“I forbid it. You’ll marry whoever I tell you to marry.”
I laugh bitterly, straightening my blood-red tie. “You’re really going to stop me from doing what I want?” I dig my nails into my palms. “I will beat the living shit out of you if you stand between me and Lilac. I mean it. I want her.”
He stomps to me and yanks me by the collar. I glare up at my father.
“You would go against your own father for her?” His tone is sharp as a razor.
I would burn this city down if anyone gets in between me and Lilac.
“Yes.”
He lets me go, steps back, and thrusts his fingers through his hair.
“I’m not sticking my neck out for you. This is our legacy, and you not knowing where she comes from can corrupt it.”
“I’ve made up my mind.”
“The board members don’t tolerate disobedience, so you’re on your own. The trials aren’t worth it. They’re there to break you in Tartarus. Make you go insane.”
Tartarus is our prison, where they torture those who don’t follow the rules. Eventually, you either go insane begging for death, or you will die there.
I slide my fingers into my pants pockets.
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take. She’ll be worth it.”
My dad is pissed off about me going against the board members and their stupid-ass traditions, but I don’t care. He sent me countless messages today, threatening to disown me—but he won’t. He called me stupid for trusting Lilac, which might be true, but again, I don’t care. He worked my nerves so badly that I ended up blocking him.
After class, I park outside her condo. I take my helmet off and grab the one I bought her earlier. She’s going to be married to a biker, she needs her own helmet.
I punch in the code at the panel door and step inside, inhaling the fresh lavender scent. All the lights are off, so I slither into her room. I lean in the arch of the doorway, watching her sprawled on her queen-sized bed, nose deep in a book.
She’s adorable, her tongue sticking out as she turns the page. Her metallic eyes latch onto mine. She freezes. Blinks rapidly. Screams. Pillow flies at me.
“Geez, Irvin, you scared me. Why are you standing there like a creep?”
She lies back down.
“I revoked your rights from entering my home the last time I saw you,” she declares.
She sets the book on the nightstand. Her black tank top squeezes her torso, and her silk pajama shorts ride up her ass.
She revoked my access, but that didn’t stop me. She needs to learn she belongs to me.
She sits on the edge of the bed, twirling her hair. “Seriously, what if I had company?”
I sit, my gaze studying the curve of her long legs, and my pulse accelerates.
“I would make them leave.”
She pouts, tilting her head.
“What if I had a man over and I was getting dicked down?” She smirks.
I’d slit his throat, but I don’t say it. I saw the look on her face when I told her I killed the guy responsible for my mother’s death.
I stroke my knuckles across her face.
“Get dressed. We’re going for a ride.”
