I thought I could circumnavigate the Debt Inheritance by forcing Nila to sign another binding contract. I’d planned to brandish it as a weapon the day I turned thirty and stop the Final Debt in its twilight hour.
I smirked.
Stupid idea and so much fucking work.
There was no point fighting the inevitable.
“What are you doing?” Jaz asked, wheeling closer, the swish of her chair softened by thick carpet.
Grabbing my sigil-engraved lighter, I flicked it open and held the Sacramental Pledge over the naked flame. The thick parchment crackled as I teased it with flickering heat.
“None of your business.” I brought the fire closer.
Jaz slapped my desk, jerking my eyes to hers. “We need to talk. I’m worried about you.”
I laughed softly as the fire suddenly caught hold, licking up the parchment. I became hypnotised as flames rapidly devoured the last of my madness.
Jaz eyed up the pledge. “What is that?”
The orange glow danced in my retinas. “Nothing.”
I tensed, expecting to feel some sort of regret at destroying the one piece of assurance I had over Nila’s soul. The night she’d signed this, she’d agreed to give me all rights over her—tobelongto me. But there was never any chance of a happy ending.
Not for us.
Not for me.
Fire blazed, gathering strength the more paper it devoured. The black ink cindered to ash, falling like black petals onto the desktop.
“Stop burning it,” Jasmine demanded, trying to knock my hand and dislodge my hold.
The paper continued to hiss and vanish.
I didn’t look at her. I didn’t argue.
I felt nothing.
Jasmine puffed out her cheeks, trying to blow out the fire, but it was too eager, too fast.
“Give it up, sister. Some things you cannot change.” In a matter of moments, the contract between Nila and me was no more. My stupid planning and ideas that I could win against my father no longer infected my brain.
It was soliberating.
Wiping the charred remains into the rubbish bin, I finally looked at my sibling. Her cherub cheeks and sultry lips were wasted on her broken body. She was a stunning woman, yet she would forever remain a spinster ensconced in this house under Bonnie’s control. “What do you want?”
Her eyes flickered in pain. Shouts and curses painted her skin, but her bluster faded before she even opened her mouth. Sighing sadly, she shook her head. “Why won’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“What he did to you.”
The air became stale. I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I don’t have time for this.”
“You have plenty of time, Jethro. Answer me.” Her face flushed red. “What’s happened to you? Why don’t you seek me out anymore? Why are you so remote?” She reached for my hands, but I shifted quickly, scooting backward in my chair.
Anguish weighed heavily on her shoulders, but I felt no guilt. Jasmine hada rough start in life. She continued to deal with her own demons, but they wereher demons. Not mine. I’d finally found a way to be free and I wished toremainfree.
“Is that all you want?” Cocking my head at the paperwork of the latest machinery upgrades needed for our warehouses, I pursed my lips. “I really am busy—”
