A day later,

I was finally home. It felt odd to be back amongst the forest and crisp northern breeze. With the air filled with the fresh scent of pine and the ground scattered with their natural litter, nothing had changed. Everything was perfectly peaceful. The bright sunlight fought its way through the multitude of branches to produce only a dappled version of itself and the nesting birds tweeted from high above. It was hard to believe that anything terrible could ever happen here. But the thought of Milly lingered like a terrifying shadow at the back of my mind. And the worst part? We were so close and now so powerless.

As our house came into sight, I took Leo's hand. He turned to me and tucked my hair behind my ear.

"Ready?" he asked.

I nodded and he kissed me softly on the forehead.

"Before we go in, I need to apologise. I should never have hit you. That is my one rule and I broke it because I lost my temper. I don't expect you to forgive me but I want you to know that I am sorry."

"I forgive you, Leo. Of course, I do. You had every right to be mad at me."

"I still should not have done it," he said kissing my cheek. "I'm sorry. Now let's go and see our bambinos."

I smiled at the thought of seeing my six little ones and as we neared the front door I heard the faint sound of their laughter.

Unable to wait much longer, I ran up the steps that led to the front door and burst straight into the hallway. The laughter ceased and a few seconds later I heard little footsteps coming out of the hallway.

"Mama!" Cato squealed as he set his eyes on me stood breathlessly in the doorway.copy right hot novel pub