“You need to marry Carter, angel.”
Ronan’s shoulder’s tensed, and he turned to face me, but I couldn’t find the courage to fully look at him.
“I know he wasn’t your first choice—”
“He was never my choice,” I returned, cutting off my papa for the first time in my life.
I heard him grind his teeth. “What you want doesn’t matter right now. What matters is keeping you safe.”
“How could Carter do that? He’s a professional playboy.”
Ronan paced the length of the footboard, each step setting me further on edge.
“Carter’s father holds a very powerful position in Miami. This is why I encouraged the engagement from the beginning. It would have already been set in stone if you hadn’t run to Moscow and straight to D’yavol.” His voice went quieter, which meant he was internally seething.
His anger was a whisper compared to the other man’s in the room. And both of them were beginning to make me burn in frustration, forcing the next words from my mouth.
“So why don’t I just marry Carter’s father then?”
A long pause. “He is married.”
“Bummer. I’ve learned I have a thing for older guys.” I let my eyes meet Ronan’s, which glowed with a dark, violent light. Unable to hold his intensity, I looked away.
“Papa . . . I don’t want to marry Carter.”
“You do not understand, Mila. If you don’t want to live on the streets, you will marry him. There will be no money left when I’m gone. I raised you right, but I’m afraid I screwed up when it comes to your brothers.”
Brothers.
I’d reached a place where I didn’t even blink at the knowledge I had brothers. Plural. It felt like my entire life had been a lie, and this was where the real me began.
“They will clean everything out, Mila. The house in Miami. Everything. I need to know you’re taken care of.”
I rubbed the cold goose bumps on my thigh. “I thought you told me Ivan would take care of me.”
He was silent. So silent, my heart dropped.
“Ivan has other demands to take care of now.”
What he meant was Ivan didn’t want anything to do with me anymore. It felt like someone had stabbed me in the chest. I may not have loved Ivan romantically, but I did as a friend. I was losing my papa and my best friend. Alone. I wasn’t even alone yet, but the absence hollowed out my bones.
“I wish it was different. But this is the way it has to be.”
“My brothers . . . they won’t help me?”
A pause. “I’m sorry, angel.”
My heart left my body to float in the distance while tears poured down my cheeks. Rejection dug its claws into my cold skin.
“You will do this for me, Mila. Don’t let me die not knowing what will happen to you.”
I wasn’t going to marry Carter. Not if I was so poor I had to live on the streets. I would never subject myself to the life I’d felt so lost in. But I also didn’t have the heart to deny my papa’s last wish. Even if it was a lie.
“Okay,” I said softly. “I will.”
Ronan gripped the headboard, and I heard a crack.
Papa exhaled. “I am glad, angel. I have to go now.”