Because men like you, men from your world, they often start with good intentions. But the violence calls them back. The power. The control. And they justify it. They say they’re protecting their family. But really, they’re protecting their empire."

"I’m stepping away from the family business."

"Are you? Or are you just managing it from a distance? There’s a difference."

She was right. I was still involved. Still making decisions. Still part of the machine.

"What do you suggest?"

"Give it to someone else. Your brother. Your father. Maurice. Someone who can run it without you. And then truly walk away. Build something clean. Something your child can be proud of."

"That’s not easy."

"Nothing worth having is easy."

"You sound like Alicia."

"She gets her wisdom from somewhere. Probably her mother. But I’ll take credit anyway."

I smiled. "I’ll think about what you said."

"Don’t think. Do. Before it’s too late. Before you’re pulled back in too deep to escape."

She left me alone in the garden.

I stood there thinking about her words. About what it would mean to truly walk away.

Could I do it? Could I hand over everything I’d built to someone else?

For Alicia? For our child?

Yes. I could.

I pulled out my phone. Called Maurice.

"I need you to start transition planning," I said when he answered.

"Transition to what?"

"To you running everything. Permanently. I’m stepping back. Focusing on family."

Silence on the other end. Then: "You’re serious."

"Completely."

"Malachi, you can’t just walk away. The family needs—"

"The family needs new leadership. Leadership that isn’t tainted by Pa’s legacy. By my legacy. You’re clean. Capable. You can do this."

"And you? What will you do?"

"Build something new. Something legitimate. Something my child won’t have to hide from."

Another pause. "Alicia really did change you."

"Yes. She did."

"Okay. I’ll start planning the transition. But Malachi?"

"Yes?"

"Don’t disappear completely. The family still needs you. Just in a different way."

"I won’t. I’ll be available. Just not in charge."

"Fair enough."

I hung up. Felt lighter somehow.

This was the right choice. The only choice.

I went back inside. Found Alicia reading in the sitting room.

"Hey," she said, looking up. "Everything okay?"

"Everything’s perfect. I just did something I should have done weeks ago."

"What?"

"I told Maurice to start transitioning the family business to him. I’m stepping back. Officially."

Her eyes widened. "You’re serious?"

"Completely. I told you I wanted to build something new. Something clean. I meant it."

She stood up. Crossed to me. Put her hands on my chest.

"You’re really doing this. For us."

"For us. For our baby. For the life we’re going to build."

"I love you so much."

"I love you too."

She kissed me. Deep. Meaningful.

When we broke apart, she was crying.

"Happy tears?" I asked.

"Very happy tears. You just gave me everything I wanted. Everything I was afraid to ask for."

"You never have to be afraid to ask me for anything. If I can give it to you, I will."

"I know. That’s what makes you different. That’s why I love you."

Sophie appeared in the doorway. "Oh good, you’re both here. Nonna wants to know if we want to stay for Christmas. She’s planning a big family thing."

Alicia and I looked at each other.

"Do you want to stay?" I asked.

"Yes. I really do."

"Then we’ll stay."

Sophie grinned. "Great. She’s already planning the menu. Fair warning, there will be seventeen courses."

"Seventeen?"

"She’s Italian. And it’s Christmas. Of course there will be seventeen courses."

After Sophie left, Alicia leaned into me.

"Christmas in Italy. With family. With you. With our baby growing inside me. A year ago I couldn’t have imagined this." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"A year ago I couldn’t have imagined wanting this."

"And now?"

"Now it’s all I want. This. You. Our family. Our life."

"Even with seventeen courses of food?"

"Especially with seventeen courses of food."

She laughed. Really laughed. The sound filled the room.

And I realized something.

This was happiness. This simple moment. This ordinary evening.

This was what I’d been fighting for my whole life without knowing it.

Not power. Not control. Not an empire.

Just this.

Just her.

Just us.