Page 130 of Unholy Union
She nods, her eyes glistening again as tears slide down her cheeks. Her smile is small but real.
“Theywere each other’s enemies,” I say, leaning in so our foreheads touch. “Wenever were.”
She exhales shakily and closes her eyes, resting against me.
We stay like this for a while until we’re calm enough to move on.
I take her hand and lace our fingers together. Then I help her to her feet, steadying her as she leans into my side. Together, we step over the wreckage of the war our fathers waged, the blood they spilled in the name of vengeance and pride, and we walk toward the exit.
Not as pawns. But as a husband and wife finally united.
Chapter 28
Sabrina
The Great War - Taylor Swift
After everything I’ve been through the past couple months, I didn’t expect to find peace so suddenly. But it comes the morning after one of the worst moments of my life, in the hush of early morning, with the weight of Cato’s arm draped over my waist.
Warm sunlight creeps into the room from the part in the curtains and gradually tints our bedroom in a golden morning hue. I lay still, drowsy but already awake, listening to the slow rhythm of Cato’s breathing beside me.
I’ve realized near-death experiences do that to you—they give new perspectives you’ve never considered before and make the small things in life seem so much more meaningful.
Things you would’ve otherwise never taken time to consider or notice.
But waking with a slow start the morning after finding out the truth about my father, I feel like I’m seeing the world with clear eyes for the first time in my life.
I reach out and brush my fingers along the edge of Cato’s jaw, letting them glide over the coarse stubble that’s darkened since yesterday. He hasn’t shaved in over a day, the scruff growing in thicker and pricklier in that way I’ve come to crave.
Even in sleep, there’s nothing soft about Cato. His face is still sharp, carrying a strength about his features that’s masculine and intense. His brow’s heavy, his mouth flat and unsmiling. Yet there’s a calm about him too.
I’m at peace lying beside him, studying every angle of the man I once considered my worst enemy. The man I’ve tried again and again to fight. The one I swore I’d never fall for.
But somewhere along the way, I stopped hating him. Somewhere between the arguments and the impossible tension and the way he always reached for me like he couldn’t help himself, I stopped resenting him and started wanting him.
More than just physically, though that’s how it started between us. The physical attraction exploded and neither of us could resist each other.
I started wanting Cato as my partner, as my husband as if we could have a real marriage.
It’s what made the board vote hurt so much. It wasn’t that Don Valente had schemed against me and my father, but thatCatohad been the mastermind behind it all.
Not just that he had originally planned to do so but he was still going through with it while I was falling…
I close my eyes for a second, processing what I’ve refused to admit to myself. It’s felt wrong on so many levels considering what I was raised to believe.
For as long as I can remember, the Valentes have been our enemies. Cato has been someone I’ve hated. We were wielded like weapons against each other.
But the hate in my heart for him couldn’t last once I started falling in love with him.
And that’s the truth—I’ve fallen for Cato Valente in a way I never imagined.
His breathing changes as his eyes crack open, and I smile at how groggy and half-asleep he looks blinking at me a few times.
“Good morning,” I whisper, my thumb stroking his cheekbone.
His voice is gravel. “Morning, principessa. How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good after yesterday.”
