“Why is it mine? I don’t want it.”
“I bought it in your name. This place has been in your family for generations. It’s your birthright, Verity, just like the estate in Ireland is ours. I know it doesn’t feel like your home, but this is your chance to erase the past and create a new, happier home.”
“What about Thea? It should belong to her as well.”
“We discussed it, but she wasn’t interested. She already owns many properties around the world thanks to Cassian’s investments, and she has no attachment to this one.”
“Nor do I.”
“Not right now, but if all this—” He waved his hand toward the ruined house. “—was gone, and a new house built in its place, you might feel differently?” He reached into the backseat and pulled out a folder. “Take a look. I had an architect draw up some plans. So you could envisage the possibilities.”
He passed me a sheaf of architectural drawings and 3D renditions of a brand-new house. Our original house dated back to the 1800s, with various additions tacked on over the years. The new design was a million miles away from that.
I scanned the drawings, taking in the simple lines, glass walls overlooking the lemon groves, the huge swimming pool and terrace, the roof garden, and the way the architect had designed the house to blend in with its surroundings.
It was beautiful. Modern. And as much as I wanted to hate it, I didn’t.
“These are just ideas, princess. A first draft. It’s your property, so you have the final say in what we build here.”
I opened the car door and stepped out, soaking up the heat. Beyond the lemon groves, goats grazed where once there had been a lawn edged by trees. I guessed a local farmer had taken advantage of the many holes in the boundary walls.
Not that I minded.
Somewhere in the tangled mass of trees beyond the ravaged lawn lay an old chapel, where Thea had fallen in love with Dario. While she’d been enjoying romantic liaisons with her secret lover, our father had locked me in an attic. My stomach soured at all the years I’d lost.
But I shook my head. That was in the past. Declan was right. Once this place had been razed to the ground, we could make new memories. Happy ones.
“Can we go now?” It had been a long day, a long flight, and I needed food and sleep. In two days, I’d gone from single to claimed by three men, crossed the Atlantic, and had the life fucked out of me.
All I wanted now was a comfortable bed and some carbs.
“Not yet.”
I was just about to start whining when a yellow sports car appeared, driven at a speed not conducive to the roadconditions. I jumped back as Ronan slammed the brakes on the Ferrari, sending gravel flying.
We’d left him and Conal at the airport, supposedly to meet a guy about some business or other. Declan had been very vague about it, so I’d not pressed for more information.
“About fucking time,” Declan grumbled. “Did you get it?”
“Of course. And a few other things as well,” Conal said with a smirk.
“The credit card took a big hit,” Ronan added while winking at me. “We took Eden’s advice to heart.”
My eyes narrowed in confusion. What on earth had Eden advised them about?
Declan glanced at his phone and nodded. “We’re all set.” I looked around, but Ash and Connor had vanished. We’d driven up to the house, but they’d stayed behind at the gate.
I frowned. It wasn’t like Declan to send his most trusted men away. Not here, where potential threats still lurked around every corner. My father was back in prison, but some of Marku’s men remained on the loose. Or so I’d gleaned from a conversation overheard on the plane.
But Declan didn’t give me a chance to question the twins. Instead, he steered me across the lawn and into the trees.
We followed a well-worn path. Birds sang and insects hummed. As the afternoon slowly waned, the shadows deepened. In the distance, a dog barked, the sound filtering through the overgrown shrubs. Probably from one of the farms to the east. At certain times of the day, sounds carried for miles.
I remembered a time when Papa’s men patrolled these woods with dogs. I’d hear the dogs howling at night and cry, afraid the men were mistreating them.
It reminded me of how much I wanted a dog one day. A loyal, protective dog like Petal.
Or maybe not.
