“But what about you? From the looks of you, I’d say they must be spoiling you rotten in that ugly stone castle,” he says wickedly.
Frowning, I glance down, unsure of what he means. I should know better than to let him goad me. But it would seem I’ve grown rusty at handling my brother in the month we’ve been apart. “How so?” I ask, knowing I’m going to regret it.
“I’d say you’ve put on some weight recently,” he teases, his grin spreading. “You'd better watch what you’re eating, Sora-chan, unless you want to lose that figure you’ve so meticulously maintained. Wouldn’t want to ruin your value prematurely, now would we?”
Heat floods my cheeks as I realize, even if he’s right, it could be an early sign of my hormones changing. But I’m not about to tell my brother that I’m pregnant. Not when I haven’t even had the opportunity to discuss it with my mother—and especially if I’m not quite ready to tell Leo. At the same time, a warning bell goes off about something he said, the alarm nagging at the back of my mind.
Fighting the embarrassment that makes my pulse race and my face burn, I tip my chin up defiantly, keeping my temper in check as I try to maintain control of the situation. “The Chiaroscuros treat me well enough. Thank you,Oni-san, for your concern.”
The best defense against Kenji is to not let him see that he’s gotten under my skin, and I maneuver the conversation away from the small talk now that he’s made his point.
“And I’m glad to hear that the family is well, but I hope you know that this alliance we brokered with my marriage won’t hold unless you’re willing to work with the Chiaroscuros.” I keep my voice measured, choosing my words carefully to take the most diplomatic course.
Still, I can see the disgust that flashes across my brother’s face. His lips curl as he huffs. “It would seem you’ve already forgotten who your real family is,” he says coldly. “I warned Father what would happen, but he was so certain you would remain loyal. Now you’re just the messenger girl for your new husband, aren’t you?”
“Of course I’m still loyal to our family. It’s out of that loyalty that I’m coming to you, Kenji,” I insist, lowering my voice as I infuse urgency into it. Leo’s words of warning ring in my ears,“See if you can get him back in line before I have to take a more forceful approach.”If I can’t get through to Kenji, if I can’t get him to play nice, then Leo might resort to violence once again, and I know how little our family can afford that.
“Right,” Kenji scoffs. “Coming to me to deliver your husband’s passive-aggressive warnings. You think I don’t know what he’s up to? You think I don’t see what he’s turned you into? What good are you to me if you’re just Leo’s fuck toy now?”
The words cut deep, stealing my breath away, and though I know my brother can be downright mean sometimes, I honestly didn’t expect him to lash out at me for doing my duty to our family.
My hand moves with a mind of its own, lashing out so unexpectedly, it shocks me as it meets Kenji’s cheek. The strike lands hard enough that it knocks the sunglasses from his face, turning his head slightly, and as he looks back at me, I know I’m going to regret the rash action. We both stare at each other in stunned silence for a moment, my palm stinging, and Kenji reaches up to touch his jaw in disbelief. I’ve never raised a hand to my brother before—to anyone, really—and I start to shake as adrenaline floods my veins.
“Did you just… slap me?” he asks incredulously.
“I—I… Kenji, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to?—”
“Oh, you didn’t mean to hit me?” he asks, hostility radiating off him in waves as he gets right in my face, grabbing my arms with bruising force.
“Oni-san, please,” I gasp, a very real terror turning my blood to ice as I see the violent rage burning in his eyes.
I know that look.
I know that nothing good will come of it.
And if I thought I regretted my actions before, I know now that Kenji is going to punish me ten times over for what I just did. Not the kind of punishment Leo has taught me to enjoy, either. When my brother wants to make me suffer, he does so with a relentless fury that has no limits.
“You think a bit of pleading will get you off the hook?” he mocks. “They really have ruined you, Sister. And since you’re of no more use to me, I might as well throw you out with the trash.”
Kenji steers me forcefully backward, his grip like iron, and I gasp as I look up into his stone-cold glare. Then my hips find the metal railing of the yacht, and my heart stops as he gives me a violent shove. The hat lifts from my head, taking flight as it’s swept up in the warm breeze, and for a second, I’m weightless as the deck vanishes from beneath my feet.
Panic grips me as I plunge toward the dark water beneath me, somersaulting through the air. Then cold liquid rises up to envelop me as I release a terrified scream. I can’t tell up from down momentarily as I thrash against the frigid waves, my system thrown into shock by the abrupt change in temperature.And a single horrifying thought consumes my mind, wiping away all the rest.
I can’t swim.
Mercifully, my head breaks the water’s surface, and I suck in one deep, frantic breath as I search for something to grab onto. But the yacht’s sleek side rises far above me, the railing too high to reach.
I catch a single glimpse of Kenji jeering down at me, his laughter a distant echo beyond the tunneling panic that chokes my mind.
Kicking my feet desperately as my instincts take over, I try to keep my head above water, but even in the calmer depths of Lake Michigan, the waves are more than I can handle, my wedges too clunky to do anything but weigh me down.
I open my mouth to call for help, but the cry ends in a strangled cough as liquid floods in to choke me. Sputtering, I thrash again, hot tears stinging my eyes as I realize I might drown if no one’s coming.
And if I drown, my baby will die.
That thought is what drives me forward, and I claw my way through the water, looking for a way back on.I have to protect my baby.
Each desperate stroke feels heavier, and my lungs burn as I swallow more water than air. But I’m determined to stay alive. Then a cold shadow looms over me, and fear grips me as I look up to see the front of the boat rocking down to meet me.
