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“What?”
“Ivy.” She leaned in. “Joining hands with Ethan doesn’t mean he’ll go in with a bat and hurt whoever hurt you…he’s a student of Machiavelli. He’ll tear them down slowly and then wipe them from the face of the earth.”
I leaned in as well. “I know my unsophisticated demeanor often makes people look down on me. I also know people think I am weak, but Nari, I’ve read The Prince too. Machiavelli once said ‘I love my city more than my soul.’ And as such, no sacrifice is too small. Your grandmother asked me to give up my name. I said okay. You told me to cut my teeth and rip
the hair from my body. I said okay. Marriage for the Irish is forever. Which means, a man I do not know will own every part of me, indefinitely, and still I said okay. I don’t care how he does it…as long as he does it.”
NARI
“Well, then I guess nothing else can be said,” I replied, lifting the water to my lips, and she reached for her fork. I watched him, through the frosted glass of the waterfall, rise to his feet, button up his suit jacket, and walk toward the exit.
The king had heard what he’d needed to hear…
SEVEN
“Tonight the world is yours, as am I.”
~ Melissa de la Cruz
ETHAN
“Knock knock.”
I glanced toward her and she smiled, dressed in a long, tight black dress, the back of which was open, making it a little too revealing for my liking.
“Are you going to a funeral or auditioning for queen of the damned?” I asked, reaching for my bowtie.
“You’re being mean,” she stated, walking further into my closet and taking the bowtie from my hands. “And here I came to tie your tie for the last time.”
“If anyone heard you they’d think you had a big brother complex.” I smirked at her, and she rolled her eyes, lifting my collar up more in order to put the tie around. “Dona, you know—”
“Yea, I do.” She glanced up at me and smiled back. “You won’t forget about me.”
“Not that. I’m going to totally forget about you. Just like you’ve totally forgotten you are terrible at tying bowties.”
She paused and like always opened her mouth to curse me, but couldn’t bring herself to, closing her mouth and biting her lip. She tied the bowtie as if she were tying shoelaces.
“There you go, asshole!” She snapped, spinning on her heels and walking to the door.
“Dona.”
“What?” she hollered.
“If I ever forget about you, kill me.”
She crossed her arms. “Swear it.”
“I swear,” I said without hesitation, and she nodded, walking out. She didn’t need more than that. Undoing the mess she did and retying the damn bowtie, I stepped out of my closet to see Toby waiting with my suit jacket.
Walking to him, I slid my left arm then my right into it, standing in front of the mirror to adjust my cufflinks.
“Where is it?” I asked, and he lifted the velvet box for me to see.
Taking it from his hands and opening the box, I stared at the teardrop-shaped ring set in rose gold. I knew nothing about rings, but the diamond was big enough. Closing the box, I placed it back into my pocket.
“She’s in the guest room,” he informed, and I didn’t move. “Can I say something as…your friend?”
My eyebrow rose as I looked at him through the mirror. “My friend?”
