‘Did the ring have to be red too, father?’
A blood red dress, red roses, and a ruby red ring worth millions. It sounds more like the beginning of a bad joke than a marriage, but at this point, I feel more like I’m being bought rather than married.
Father’s face creases and he sighs for the second time in two minutes.
‘Baby, I don’t know. That’s what he sent.’
Yeah. Being bought sounds about right.
I sigh and look at the ring again.
On top of everything, red is not my color.
And, I hate rubies.
Xander knows this too, which makes all of this even worse.
I stare mindlessly into the mirror, admiring the drape of the dress around my body. The dress hadn’t been my idea either. Nothing on my skin had been my idea.
I chuckle, the sound catching in my throat as I press my eyes closed and let my head tilt forward so he can drape the accompanying diamonds on my throat.
I’d known this day would come. There’s no need to pretend otherwise or even feel sorry for myself.
Six years was more than enough respite.
‘Where’s Lucian?’ I turn to Father and let him press an almost tender kiss on my forehead.
‘Sleeping. He’s not coming tonight, Mel. You know why.’
He sounds sorry, and my breath catches in my throat.
‘How bad is this going to be?’ I ask in a whisper.
He takes my hand in his and squeezes softly. ‘Only as bad as you want it to be. I support you, baby, but you knew this day was coming. I’ve protected you as long as I can.’
And he has, too.
I inhale a deep swell of air and smile as widely as I can, hoping it doesn’t look as much of a grimace as I think it does.
‘You smile at Xander that way, and he’s sure to run screaming for the hills.’ My brother Daniel is at the door, his navy-blue Brooks Brothers suit unbuttoned.
He holds his arms out, and I walk over to him, hugging him tight. I pull away and tuck my arm into his when he offers. He smells of mint and Lucian’s powder.
‘Is he sleeping yet?’ I lean into him and tone my voice low so Father can’t hear me.
‘No, but Hailey will make sure he does. And no, do not go in there, Mel. You’ll never leave.’ He tightens his arms around me and leads me to the door away from the stairs.
I nod and follow Father’s brisk strides to the door, shaking my hair away from my face and straightening my shoulders out.
Outside, a cool breeze blows through the palm trees planted on the property, the moon just sneaking out of the clouds. The air smells of cherry blossoms, light and airy, nothing at all like my mood.
Daniel opens the car door and holds it for me, lifting the train of my dress carefully and sliding it into the car after me.
I smirk at him. ‘If I didn’t understand better, I’d think I wasn’t your sister.
He glares playfully. ‘Shut up, Mel.’
He pushes the door closed, walks over to the passenger door of the SUV, and slips in beside me.
I turn to him and whisper the words I’ve kept to myself this entire time, festering in my stomach like worms. ‘I still hate him.’
Daniel turns to me, his hazel eyes deep and hard. ‘He probably hates you just as much. The past didn’t wound you alone. You know he was just as hurt as you were.’
‘And then there’s Lucian. How do I explain that?’ Daniel is right. And I can’t deny it. Xander had been just as hurt as I was. Maybe even more broken. The split had, after all, been my idea.
Daniel sits back against his seat and, resting his head against the headrest, closes his eyes. ‘There’s going to be hell to pay. Even his family won’t survive it.’
‘Why can’t we cancel this? We don’t need the money. Father certainly has enough.’
Daniel opens his eyes and takes my hand. The car pulls out of the driveway, and we’re on our way to the lion’s lair.
‘The Russians are getting stronger, Mel. He needs the combined power of our family and his. Father is worried handing our business to him without some leverage will spell doom for us, but he also understands we can’t not do anything.’
I feel a twinge of guilt as I ask a question I’ve asked one too many times. ‘Why don’t you take over the business?’
Daniel’s eyes darken. ‘I can’t. I don’t want it. My law firm cannot be associated in any way with the Mafia, Mel. You know this, someone has to keep the legit side of the business up.”
He squeezes my hand a look of guilt in his eyes, “I’m sorry we’re throwing you under the bus like this, but you know we have less than no choice. Father doesn’t even want to do this.”
Which makes my reluctance so much worse. Father is probably festering in a soup of guilt right now. I bite my lip and nod.
I inhale harshly and close my eyes. ‘You’re right. I just hate to think about Lucian. I hate to think what will happen when he finds out. What if he tries taking my baby from me?’
Daniel pulls me across the seat and tucks my head into his shoulder the way he’s always done when I’m in need of comfort. I let myself relax into him for a moment.
‘He can’t do that. You two will be married, and you know he can’t leave you. Same as you can’t leave him.’
The words do not bring me any comfort. Instead, I mumble the family vows, which suddenly sound like a death keel to my ears. ‘Till death us do part.’
Daniel chuckles darkly, and I wince, grateful he can’t see my expression. ‘Exactly. It’s easier to leave if you’re dead, Mel. And Xander will never let any harm come to you. He’d rather die.’
For some reason, I doubt that. The Xander I knew is nothing like the one who dressed me in solid red for a wedding I don’t want. Xander still exists, but he’s not mine.
That Xander knew I don’t like the color red, not since I’d seen it spill out of my mother’s side before she’d keeled over to her death. Not since every flower at her funeral had been the red roses she’d loved so much.
Father had made sure all of it had been arranged around her casket, and then he’d torn down her rose garden and went on a vengeful spree of killing that had lasted an entire month.
No, this wouldn’t be anything like when we’d both been younger and thought ourselves in love.
