By Fate I Conquer (Sins of the Fathers, #4)

by Cora Reilly

“I can take over now,” Mom said in a pinched voice.

A tense look passed between them but Dad finally released me and left the room.

Nino had always treated me when I was sick. I didn’t want someone I didn’t know taking care of me.

“Okay. That’s what I thought. I just thought I should ask considering everything that’s happened.”

“Are you mad at me?” She let out a sharp laugh and shook her head, her palm sliding over my hair as she began to rinse it with water.

“No, why would I be?”

“But you’re mad.” “I am.”...

She wasn’t wearing any makeup and her blond hair was a mess.

“I wish you hadn’t seen what you did. I wish I could take this burden from you.”

“I don’t think I do, but I think I should. I’m your Mom. I want to protect you.”

“I don’t need protection from Nevio, Dad and Nino.”

“No, you don’t. I’m glad you realize that. And that’s ...

“I would have found out e...

“Maybe. But this was a very brutal way to find out. It’s ...

Mom grabbed something from the shelf and held out my stuffed rabbit.

I’d had it all my life but recently I hadn’t cuddled with it anymore. I took it from her.

“What can I do?” I whispered, clutching my stuffed rabbit to my chest. ...

Mom sighed, looking exhausted. She probably hadn’t slept these l...

“Love ...

“Go to bed and get some rest. I’ll join you when I’ve talked to Greta,”

Dad said to Mom. She didn’t look at him, only at me.

“Do you want me to stay?” Anger filled Dad’s eyes...

Dad held her by the wrist when she tried to pass him. Mom sent him a scathing look. He released her and she sli...

Nino gave Dad a look I didn’t understand. They often sha...

Whenever I needed a neutral opinion or wanted to truly understand something I asked Nino, but today I couldn’t bear his emotionless tone.

“How does it feel to hurt someone so badly that they pled for death when you could save them with your abilities instead?” I asked softly.

“Mine. They are the only standards that matter.”

“Do you want me to explain why?” “No,” I said firmly. “It won’t change the way I think.”

Their silent interactions often reminded me of Nevio and I, but Dad and Nino’s thought process was more similar than mine and Nevio’s.

“Thank you, Nino, for treating my wound. I appreciate it.”

“I’m not scared of you, you know,”

I said before he could slip out of the door. He regarded me curiously, then a tight smile pulled at his mouth.

“You don’t have to fear a...

He was about to get up but I pushed up and pressed against him.

I didn’t want him to think my feelings for him had changed.

He was tense at first then his arms came around me in a tight embrace and he ...

“I love you, Dad.” Dad pressed a kiss to my temple. “I love you more than life itself, Mi...

“There’s darkness all around you, pitch-black like hell itself, and no matter how hard I try to protect you from it, some of it will inevitably touch you because you are part of this family. But I swear I’ll make sure no other darkness comes close to touching you.”

I wondered how Mom and Kiara felt, knowing what Dad and Nino were. They’d chosen them despite what they were.

I didn’t think I could ever be with someone like that. I had always loved my family. I didn’t choose them. But choosing someone who was capable of such horrors, of acts of utmost cruelty? I couldn’t do it.

The men in my family were bad men. Nevio, my other half, was possibly the worst of them. Bu...

It was only fitting that I should fall in love with a man who was just as bad, as brutal, as cruel as the men who’d raised me.

Matteo gave me a look that suggested I should write down my last wish before he went over to a small mirror to check whether his hairstyle was okay.

I almost rolled my eyes. I was vain to a certain degree, but Matteo always looked like he’d fallen out of an issue of Vogue.

“I swear I’ll beat every goddamn word out of you if you don’t open your mouth now.”

“We had sex, a few times. End of story.”

“It’s not like you didn’t fuck other women before you married Mom. You and Matteo fucked every woman that crossed your path from what I hear.”

“Your dad and I had enough blood left in our horny brains to pick only outsiders to fuck.”

“I can’t even look at him. I really want to kill him.”

had sex with her, consensual. I didn’t push her to have sex, so stop overreacting.”