Page 192 of Bride By Coronation

Bridget steps closer and puts her hand on my bicep. "Kirill."

I take a shaky breath and pull it together enough to face her.

She says in a non-accusing voice, "I don't understand how my daughter got to the point where she married a Petrov."

"I promise you, I'm not like them," I assert.

Bridget tilts her head, studying me. Then she asks, "How did you know my husband?"

My heart pounds harder. All the reasons I can't tell Bridget anything flash before me, but then Fiona's face overrules all of it. I glance behind us, ensuring no one is listening, and then back at her. I break my Underworld vows and admit, "He wanted the crime families to get along. He didn't want his children to suffer the way his generation did. He envisioned a world that many couldn't believe was possible. But there were people who did believe it was possible, and they dove headfirst into his utopia. I was one of them, and he didn't care that I was a Petrov. He saw my potential and took me under his wing."

Bridget's lips slightly curve. She nods. "Sounds like Sean."

I blurt out, "If I could tell you everything, I would. But if I did, it's not my life I worry about—it's your daughter's. And I've already disclosed more than I'm allowed."

She takes a deep breath and slowly releases it.

Her silence seems to last forever. I don't speak, not trusting my current state and what I might reveal.

Bridget breaks it, asking, "Did Sean have the ring Fiona wears made for me?"

My heart races faster. I confess, "Yes. He was going to give it to you when you renewed your vows. When he died, I secured it in a vault in Monaco."

Bridget's lips twitch. "Monaco?"

"Yes."

Her voice lifts. "Sean wanted to retire in Monaco."

"He did?"

"Yes." She smiles bigger, then takes more deep breaths, bobbing her head, as if remembering something.

"Do you want the ring? If I had known you knew about it, I would have ensured you received it years ago. But I thought you didn't know, so it seemed like Fiona should have it."

A moment passes, and Bridget shakes her head. "No. It's a beautiful ring, and there was a time in my life I was meant to have it. That time has passed."

"Are you sure," I ask.

She nods. "Yes. And I'm glad Fiona has it."

"You are?"

"Yes. It's not meant to sit in a vault, hidden from the world."

Emotions try to drag me under. I tear up and blurt out, "He was the best man I ever met."

Her smile weakens. She meets my eyes, replying, "And now you're married to his only daughter," but it doesn't sound harsh like in the past.

I don't hesitate, once more insisting, "I love her. And I'm not like any of the Petrovs you know."

She studies me further, then offers, "I know you aren't like them."

I freeze, cautiously asking, "You do?"

She shifts on her feet. "Yes. Sean told me about the boy whose family sliced him to pieces and left him for dead, all because of what he wouldn't do."

My breath gets stolen from my lungs.

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