Page 153 of Forbidden Forget-Me-Not

“It’s not that simple.”

“It is that simple.” I grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at me. “You don’t get to trade yourself. That’s what he has always wanted. He doesn’t get to use me to get to you. I will go back to the jail right now.”

“Goran, you don’t know what he’s capable of. I’m trying to save you. Save us.”

“I don’t need saving,” I bit out, rougher than I intended. “Lani, I know exactly what he is capable of, and I will withstand whatever torture he chooses before letting you cage your soul for me.”

“If he hurt you…killed you…I couldn’t live with that. I had to take the deal.”

I moved closer until there was no space between us.

“I would rather have my throat slit than watch you walk down an aisle with another man for me,” I whispered. “Don’t you understand that? I love you, Lani. You’re mine.”

Her breath hitched.

“Don’t say that.”

“Why? It’s the truth.”

“You don’t know that. I did this to us. I never should’ve tricked you into marriage”

“Stop it. I would always choose you Lani.”

“No you wouldn’t have. I forced you and now we are both paying the price,” she whispered.

“No. I say that always. I don’t care how we got here, I love you. I always will.” I cupped her cheeks.

She shoved weakly at my chest, but I wasn’t going anywhere.

“You don’t get to be noble about this,” she said, as the first tear slid down her face.

“And you don’t get to martyr yourself. Especially not for me.”

“With or without your consent,” she said, voice shaking. “I will do what is needed to keep you out of prison.”

It was the same tone she had used the night she stole Atlas.

My fingers brushed the side of her neck.

“Don’t…” Her pulse beat fast beneath my fingertips. “Don’t take this choice away from me,” I pleaded.

Her eyes searched mine.

“If you love me,” she whispered.

I leaned down until my forehead nearly touched hers.

“Don’t,” I warned, cutting her off.

“If you love me,” she repeated, “you’ll let me fix this. When I married you, I thought I was being smart, devious, but I was wrong. I was a fool. All I did was doom us both.” Her voice cracked. “I need to be the one who sets it right.”

“There is no version of this where I let you belong to someone else,” I growled, dangerously. The thought alone filled my head with violent images. Faces I hadn’t seen yet, already painted in blood.

“You don’t own me or my choices, Goran.”

“No,” I agreed. “But I refuse to lose you because your father thinks he can use me as a pawn.”

The air between us hummed with desperation.