"Then I kill them," he says simply. "All of them. Your father, your brothers, everyone connected to the Miroslav name."
"That's not fair," I whisper.
"Fair?" he laughs bitterly. "They kidnapped me five times as a child. They tried to kill me when I was fourteen. Your grandfather hunted me through the woods like an animal. And you want to talk about fair?"
"They're my family," I say, tears falling. "They made mistakes I know but please."
"And you're mine," he says firmly. "That's what matters. You're asking me to forgive the unforgivable, Iris. I can't do that. I won't do that."
"Can't you just leave them alone?" I beg. "Just let them exist?"
"No," he says. "Either they give me everything and retire, or they die. Those are the only options. I'm being generous giving them a choice at all."
"That's not generous," I say quietly.
"It is for me," he says. "Do you have any idea how much I want them dead? How much I want to make them suffer the way they made me suffer? But I'm offering them a way out for you. For you, Iris. That's the most I can do."
"What if I asked you to just leave them alone completely?" I ask.
"Then I'd say no," he says without hesitation. "That's the one thing I can't give you. Everything else, yes. Therapy, changes at the estate, trips, dogs, whatever you want. But not them. I will make their lives miserable until they give me what I want or until they're dead. That's not negotiable."
I close my eyes, fresh tears falling, knowing now with absolute certainty that I have to leave.
"I just need you to accept that," he continues. "Accept that your family and I will never be at peace. You can love them, you can miss them, but you can't have both of us in your life equally. You have to choose. And I need you to choose me."
"What if I can't?" I whisper.
"Then we have a problem," he says, his voice going cold. "Because I'm not letting you go. So you'll have to watch me destroy them, piece by piece, until there's nothing left."
Chapter 37
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IRIS
He falls quiet for a moment after that while his hand continues to stroke my hair with a rhythm that's slowly losing its coordination. I notice his movements are slowing down significantly and his breathing is becoming deeper and heavier with every passing second.
"I'm tired," he mumbles with a thick voice that sounds foreign coming from him. "That's strange."
"You should sleep," I say softly as I try to keep my voice steady so he doesn't suspect anything.
"I don't get tired this early," he says with confusion clouding his eyes. "I usually stay up until three or four in the morning."
"It's been a long week," I offer as an excuse. He leans down to kiss me with sluggish movements, and I turn my face away at the last second so his lips land on my cheek instead.
He pulls back slightly while his eyes struggle to focus on my face. "Not this again. It feels like one step forward and two steps back with you."
"I'm sorry," I whisper. "I'm just tired."
"Then sleep," he says as he wraps his arm around me from behind to pull me back against his chest. "I've got you." But his grip is getting weaker by the second and his breathing is getting heavier as the drugs take hold. A few minutes pass before his arm goes completely slack around my waist.
"Something's wrong," he mumbles, and his voice is barely coherent now. "This isn't normal because I don't just fall asleeplike this." I stay completely still and silent as I wait for the inevitable. "The wine," he says slowly as realization cuts through his confusion. "You drugged me."
My breath catches in my throat but I don't deny it because there's no point in lying now. He laughs quietly, but the sound is rough and fading fast. "I knew that drink tasted wrong."
I turn slightly to look at him while tears stream down my face. "Why would you drink it if you knew?"
"Because even if you gave me poison I'd take it," he says as his eyes struggle to stay open and a small smile touches his lips. "I'd take anything from your hands, Iris. Anything."
