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“Whatever,” I said. “It’s not a fairy tale.”
“A woman like you doesn’t need a fairy tale. You said your family wants you to marry a powerful man.” He raised up both of his arms, showing the definition of his arms. “Well, I’m the most powerful. I’m bulletproof. And I’m rich. I’d take care of you better than your own father did.”
“No…” More tears burned in my eyes. “I will never love a man who’s hurt my family so much…”
“I never did anything, Vanessa. Don’t hold me accountable for my father’s actions.”
“You wanted to kill my entire family, so I have to. What if this hadn’t happened? You could be butchering my family right this very moment.”
“But it didn’t happen,” he said quietly. “At this very moment, I’m telling you I love you. That’s what’s real. I said I wouldn’t hurt your family. I’ve sacrificed my blood lust—for you. That says a lot more than my genealogy.”
“My father is the most stubborn man on this planet…sometimes my mom is worse. They’ll never accept us. They’ll never accept you.”
“I don’t give a damn if they do. We’re in this relationship together—not with your family.”
“My family is the most important thing in the world to me… I would never be with someone they hated.”
“Then don’t tell them about me. Problem solved.”
“You’d rather be a secret?”
“It’s not like I want to spend any time with your family anyway. I said I wouldn’t kill them, but that doesn’t mean I’ll stop hating them.”
“How can you say that and still want to be with me?”
“I already said this,” he snapped. “I’m with you—not them.”
“My family dates who I date…and I’m not going to lie to them. I’m not going to have a secret life they don’t know about. They’re resourceful and smart. They’ll figure it out eventually. And that’s the last thing I want…for them to know I’m in love with the son of the man who hurt my family.”
His eyes narrowed on my face, reacting to my choice of words.
Shit.
He didn’t grin like an arrogant asshole. He was too angry for that right now. “Even if we didn’t have a long-term future together, we could still be together now. We could still enjoy each other—honestly.”
That was not an improvement. I couldn’t get more attached to him than I already was. “No.”
“Why?”
“I can’t let this get any worse. I’ll never marry you, so I’m setting myself up for agonizing pain. I’m just going to hurt my family. I can’t stand my father’s disappointment, and if he knew about this…he would never look at me the same.”
“You’re a grown-ass woman, Vanessa. Be with the man you want to be with. You don’t need your father’s blessing.”
“Yes, I do,” I said firmly. “I need it more than anything else in this world. My parents mean everything to me. I know you don’t get that because—”
“I don’t have parents?” His nostrils flared again. “Because my father was killed by your parents? Because my mother turned into a prostitute to take care of me? Because her throat was slit, and she was left in a dumpster? Yeah, I didn’t have the perfect fucking childhood you had, and honestly, I hate you for it. You had everything that should have been mine. I hate you, and I hate your family too. But I can look past that since whatever the fuck we have is so damn good. Tell me it’s not good. Tell me it’s not the best high you’ve ever had.”
I couldn’t. It would be the most obvious lie I’ve ever told.
“I don’t care about my parents or your parents right now. This is just between the two of us.”
“But you don’t get it…this can’t go anywhere. I don’t want to get involved if we have no future. I want to get married and have my own family, and for that to happen, I need to pick someone my family can be close with. He doesn’t have to be perfect. He just can’t be you…”
He clenched his jaw, his teeth grinding together. “If I can drop the vendetta when it’s been my life goal, then your father should be able to drop his prejudice—”
“He never will. My father is pragmatic and logical, but this…is something he’ll never accept. He’ll never accept you, Bones. Your father raped and killed his sister. If that wasn’t bad enough, your father raped my mother. This can’t happen. Not now and not ever.”
He finally turned quiet, his jaw loosened in disappointment.
“This is over…” I wouldn’t love him, and I wouldn’t let him love me. I had to move on with my life. I had to find someone better, someone my family could love. It wasn’t Bones, and it would never be Bones. “For good.”
He never severed eye contact with me, watching me with the same intensity as before. His hands relaxed, and he dropped the fists he’d been holding during the duration of the conversation.
