Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 120336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
A garden framed the cliff and it was so captivating that it didn’t seem like it was from this planet.
Flowers in every shade of blue imaginable blanketed the ground, their velvety petals caught the moonlight and shimmered like scattered gemstones. Midnight indigo, soft periwinkle, and the brilliant flash of cerulean mingled together in perfect harmony, as if the stars had fallen and taken root.
To add even more magic, there were hundreds of fireflies everywhere. They were tiny dots of flickering greenish-golden light, floating along petals, swirling between stems, and dancing in the air.
Beyond the edge of the cliff, the mountains stood sentinel, their jagged peaks crowned with the soft gleam of starlight.
Ancient guardians watching over this secret place.
I took a few steps closer to the cliff.
Far below, the dark river glistened as it twisted through the lower valley, holding the moon’s starry reflection. The faint hum of the river reached my ears and merged with the symphony of crickets and the occasional hoot of an owl.
I looked up.
Above, the open sky stretched endlessly into an infinite canvas painted with the brilliance of countless stars all surrounding the full moon.
I stood there.
Breathless.
The space was so vivid and perfect it blurred the lines between reality and a fairy tale.
Somehow, Lei had brought me here, as if he’d unlocked the door to something I didn’t know I needed to see.
I turned to him.
He watched me with heated intensity.
"Lei. . .this is. . .amazing.”
“You like it?”
“I love it.”
“I wanted to talk to you somewhere on this mountain, far away from my father, the Four Aces, the bullshit traditions and death. . .”
“Why?”
“I have some things to say to you and. . .it may take some time.”
“Okay.”
Lei slipped his arm around my waist and held me closer, and it felt so damn good to have my body pressed against his again.
I’m back with my baby.
His lush scent swarmed around me and my body released all the tension it had been holding while with Leo.
Lei gazed into my eyes, and raw emotion coated his next words. “I love you, Moni. That’s the first thing I want to say.”
Heat spread across my skin.
“I love you so much that sometimes my soul burns from the force of my emotions, and my chest aches, so hard that I have to place my hand there to make sure I’m not having a heart attack.” He swallowed. “I don’t know if that’s normal but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
My eyes watered.
“And I love everything about you. The woman you were when I met you—innocent, warm-hearted, yet strong as fuck. I love the woman you have become right now in this moment—powerful, dangerous, yet still humble, still loving, still thinking of everyone else, still trying to do the right thing and be a good person.”
I parted my lips.
“And I know I’ll keeping loving the woman that you have yet to transform into. Because. . .I love watching your rise to power. I love that this crown is on your head and that all eyes are on you. . .and that the East, the South, North, West, Four Aces, Rowe Street Mob, and even Dima now knows who the fuck you are and to tread carefully when they approach you.”
I shivered.
He let out a long breath and gestured to the garden with his free hand. “When I was a kid and my father would train or plot on this mountain, forcing us all to be up here for weeks. . .my mother would bring my sister and me here.”
His voice softened and his words carried a tenderness that wrapped around me like the warmth of the night air. “She made this garden specifically to attract the fireflies. She told me that when they’re young, they’re hunters. They feed on slugs and snails. She called them the tiny warriors of the soil.”
He turned toward me. “As adults, they live for light and love, drinking the nectar of flowers—lavender, jasmine, marigolds—and others sip the sweetness of plant juices. But more important. . .they were always drawn to the spark of their own kind”
He gestured to the wild patches of grass and the flowers dancing in the breeze. “She left the soil untouched, rich with the insects they would need. She let the grass grow tall in places, to give them shadows to rest in during the day.”
His words were a lullaby of the earth’s magic, painting the fireflies as ethereal beings, thriving in harmony with nature. “She said the fireflies reminded her of hope. Of how even in the darkest places, there’s light.”
Those glowing creatures continued their display around us, flickering their lights and adding an extra layer of enchantment to this moment.
“She wanted us to have a place away from it all. Away from the chaos, the blood, the battles.”
My gaze shifted to the flowers shimmering beneath the moonlight.