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I groan, tilting my head back. Why am I like this? Why can’t I just play the game and make things easy on myself?
But the idea of him walking around out there without his wedding ring, while I’m expected to wear it at all times bothers me.
It’s hypocrisy, and I won’t be in a marriage where there are two different sets of rules, even if this marriage isn’t real.
Chapter35
Camille
The grounds surrounding the Kazan mansion are like a pristine, manicured forest. Gravel paths snake through patches of flowers, shaped bushes, benches near bubbling fountains, at least one pool set beside a series of hot tubs, and a dock on the lake with several boats tied off.
I find a chair near the water. The smell of kelp and algal bloom blows in with the breeze and I let it comb through my hair. I stare at my finger, now ringless, and I feel strangely naked without it.
I want to wear my ring. I love my engagement ring, and the wedding ring means something to me even if it’s a symbol of a fake relationship.
It pisses me off to no end that he refuses to put his on, even if only to satisfy me.
“I thought you’d be jetting off somewhere warm and exciting by now,” a woman’s voice says nearby. I jump slightly and look back to see Helen coming toward me. She’s smiling, her hair pulled back in a chic bun, wearing white pants I could never pull off in a million years and a lightweight sweater, her arms wrapped around her midsection.
“Evander got me breakfast in bed and said that would be the closest thing to a honeymoon I’d be getting.”
She laughs, shaking her head. “Sounds like my brother.”
“Your brother can be a very frustrating man, you know.”
Helen sits down in the chair beside mine. “Already having marital problems? It’s been, what, eight hours?”
I laugh sharply. “I know, I keep telling myself that, but Evander is—” I wave a hand in the air.
“Stubborn? Controlling?”
“And then some.” I let out a breath and force myself to relax. “I’m sorry, you don’t need to hear this. You’re his sister. I don’t want to put you in a position where you feel like you need to defend him or something.”
She barks a laugh. “Me, defend Evander? He’s a prick on the best of days. No, don’t worry, complain away. What’d he do?”
“He refuses to wear his wedding ring.”
“Ah,” she says softly. “Well, that sounds about right.” She touches her fingers to her cheek and watches the water lapping up against the shore. “Evander has been closed off for a long time now, ever since he took over the family. The way it happened—” She hesitates, glancing at me, and rushes forward. “—Things were ugly, and I think they affected him more than he lets on.”
“I’ve gathered that, but what does that have to do with wearing a ring?”
“It’s a symbol of affection. Evander never lets himself be sentimental, not if he can help it, I think because he’s been hurt by it in the past. Did you know he used to be close with his father?”
I shake my head, frowning. “He never talks about his dad.”
“Our dad died when I was ten and Evander was fourteen. Before that though, they were thick as thieves, the best of friends. I think Dad was grooming him for leadership in the family.”
“What happened to him? If you don’t mind me asking.”
Her face clouds. “We live in a violent family, Camille, but I don’t want you thinking we’re just a bunch of barbarians. It isn’t like that.”
A shiver of something uncomfortable runs down my spine. “I know you aren’t.”
“Father was murdered. He was the underboss of the family, the second-in-command to Uncle Vassilis. When Father died, a part of Evander died with him, and he shut himself down for a very long time. It took years for my brother to come back to himself, only for it to happen again after—” Again she stops herself, unwilling to go into detail.
I decide not to press. “That must’ve been hard on him. And on you too, watching it happen.”
“Those were very bad days, but we’re all slowly getting past them. Well, everyone except Sophia and Aunt Anissa, but it’s hard to blame them for that.”
