Because that’s how it had always been with me.
Eden had probably spilled about Anton and the men before him. Thea still saw me as her weak, vulnerable little sister.
My hurt crystalized into anger.
Anger that she refused to see me as anything other than a damaged little sister who needed protecting, mostly from herself.
“I love them, and they love me. Yes, this relationship we have might not work out. Who knows? But this is my life, not yours.”
“I know you love them, Ver, I’m just concerned you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into!”
“Why? Because I’m so naïve?”
She had the grace to look embarrassed. “No, Ver, but youdohave a tendency to get into trouble. Eden told me about Anton.”As I’d suspected. Telling Eden anything while drunk had been a mistake. “I know the Kellys aren’t like that, but Declan is so much older than you, and Ronan is the biggest man slut in Ireland!”
“Wasn’t Landon a fuckboy when you met him? And let’s talk about Kyril, Russian mafia heir. He’s hardly model husband material, is he, sis?”
“This isn’t about me,” she huffed.
“No, it’s about me andmylife,” I gritted out while trying not to lose my temper and say something we’d both regret. I loved my sister, and I’d be eternally grateful for all that she’d sacrificedto keep me safe, but she needed to accept I was an adult now. “I love you, sis, but this is my life. Not yours. I’ve learned a lot from my therapy sessions, and while I don’t think I’ll ever be truly over the shit we both went through, I now know my worth.” She tried to interrupt me, but I was far from finished.
“No, Thea. You need to listen for once. I choose them, for better or worse. Yes, I might be making a huge fucking mistake, but I don’t think so. They’ve proved time and again that they’ll have my back and keep me safe. They’re not perfect - far from it - but then, neither am I. They accept me just like I accept them. So, either be happy for me or fuck off.”
Thea stared in surprise at me for a long moment.
“I’m proud of you, baby sister,” she admitted eventually, gracing me with a soft smile. “If those assholes are what you want, then you have my blessing.”
“I don’t need it but thank you anyway.” My heart thudded in my chest. Standing up to my sister - or anyone, for that matter - was fucking hard, but she’d crossed a line, and I wasn’t willing to let it go.
“No, she doesn’t need your blessing, Thea,” Declan said loudly from the doorway. When I looked up, he stood watching me, arms crossed, lips flattened in a hard line. “You’re more than welcome to come to our wedding, but if you try anything to break us up, you will regret it.”
My sister glared from my phone screen. Not that she could see him, or vice versa, as I made sure the phone’s camera stayed on me.
“Oh, I’ll be there, trust me,” she yelled. “But if you hurt my sister, I’ll fucking kill you. Remember that you bastard! And be sure to pass on my very best wishes to yourstronzobrothers. The same warning applies to them!”
Declan smirked, having heard her threat loud and clear. And it wasn’t an idle threat. If Thea wanted him dead, she’d makesure the Russian mafia carried out the hit. Declan was powerful, but if the Russians decided he was no longer an ally, we were all fucked.
Rage eclipsed any sisterly feelings I had for her. I wasn’t standing for this bullshit.
“You hurt my guys and you are dead to me,” I warned her.
“If they behave, I won’t need to,” she hissed in return.
“Are you being a bad girl, issuing threats, darling?” Cassian’s stern voice echoed from somewhere behind her. “Do I need to punish you?”
My sister flushed at his loaded question, and I cringed.Ugh.I didn’t need to know about their kinky bedroom shit.
He leaned in and whispered something in her ear that I didn’t catch before she quickly muttered another “congratulations” and ended the call.
“I’m proud of you, sweetheart,” Declan said with a smile as he sank onto the bed beside me. “You stood up to her, and that took guts.”
I grimaced with discomfort, not enjoying how our confrontation had made me feel. “I want her to be happy for me, but if she can’t, well, that’s her problem.”
He pushed a lock of hair behind my ear. “She’ll be fine. She’s just overprotective. It’s the role she’s played her whole life.”
I knew he was right. My father had forced her to become my protector from a young age, and she’d never really stepped back. Whenever I got into trouble, she came to the rescue, either directly, or using the Kellys as her proxies.
But things had changed. I was in charge of my life now, which meant our sister dynamic needed to adapt.
