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Tynan's face hardens. "No, he's fine. I should have hurt him for that bullshit, but I didn't."
"Don't say that!"
Tynan shakes his head. "Your da's an addict. You need to get it through your head that, eventually, it's going to lead to his own destruction. You do know that, right?"
I turn away, my stomach flipping. I've always protected Da, and now I don't know how he'll survive. I don't want him to die at the hands of whomever, but I know Tynan's right.
Da's an addict. He can't help himself. He's his own worst enemy.
I blink hard, and a tear escapes. Tynan puts his arm around my shoulders, but I shrug out of his hold and say, "Thanks for taking care of it. I'm sorry ya had to help."
He arches his eyebrows, staring at me.
My pulse quickens. I ask, "What?"
"Are ya sorry?"
"What do ya mean?"
"Ya seemed prepared for Malachy to show up here when ya tricked me into agreeing to take care of his debts."
A little bit of guilt fills me, but I push it away. Tynan manipulated me the other night, so what I did was no worse than what he did. So I point out, "Ya gave me an ultimatum to marry ya. It's only fair I gave ya one back."
He arches his eyebrows. "Two wrongs make a right?"
The guilt reappears, but I once again push it away. "Don't act like you're full of kindergarten morals. Pretty sure that's how ya operate."
To my surprise, he softly chuckles. "Fair enough. Guess it's time to correct a wrong."
Fear reappears. I stutter, "Wh-what does that mean?"
His lips twitch. He rises, pulls me off the sofa, then takes a white satin box out of his pocket. He holds it in front of my face.
I stare at it, and butterflies take off, but my stomach's also diving. I cautiously ask, "What is that?"
"Open it," he orders.
I shake my head. "No."
"No?"
"No. Why do I need to open it?"
He laughs again. "Because it's yours."
I don't take my eyes off the box. "What are ya talking about?"
He firmly demands, "Open the box, Maeve."
I sigh and take the box. My hand shakes, but I open the lid and then freeze.
A huge diamond shines in the light. It might be bigger than Alaina's, Scarlet's, and Lauren's rings.
Amusement fills Tynan's voice. "Well? Do ya like it?"
I glance at him, then back at the diamond, then back at him, asking, "What is this?"
Satisfaction fills his face. "What do ya think it is? It's your engagement ring."
