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I don’t know what she is to me now, but I can’t muster up all those bitter, burning feelings of hatred anymore. I think I might pity her.
Lex’s eyes ping between us, probably trying to figure out which to suss out first; the fact Verity is smuggling in unapproved food, or the fact she and I aren’t going for each other’s throats. In the end, he opts to keep quiet about both. Smart.
“Bloody dresses are a requirement of any Royal event in the palace. But in case you didn’t know,” I add, leading her toward the stairs, “the blood doesn’t necessarily have to be your own.” She glances up at me with a dark smile. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Ah, you know Father,” I say, rocking back on my heels. “He’s never met a balloon arch he could resist.”
Verity’s fingers find mine. I’m not sure who is anchoring who.
It’s only then that I realized I sort of liked having this secret between the four of us, something sacred and ours alone. But now, it’s out there. Now it belongs to them more than us.
In one swift, violent motion, I shove the top tier from the cake. It lands on the parquet floor with a sickening sound that’s accompanied by a sea of gasps. “Michael Rufus Ashby?” I hurl the words directly into my father’s rapidly hardening face. “Not fucking happening!”
Ugh he is honestly my favorite
I think if I caught one glimpse of the look on my brothers’ faces—on hers—I wouldn’t be able to stop at desserts. I’d have to raze the whole goddamn room to the ground.
Burn the world down for her energy
This isn’t about the baby. It’s barely even about the thought it could be mine—my blood, my legacy. A Kayes heir with the name Michael Rufus Ashby? It’s profane.
“There’s only one title that matters in Forsyth, and that’s King.” He flinches when my wad of saliva hits his nose. “That’s what I think of both titles,” I sneer.
WICKER IS EVERYTHING
“I stood her up to be with the mother of my child on Mother’s Day.”
“A Prince does as he’s fucking told!” His face has turned a shade of red I’ve never seen before. There’s no doubt in my mind punishment is coming, more vicious than I’ve ever known. That’s how much of a fuck I don’t give when I say, “That’s too bad, because I’ve decided I’m not going to be your whore anymore.”
THE CHARACTER ARC IS GOING CRAZY
I’m Whitaker Kayes. Heir to the Barons. I have options. I hold my own deck of cards.
“Face it. Your leverage is as useless as your cock.”
Sometimes it hurts to look at him, like staring into the sun too long.
Nothing this perfect could possibly be appreciated all at once.
I’d kill for my brothers. But I’d die for her and our son.
I’ve never felt more sure of anything in my life. “You were dead the second you touched her.”
I’ve become used to being watched.” Quieter, I confess, “No moment ever feels like my own anymore.”
Because that’s what death is in Forsyth. Currency.
“We do something a lot worse than that, Verity.” “What’s worse than killing people?” He gives me a quickfire glance. “Keeping them alive.”
Charlie was a lying scumbag who is an embarrassment to East End, and I put a bullet through his head.”
“You’ll have to kill me before I let you lay a hand on her or our son.”
I just feel cold. From fear. From regret. From knowing what it’s like to kneel like this, having the man who’s supposed to protect you turn his ire on you instead.
“Screw you,” I hiss, willing to stand between this monster and Pace. The man who killed for me. The man who, I know, will kill for our son. “No wonder my mother never wanted you to know about me.”
“Your mother was a whore,” he barks. My body quakes when I scream, the sound wet and twisted. “And my father was a pathetic rapist!”
“Truth be told, I hadn’t realized you’d made her one of you so quickly. But look at her, already taking your punishments for you. All this little outburst of yours has accomplished is confirming my suspicions.” He gives me a blood-stained grin. “She’s the new precious thing, isn’t she?”
for a moment, there’s a distinct possibility I’d take a bullet if it meant slicing through the skin.
“Father was just about to find out what it’s like,” I say, pushing the blade harder, “to be under my knife.” But Father just snorts. “Is that what you think this is, son?” “I’m not your fucking son.”
Lavinia Lucia already blew one kingdom off the map, and something tells me that the Duchess would have no problem doing it again. No matter the collateral damage.
She took the punishment for him—for us. To think, at one point, I’d accused her of being disloyal. Time and time again, Verity Sinclaire has proved she’s the most loyal of us all.
We have to leave.” I swallow, feeling insane for saying it aloud, but even more so for taking so long to see it. “And we’re taking her with us.”
To my surprise, Wicker’s the one to narrow his eyes. “There’s no fucking way we’re leaving here without her.”
In nine days, we’ll take Verity away from East End. Away from West End Away from Forsyth.
Father is right. I’m weak. But I don’t want to be. Not for her, and not for our son.
need you to know that after last night, I’m done. This child, our family, it’s more important than anything. I know that.”
I knew it the second I stepped between Verity and my father. There’s no high in this world that’s worth being unable to protect them.
Maybe there was a time when this woman and the life growing inside of her were yet another duty piled on top of a mountain, but it’s different now. The...
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“Family isn’t DNA.
there’s no universe where I’d see this baby as anything less than mine.”
“We created him, didn’t we?” Her eyes glisten. “We did.” “All of us.”
“We need you. Not just me and the baby, but them, too. Especially after what we just went through.”
“And she’s more than just a bird to him, isn’t she? She’s… she’s his heart.”
“It’s like he was afraid of having a soul, so he gave it to her to keep safe. Something untainted that would love him back.”
How can I not fall for someone who sees my brothers for what they really are?
Even birds can use a mama bear sometimes. Please see that this one is loved until we’ve made a safer den for her. Show her some kindness and a window with some sunshine, and she’ll be a fast friend. Love, VerBear
I just wanted to keep you contained. Safe. It’s hard seeing you out there in the world, knowing anything could happen to you.”
“I’ve spent the last five days hanging on by a very thin thread, wavering between killing my father for locking you up, and going down there and stealing you myself. But…” His eyes bear down on me, and I shiver at the mixture of agony and tenderness there. “If I’d seen you down there, with no way to get you out, I would have lost my shit and done something very, very stupid.”
“This thing between us is too fucking much.” His hand flattens on his chest, over his heart, fingers curling into his shirt. “I spent all those years not letting those people inside. I kept myself safe,” he pounds his fist, “in here. But you showed up in a fancy ballgown, guns blazing, West End wild, taking every fucking thing I threw at you. You were supposed to cry. To run. To make it easy for me to break you. But you didn’t break. You just kept fucking going. And then…”
“I did what any Princess would do,” I say carefully. “No. No one has ever done something like that for me before.” He looks at me with red-rimmed eyes. “Not when I was ten, or fifteen, or twenty.” He inhales, eyes searching. “So why, Verity? Why do you do it, knowing damn well I can’t rescue you back?” I lift my hand and cup his cheek, knowing the answer. “Because, Whitaker Kayes, despite how hard your father tried, this isn’t a transaction for me. I showed up because I see what you don’t.” With a sad smile, I stroke his cheek. “That you’re worth saving.”
