Page 77 of Betrayed By Sin
He looks at me, then away.
Sin steps forward, steel in his voice. “You don’t keep Magnolia safe by owning her. You protect her by standing with her. And I swear,” his gaze locks on Cameron and Zeik both, sharp as knives, “you’ll never get another chance to put her in a cage. All Magnolia’s ever wanted is a choice. To be seen. To be loved. Not to be used like a piece on a board. I know I am fucking guilty of that too; I know I don’t have a leg to stand on in this battle but what’s done is done.”
The words hang heavy.
My mother’s gaze sweeps across us all, sharp as a blade. “Every one of you has blood on your hands. But I will not allow blood to be spilled between you any longer. Cameron, look at your sister. Do you see her?”
Cameron’s jaw trembles. For a moment, the fury cracks. “I do.”
“Magnolia, look at your brother.”
I obey her command. “Good, this is it. One day, I will be gone. This is all you have.” Tears blur my vision at her words. “Sin, you take care of my daughter. It’s hard to look into your eyes,” she cries, “So much like your fathers who took away my sweet husband.”
Sin bows his head, “And yours.” He looks to Cameron, “Who looks like the man who killed my mother.”
And then my mother delivers the final blow.
“I will not let Magnolia lose her husband the same way I did mine. The Rusco and Donati feud is over now. Matrimony sealed our divide. This family will not survive if we keep choosing war over each other. We will find a way through this, together.”
The chandelier sparkles above, catching the tears in my lashes.
The air shifts around us. Not forgiveness, not yet, but something that isn’t destruction.
As the meeting winds down and the tension begins to dissipate, Sin steps forward, his presence calm but commanding. His gaze sweeps over my mother, Cameron, and Zeik, steady and unflinching.
“Listen,” he says, his voice low but carrying in the stillness of the room. “I know there’s been a lot of fear, a lot of misunderstanding. Magnolia is my wife now, and I will protect her. Our door is open. Day or night. Any time you want to come, our home is open.”
My mother studies him, her eyes sharp but thoughtful. Cameron glares briefly, jaw tight, but I see a flicker of understanding there, that we could unite and be stronger than anything.
The quiet is shattered by the roll of wheels on the marble floor. I glance up just in time to see a delivery man wheeling a massive arrangement of flowers into the foyer. The petals are dark, deep purples, black-tipped roses, muted lilies, and the scent is heavy, almost cloying. My stomach twists.
“Funeral flowers?” Bria says, tensing. Is this another threat, a new enemy delivering us evil or the looming threat of the Nero’s? She walks over to a gold edged card and reads it out loud.
To the bride and her soon-to-be ex-husband: May your arguments be as endless as my patience… which is zero – Sin Donati
“Sin that is diabolical!” She laughs. “You sent a funeral arrangement.”
“None of this is funny.” Cameron says, but a smirk plays on his lips.
“Cameron!” She grins. “You can’t kill me now.”
“and you can’t kill me.” He retorts.
“Well,” My mother smiles, “We’re not wasting all of this food.”
We sit down at the table, together. Everything I never thought would be happening today, is. The Donati’s sitting at the Rusco table. I glance at Sin, our hands brushing. I am a wife now.
Zeik rises as his parents enter. Amelia and Leon glide into the room, their smiles perfectly poised, almost too perfect. As Zeik shares the events of the day in hushed tones there’s a glint in their eyes, subtle but unmistakable, a calculation I can’t quite place.
Amelia tilts her head, offering a cordial smile to us, but the edge of it carries something sharper, like hidden blades beneath velvet. I have gotten along with Amelia; in a lot of ways, I look up to her. She wasn’t raised in this world either, and I wonder if her stance is the same as Cameron’s. That I would be better off marrying into the family that is Switzerland.
Leon shakes Sin’s hand, voice smooth, controlled. “I never thought in a million years I would be dining between these two families.” He lifts his glass, eyes briefly flicking to me with asmile, then back to the others. “The lost daughter has reunited everyone. To the future.”
Everyone follows suit, glasses clinking. Sparking a softer turning point in the lives of two ruthless families.
TWENTY
The morning is soft, sunlight spilling across the living room, warm against my skin. Last night wasn’t full of tension like I expected. If anything, you could see the threads weaving together for our families.
