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Then my determined gaze connects with Mark’s. “Tell me the truth this time, because when I figure it out, and I will, I won’t be this forgiving.”
“You want to know why I don’t want you to be with him?” Leif starts.
“Oh, do tell us how much you hate me,” Mark grumbles, and Leif’s nostrils flare in annoyance. He clutches the fork as if he’s planning to stab Mark.
“You’re a fucking idiot. You’re like a brother to me. Snap out of it.”
“Nah, I’m not. You want me to be him like your mom, right, Leif? You lost your brother, and I’m a perfect replacement toy.”
“No one is asking you to be him! You are the one who’s stepping into his shoes and taking his place. Look, you’re in his house, in his wife’s bed, with his children. What the fuck is wrong with you!” he growls at Mark, shoving the plate away from him. It almost topples over the edge.
Mark launches from his seat like a bullet and grabs Leif by his collar, throwing him against the kitchen countertop. “I AM NOT HIM. Stop comparing us two. Besides, you and Lucas are the ones who filled that role, haven’t you?” he roars in his face, giving him a meaningful look. But Leif pushes him back, straightening his clothes.
Affected by the aggression clinging to them, the deafening pulse starts to roar in my ears, but I stay quiet. When Ron, the security guy, appears from nowhere, silently asking me if he needs to interfere, I shake my head, knowing this confrontation was long coming.
“Take my kids upstairs, please. They don’t need to see this,” I whisper, and he grabs them from the living room.
My heart stops as Leif’s deep voice becomes emotional.
“I’m only looking out for the people I care about. But you wouldn’t know anything about it. You were Logan’s best friend, and you went for his widow the moment you got her alone. How’s that for comparison, brother?”
A cold shiver runs down my spine as I try to make sense of what Leif is saying.
“Pretense is your family’s forte, not mine.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The moment Darren realized I inherited his brother’s fortune, I became a business affair. I thought Logan tried to protect me, but he was as hungry as your father. It never was about me being his brother. They both wanted what I had,” Mark chuckles. Sarcasm drips from every word, but I know he’s hurting. “He juggled the power of both Cade clans and got destroyed in the end, didn’t he?” As if Mark hit the chord, Leif's face becomes an ashen void, dread etched in his dark eyes.
My lungs stop working as I watch him. The blood leaves my body, and I grab the side table for support, not wholly understanding what Mark is saying.
As I watch them, the puzzle pieces click together. Standing in front of each other, Mark and Leif look like two brothers. Same height, same stature, same features. And there it is, the undeniable resemblance I failed to notice until now.
Dark spots appear in my vision, but I blink them away, needing to be sure that’s true.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Leif objects, but he doesn’t look so certain anymore.
“Don’t I, Leif? Your family’s in deep with Lester, and somehow, I end up with the twisted bastard? You tell me if I wasn’t some sort of business transaction. How your dad or uncle didn’t know about me?”
Leif shakes his head, swallowing hard, his hands balled into fists as he tries to deny it. But the doubt snakes into him. I can feel, even from here, the grip it has on him.
“Your family isn’t what they say they are. That’s why you ran from their life, and that’s why you’re here, staying close to the woman I love. Because the threat is real. We’re the collateral damage to the power games they’re playing.”
“Is this why you and Logan had a fallout?” Leif asks, defeated.
Mark nods, looking away to hide his wounded expression.
“He lied to me, Leif. I trusted him, loved him like the brother I never had. I would have taken a bullet for him if he asked me. He took my inheritance, and when he left the States, I followed him. But Logan pushed me out of his life and told me to stay away from his new family. I was discarded like trash, but at least you got back in.”
“You knew Logan.” I force the words out, tasting bitterness in my dry mouth. “You’re related to the Cades. You knew who I was from the beginning.” I lock my gaze with Mark. He closes his eyes and takes a huge gulp of breath before turning those ambers glowing with guilt back at me. “You played me.” I gasp as pain burrows into me.
“Cassandra.”
My chin trembles, but I try to contain my emotions to get to the bottom of this.
“Let me explain . . .” His husky tone’s digging a hole into my breaking heart.
I wipe the tears off my cheeks, glaring at him. I’m done waiting. Done with his games.
