Hector turned up the heat in his car. It got too cold outside so we moved to his car. I still hugged his coat tightly around me because I was still shivering. I loved cold weather but I wasn't made for it, sadly.

We stayed silent for another five minutes. I didn't know what to say. I felt speechless after my entire speech from earlier. Besides I imagined this conversation between us to be violent and intense. I was ready to drag him down.

But he didn't come over as hostile.

He looked almost...remorseful?

"I won't dictate whatever you do from now on. You can date Alexander." He suddenly spoke.

This is what I wanted to hear. Only he said it too late and out of nowhere.

"Why did you suddenly change your mind?" I questioned.

He went with his hand through his hair before setting both his hands down on the steering wheel. I don't know why my brothers preferred sports car when they barely managed to get their long legs inside. His knees were so far up that they nearly bumped against the steering wheel.

"Dahlia."

I wasn't surprised. If he messed up, Dahlia would put him back in his place. But wasn't she the one who helped him figure out my secret?

"She hacked into the camera system of my apartment complex. Why would she be angry with you?"

He sighed again but didn't look at me. He's probably never been in this position before. Trying to make up for his mistakes. But I'm his sister. If he hurts me, he'll have to apologise.

"I lied to her. I told her that a potential danger was hacking into the camera system. That's the only reason why she did that." He confessed.

His overprotectiveness led him to lie to his own wife? I couldn't even start to fathom why he'd do that. I hope Dahlia made his life miserable because of Alexander did that to me, he wouldn't see the end of it.

"She compared me to her father and..." he couldn't finish that sentence.

I had no idea what kind of person Dahlia's father was but if she made the comparison to Hector's behaviour, he must be a foul man. Maybe that's why she no longer contacts her family. I wasn't sure.

"I promised her that I'd never be like her father. I promised you that I'd always protect you. I fucking messed up." He muttered.

Hearing Hector curse always made me frown. It sounds alright but he's always the one to nag at me to not swear.

"I visited your grave at least once a week for fifteen years. Going there always helped me relax and calm down. I'd tell you all about my week. It wasn't sad but healing. I got attached to you from the first moment that I met you until probably the day I day."

Fuck. I'm supposed to be angry with him. Why do I pity him? I saw the pain on his face and I felt hopeless again. I can't take away his pain. I can't take away what has happened.

Dimitri Petrov truly didn't suffer enough.

"I was the only one out of our siblings who met you. You were so tiny and adorable. The smallest baby that I'd ever seen."

I didn't know that. Mama told me that she got to hold me before they took me away. Then I'd supposedly died. I never figured that my siblings might've seen me.

"I had that image of you for fifteen years and perhaps I still have. It's not your fault but mine. I find it hard to let go of that image."

"Is that why you're too overprotective?" I asked.

He sighed and shrugged.

"Perhaps. But I'm an asshole, Elena. I'm used to things going my way and everybody around me listening to me without protest. I told my men to stay away from you and then-" he groaned.

I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him a look.

"Let's be honest, you would've reacted the same way if it weren't Alexander." I pointed out.

He furrowed his eyebrows like he wanted to argue with me but then gave up.

"Yes." He admitted.

That was one step in the right direction.

"I only got to know you for six years and I didn't want you to leave us so soon."

"By suffocating me you're pushing me even farther away." I told him.

He nodded.

"I'm going to continue my relationship with Alexander whether you like or not. I'm going to do things without asking you for permission first. I'll have my bodyguards with me in case anything goes wrong. You need to learn to trust me and to let me go." I insisted.

Hector didn't reply. His grip on the steering wheel tightened and he clenched his jaw. No matter how much Dahlia disciplined him, he was not going to change entirely. That was nearly impossible for a human to do.

"I can't let you go. I can't loose you again." He got out.

He already lost me once but so did my entire family.

"You can. You'll have to if you want to fix our relationship. If you learn to do that, it'll show me that I can trust you again and that you really care about me."

He squinted his eyes shut harshly and took a few deep breaths. I waited patiently for him. He knows that there is only one right answer.

"You'll respect your bodyguards and the safety measures I take?" He questioned.

"As long as you discuss them with me first." I insisted.

It took a while for him to answer again. By now the car was warm and I pulled off his coat. I laid it in my lap, almost hugging it to me.

"I'll try, Elena. I can't promise that I won't fuck up again." He confessed.

That was enough for me now. I can't demand immediate changes. We can work towards them. I won't allow him to fall back into his old habits. That time is over. He'll have to work hard to fix things between us.

Maybe they'll never be the way they used to be.

But Hector is a stubborn fucker who never gives up.

"You can drop me off at Alexander's apartment." I told him once he started the car.

He gave me a look and I couldn't hide a smirk.

I wasn't going to make things easy for him. I'll let him suffer a little for the sake of karma.