Page 110 of Shattered Diamonds

“Long story.” He glances over his shoulder.

“How much longer is this flight?”

“Not much longer. You’ve been asleep for a while. Instead of me explaining the history of how I met a man who gave me an opportunity and how I made him, myself, and the organization a lot of money, I need to talk to you about something.”

“Oh?”

“As much as I would like to tell you this is our honeymoon, it is not. In the future we will take one. This trip is not going to be a pleasant one.”

“You’re making me nervous.”

“Your father is not doing well. I am flying you home so you can say your goodbyes.”

My whole body freezes on his lap. I feel as though my voice has been lost. The only thing I can mutter is, “Demetri?”

“I’m sorry, baby. I am hoping we make it there in time. Your brother left two days ago to assess the situation.”

Now I know why he hasn’t been around to protect me, to make sure I was okay. I swallow the saliva pooling in my mouth. “My da is dying?”

He nods as he gently runs his thumb back and forth over my cheek. “I’m sorry.”

I twist in his lap, readying to get up, needing a moment to myself. But the thought is fruitless when he stops me from leaving. “Demetri… I need—”

“Whatever you are feeling, you feel with me.”

“How long before we are there?”

“Less than an hour.”

The weight in my chest hurts. My eyes begin to sting. And the carefree moments from not too long ago are gone. This devastating pride striping disease has finally worn down my father’s body enough.

Demetri is taking me home to say goodbye.

ChapterThirty-Eight

DEMETRI

Haven releases my hand,flings open the front door, and rushes inside, calling, “Ma! Cillian! Ciarán!” in hysterics before noticing her brother standing at the base of the steps. Cillian becomes a statue when he sees how distraught his little sister is. Anguish is at the forefront of his expression for the tears he can tell she shed. The sobbing I wasn’t sure she would expel were plenty. The unknown status of their father-daughter relationship had me holding back the information of her father’s impending death. It is the reason why I waited so long to tell her. I wasn’t sure the depth she would feel for him. I don’t have a reference to what it would feel like. Although, if it were my boss, I would seek revenge. Not only out of loyalty to the family but he is the closest thing to a father figure that I have ever known. My father, through years of artful lies, doesn’t even know I exist. As a young man when I did seek him out to see if my mother’s words were true, I chose to grind beneath a different ruthless man. One that at least had morals in a cold-blooded world. It wasn’t clear to me which relationship—whether father-daughter, or a true daddy’s girl—Haven and her father had. It became quite clear when I saw the sadness fill my wife’s eyes when I told her where we were going and why.

Haven’s beautiful face is swollen with sadness for a man who made a terrible decision in her honor that was ultimately not in his control. My views vary greatly from the ones of his daughter that she holds dear to her. To her, he has always been a caring and loving father. A righteous father inside their home while working in an immoral world. A dad, by what she has told me, who would play dolls in the yard with her when she was a small girl or be front and center at every dance competition cheering her on. The information I know about him will never be divulged. I won’t tarnish those memories for my firefly. I will let her say her goodbyes to a man she has only expressed good things about and let her grieve with good memories.

While Luca and Joseph follow their butler to their quarters, I stand behind my wife, giving her my strength as she hugs her brother.

“Has he passed? Am I too late?” she asks, her Irish accent so strong now that we are back in her country. Her accent is such a turn on for me but hearing it full of sorrow bothers me.

“You’re not. Ma is in there with him now.” He holds her tight.

I want to tell him to remove his hand from my wife, but I refrain, even I know that’s unreasonable. This jealousy of mine has taken on a new level when it comes to her.

I can see the familial love between Cillian and Haven. He genuinely has his sister’s best interest at heart. It’s why he contacted Mr. Heart when he realized unsavory deals were made. Cillian did right by her, and I will always remember that.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you after you found out about the arrangement. Ma called, and I had to fly back home and take care of things for da. You know I would have never let anything happen to you, right? I had Demetri’s word he would protect you with his life and I trusted he would.”

“You could have put me on the plane and brought me back home with you.”

He looks over her shoulder at me. “Haven, he would never allow that.”

She looks over her shoulder at me. “You’re right. But you should have told me about everything.”

---