Ifshedidn’tanswerme in the next couple minutes, I was taking the damn thing off, smashing it, and putting the pieces on her desk.
She’s probably making you wait on purpose, you fucking simp.
As if on cue, my phone buzzed with a new message.
Elin: I knew you were a good boy. You and I will be going to lunch after we finish with Kyle.
My eyebrows went up. As much as I hated taking orders from anyone other than my father, I loved that she wanted to have lunch with me.
Fucking pull your shit together and remember who you are.
Gavriel: We will?
Elin: Yes.
Gavriel: What if I have another meeting to attend?
Elin: We have things to discuss.
Gavriel: Can’t we discuss them here at the club? Not sure I want to be seen in public with you.
Elin: Is that so?
For so many reasons, the least of which is your bossy fucking attitude.
Gavriel: I’ll see you at 10 on the ground floor. Don’t fucking be late.
I’d just sent the message when a notification popped down from my sister.
Rhea: You in your office?
Gavriel: Yes. Come on up.
Quickly, I went and put the key on Elin’s desk, and I was just getting back to my office when the elevator opened and Rhea walked out, shaking. I was moving before she said, “Gavriel?”
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Father. H-he . . .”
Understanding hit me. “He told you that he finished arranging your marriage to Juarez.” She nodded, her chin trembling as I pulled her into my office and locked the door behind us. I kissed the top of her head, breathing in the familiar scent of her jasmine shampoo. Tears streaked down her face through her expensive makeup, mascara bleeding like ink on parchment. She buried her head against my chest, her fingers clutching desperately at my shirt, wrinkling the crisp fabric. Holding her tight enough that I could feel her heartbeat hammering against mine, I guided her to the leather couch in the corner and sank down beside her, the cushions yielding beneath our weight. Turning to cradle her face between my palms, I wiped away tearsthat felt scalding against my fingertips, her skin flushed and blotchy beneath my touch. “I’m not going to let that happen.”
“What if—”
More forcefully this time, I repeated, “I’mnotgoing to let that happen. Even if I have to paint your dress red with his blood, I will keep you from marrying that man.”
Her arms wrapped around my waist as she fell back into my chest and just sobbed. “I want Joel back. Why wouldn’t Father just let me have Joel?”
I knew why, but it wasn’t something I was going to tell her now. It had been about control. He didn’t think of Rhea as anything other than a bargaining chip. Family always came first to him. The familybusiness,that was. Rhea and I were nothing but a means to more zeros in the bank account, and here I was, contributing to her heartbreak. I’d never forgive myself for my part in this.
Her eyes flashed with rage I'd rarely seen before. "Why did you have to cut his heart out?" She lunged at me, her fist connecting with my jaw with a crack that sent pain shooting through my skull. "You monster!" Each word was punctuated by another blow to my chest, my shoulders, my face. I stood there and took it, tasting copper as blood pooled in my mouth. Her screams tore through the office as she pounded into me, her fingernails raking down my arms, leaving crimson trails. When her knees finally buckled, she was still clawing at me, her face contorted in agony, mascara and tears and snot all mixing together. I caught her before she hit the floor, my own vision blurring. This was the price. I'd pay it a thousand times over. I carried her to the couch, her body trembling violently against mine, and knelt before her. Blood from my split lip dripped onto the carpet as I brushed matted hair from her face. "I'm sorry, sis," I whispered, my voice breaking. "It had to be done."
I stayed there and comforted her for an hour, her body gradually softening against mine as her sobs subsided into hiccups, then into the shallow breathing of exhaustion. My shirt was damp with her tears, sticking to my skin. The leather couch creaked as I shifted to check the clock on my desk—the meeting was in fifteen minutes.
“Rhea?” She hummed. “You are welcome to stay here if you need somewhere to hide, but I have a meeting downstairs. I’ll be a few hours. Again, you are welcome to stay as long as you need to, but when you leave, please make sure the door is locked behind you.”
Her voice was soft, and it hurt to see her so broken-hearted.And it will always be partially my fault.“Okay.”
“I love you, Rhea.”
