ABSOLUTE INSANITY: A forbidden bond-Chapter 134: ABANDONMENT

Chapter 134: ABANDONMENT
Chapter 134
KATYA POV
"Don’t..." Romeo whispered, reaching for her. He cupped her cheeks with both dried, bloody hands, thumbs brushing the tears she couldn’t stop. "Nonna, don’t cry. Please."
I stared. Because I didn’t think this boy—this cruel, sharp-edged, stubborn boy—knew how to be soft.
Yet here he was, holding her like she was made of something breakable. And worse... he looked breakable too.
Nonna leaned into his palms like she’d been waiting years for him to touch her with something other than defiance.
Her shoulders shook, her breath hitched, and for a moment she didn’t look like the feared matriarch of a mafia empire.
She looked like a grandmother who had lost too much. "I can’t lose you," she whispered, voice shaking. "Not you, Romeo. Not you too."
His expression tightened—not angry this time. Wounded. He pressed his forehead to her knee, fingers curling around her wrists.
"You won’t," he murmured. "I swear on my life, you won’t." I stood there, shocked.
Shocked that Romeo cared this much.
Shocked that he even knew how.
Shocked that beneath all his violence and authority and cruelty... there was someone capable of love.
Capable of caring other than their shitty self. The guards who had been around quickly disappeared, pretending not to stare as they left, leaving just me and Mr Antonio.
They both stayed like that—Nonna’s tears falling into his hair, Romeo gripping her like she was the only anchor he had left. l
The entire courtyard felt suspended, pulled into their grief. They both began exchanging quite words in their native tongue. I could dispute what was said but it sounded comforting.
Nonna’s shaking eased, but tears still clung to her lashes. She lifted a trembling hand and placed it on Romeo’s head.
"I’m sorry" she whispered. "I’m so sorry for my outburst earlier" Nonna seemed to be apologizing for her giving Romeo a slap but Romeo didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Didn’t even breathe loudly.
He just stayed there—kneeling, silent, holding on to her.And for the first time...I didn’t feel afraid of him.
I felt sorry for him.
And that realization unsettled me more than anything else that had happened today.
Nonna’s breathing steadied more, it was still shaky, uneven, but no longer drowning in sobs.
Romeo seemed to notice before anyone else did.
He lifted his head, slowly, like the moment itself was fragile. He didn’t look like the terrifying heir everyone feared.
He just looked... tired. Tired in a way that felt older than both of us combined. He rose to his feet, movements controlled but heavy, and Nonna’s hand dragged briefly against his sleeve as if she didn’t want to lose contact.
He gently rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Let’s go inside, si?" he murmured. His voice was quieter than before—hoarse from too much emotion and too many unsaid things.
Nonna smiled at him before giving a small, slow nod. Romeo turned to move behind her wheelchair and that was when his eyes met mine.
Just a split second. Barely long enough to mean anything.
But the look...
It wasn’t anger. Wasn’t cruelty. Wasn’t even hate. It was unreadable. A storm with no sound.
Something sharp and vulnerable and guarded all at once—like he hated that I’d witnessed any of this, but couldn’t look away either.
My breath caught before I could stop it. Then the moment vanished.
Romeo looked away first, stepping behind Nonna and gripping the wheelchair handles like he needed something to hold onto.
"Come," he told her softly, and began to push her toward the doors.
Mr. Antonio moved right after them, silent as always, his expression carved into stone. He didn’t look at me. Not even once.
Not even in that usual quick, assessing way he does when he’s checking if I’m trouble. He simply followed Romeo and Nonna inside like a shadow returning to its owner.
And then it was just... me.
Standing alone in the courtyard, watching their figures disappear through the grand doors, swallowed by the mansion’s silence.
The echo of Nonna’s cries still clung to the air.
So did Romeo’s pain.
And I stood there—motionless, unsure why my chest felt tight or why I couldn’t shake the feeling of abandonment.
But the longer I stood there, the worse the feeling got. It hit slowly at first, like a faint sting I could ignore.
Then it settled in deeper... heavier... sharper. I knew Nonna had just broken down in front of her own grandson.
I knew she had every right to cling to him, to lean on him, to cry for him. I knew it wasn’t about me.
But somehow... it still hurt.
Because when Romeo wheeled her away, Nonna never looked back. Not even a glance.
Not a soft smile to reassure me.
Not a frown to show she remembered I existed.
Not anything.
Just... nothing.
And I hated that I cared.
I hated that something so small—something that shouldn’t matter—burned inside my chest like this.
I wrapped my arms around myself, staring at the spot where the three of them had disappeared.
Why did I feel so... forgotten?
It wasn’t supposed to get to me. She had just cried harder than I’d ever seen an elder cry. She had fallen apart.
Her mind, her heart, everything inside her had spiraled because she thought she might lose Romeo the same way she lost her son.
Of course she wouldn’t notice me. Of course she wouldn’t think of me in that moment.
Of course, she wouldn’t choose me over her blood. But my brain understood it while my chest didn’t.
It stung anyway. Like some tiny cruel voice whispering:
You don’t belong with her. You’re not anything here. My throat tightened.
I shook my head quickly, trying to push the thoughts away. I wasn’t supposed to feel this selfish.
Not after what I’d just witnessed. But the truth was simple and ugly:
For all the time I’d spent by her side—for all the mornings pushing her wheelchair, for all the times I sat with her when no one else did—I thought maybe... maybe she’d see me.
Even a little. But today proved a painful thing
I was still the outsider.
I was still the kidnapped girl, the enemy’s child, the extra piece that didn’t fit anywhere.
Romeo had Nonna. Nonna had Romeo. Antonio had them both.
And I... had no one.
The courtyard was too quiet now.Too wide.
Too empty.
I hugged myself tighter, feeling the cold settle into my bones even though the sun was still out. "Get it together," I muttered under my breath.
Because this wasn’t about me.
It was never about me.
†††
Poor Katya? Poor Romeo? Poor nonna?
Poor everyone lol