Page 113 of Shattered Diamonds

“Yes.” I step to her and handle her with possession to ground her. “You were promised to someone else. That information is not new to you. Who told you?”

“My father.”

“The man is on his death bed, Haven.”

“Please don’t lie to me. Is he the one that set up the contract?”

“Indeed, he was. It was after his dementia started taking his memory. He wasn’t thinking clearly. He wanted to make sure you were taken care of after his death. The suitor he chose took advantage of his illness.”

“Why did I never ask this question before?”

“What question?”

“Who set up the contract. Why didn’t I ask who it was?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does though, sir. It does.” She tries to take a step back. I won’t allow it. “How did I get to you? How did we become?”

“Your brother. Whether you believe it or not, he did the right thing by you.”

“Do you know who it was? The man my father signed the contract with.”

“I do.”

“Who?” she demands, grabbing my forearms as I hold her face steady in my hands. “Who was it supposed to be?”

“A very callous, conniving man. You would have lived a brutal life of misery, firefly.”

“Aren’t I now?” She lets go of my arms and raises her hand in the air. She carelessly lets them fall as if she is giving up. “You feckin drugged me.”

“I thought we were past that?”

“Maybe you are, but feckin hell. I’m getting passed around from one to another like I’m a lame farm animal. Give me a feckin break, sir.”

“Haven.” I stand back and pin her with a glare. “If you are going to refer to me by sir then you damn well better respect the word and use a tone that complements it. Otherwise, I will have you on your knees begging for mercy. You want to continue this conversation as Demetri and Haven, then so be it. Lose your shit. Have at it. I’ll allow it because you have been caught off guard. But what I won’t tolerate is you vilifying our relationship after I have expressed how I feel about you. I had you drugged to keep you safe. There was a room full of men who wanted you dead. I couldn’t be there to protect you because I had just had surgery to have a bullet removed that you fucking put in me.” I give her a second to collect herself. “Now ask the questions you want answers to.”

“Who was supposed to be my husband?” she steps towards me and asks.

“My brother.”

ChapterForty

HAVEN

The soft knockon my bedroom door makes my sleepless body stiffen. A deep inhale, preparing myself, expands my chest. My exhale brings on the pain of loss. In my heart of hearts, when my mother insisted I get some rest, I knew it was because my father was going to pass over from darkness to the light. She was protecting me from the pain of watching him go.

With every fiber of my being, as I lay here with my mother on the opposite side of the door, waiting for me to wake from what she hopes is a peaceful sleep, I wish Demetri was here with me. I wish he was standing in front of me, demanding I kneel before him. I wish I was staring at the seam of his slacks waiting for him to unzip them and pull himself out. But he’s not. Business doesn’t wait. And neither did my father.

I said my goodbyes. I can’t say there wasn’t some form of bitterness behind my words as I said them, but I do forgive him for what he couldn’t control. In the end, no matter how Demetri and I came to be, I am in love with that man.

I just wish he were here with me.

I rise from my bed and slowly pad across the floor. With my hand on the knob, I turn the cold metal to face my new reality. My ma’s eyes are swollen and bloodshot from tears. She is the sweetest woman with a heart of gold, but underneath her small frame she is a tiger, a lioness who will now lead the household. I admire her more now than I did as a child. I guess that is to be expected. Maturity will always win over irrational teenage thoughts. When I was a younger, I thought she was old as the soft grey started framing her face. Our matching strawberry blonde hair became dull as life took its toll on her. I was critical of her and I have to wonder if it was because my sister was with me. As she stands on the opposite side of the threshold, I can’t help but see how stunning she really is. Even in a time of sorrow taking over her features, I realize I am the spitting image of her.

“Mom,” I whisper, opening my arms. “He’s gone,” I mutter, embracing her tired body. As much as I want to hold her, comfort her, she is the one holding me. “You didn’t have to knock. You could have just come in.”

“I wasn’t sure if Demetri came back.”

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