He reaches for the bottle again, and I step in, blocking him.
“Lily makes her own choices,” I say. “We don’t need permission. What we want is your blessing. And if there’s anyone on this planet who would die for her, who would burn the world down just to keep her safe, it’s me.”
“She’s my daughter!” he shouts, hurling the glass against the wall. It explodes into shards.
My chest tightens. “Don’t wake her,” I hiss. “Don’t let her see you like this.”
“You telling me what to do now?”
“Yes,” I say, and it hurts, but I don’t back down. “I won’t let you scare her, threaten her, or make her feel like she’s done something wrong for choosing me.”
“I sent her away to protect her,” he says, voice breaking despite himself. “You’re dragging her back into hell.”
“No,” I correct quietly. “You did that when you gave that necklace to her. And once I repay my debt to Declan. I’m done.”
He freezes. “What?”
“I don’t want this life anymore,” I say. “I want a future. A family. I want to be a father to our kids.”
His face drains. “You got her pregnant?”
I huff a breath. “No. Not yet. But I hope she wants my children.”
He stares at me, shaken. “Who the fuck are you?”
“A man who finally wants to live,” I answer. “I’ve been your soldier my whole life. I’ve bled for you. Killed for you. I’m done.”
“You don’t get to leave.”
I step closer, towering over the one man I’d die for, my voice dropping. “Who’s stopping me?”
I hold his gaze, every word weighted. “My loyalty has always been to Lily. With me, building something real, that’s where she’s safe. Where your grandchildren grow up loved. Nothing stands in the way of that. Not you. Not anyone.”
I pause. Let it sink in. “So think carefully,” I say quietly. “Because if you threaten her—father or not—I will end you.”
“You’d kill me to protect her? I’m her father. I was supposed to be your best fucking friend. You were like a son to me!” he shouts, stepping closer.
I don’t flinch. Don’t raise my voice. I simply nod once. He doesn’t understand what utter devotion is. I know what I want out of life. I know exactly to whom my loyalty is. And that is Lily and our future. Our family and the plans to move to Monaco.
His speaking to me like this before would have killed me. Not anymore. It hurts, yes. But I know I’m doing it for the right reasons. I’m no longer just a weapon he can use. I’m a man fighting for love.
“I’d kill myself to protect her. So yes. If you risk her safety, you die. And it will be a slow and very fucking painful death.”I straighten, heart pounding, chest aching with everything I’m burning behind me.
“And if that isn’t enough for you,” I finish, voice rough but unwavering, “then get the fuck out of my house.”
I don’t say anything else. There’s no point. Not right now.
Lev’s breathing is ragged, his hands shaking, his anger spilling over into something messy and dangerous. If I push him any further, it won’t end with words. And Lily doesn’t deserve to hear that. Doesn’t deserve to wake up to raised voices and shattered glass and two men tearing each other apart over her.
“Take a minute,” I say finally. “Cool off.”
He scoffs, but I don’t wait for a response. I turn and walk away. Each step up the stairs feels heavier than the last. Not because I’m afraid of him, but because I know I’ve just cracked something that can’t be put back together the way it was before.
When I reach my office, I shut the door quietly behind me. This room is the one place in the house that doesn’t smell like violence or whiskey or regret.
It smells like paint.
Canvas lines the walls. Landscapes I stared at years ago when I needed something to bleed into that wasn’t flesh. Mountains at dusk. Storm clouds rolling over dark water. Fields caught between seasons.
