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Kieran laughed, no bitterness in his voice. “He liked you!”
“I know and even I could tell he was a psychopath,” Liam replied. I heard him inhale. “I understand I got lucky. You two were there to protect me from the worst of it. And I, I don’t know, I miss him. But watching Tristan spiral like this…I think that might be the worst part of it all.”
“He’s doing his best,” Kieran said softly.
“Yeah, and it isn’t working,” his little brother replied. “Think he’ll do something crazy?”
“Let’s just say I’ve got plans in place if things go south,” Kieran said, and I strained to hear more, but he didn’t elaborate.
My mind spun with questions. What was Kieran planning? Was Tristan really losing control, or was it all part of some strategy I couldn’t see? The men I loved and trusted were keeping secrets, weaving webs I couldn’t untangle.
I needed to ask Tristan about it. I needed to go back in there and tell Tristan that Nick Rossi had crashed the party.
But I couldn’t bring myself to do it, not yet.
I leaned against the cool marble, my breath fogging in the crisp night air. The masquerade’s laughter and music were a distant echo as I tried to calm the storm inside me. That’s when a voice I hadn’t expected cut through the chaos of my thoughts, clear and unmistakable even from a distance.
“Regardless of past grievances, there will be peace with the Rossis,” my father, Silvio Orsini, declared, his tone carrying that familiar edge of authority. “Nick upheld his end of the bargain by not hurting Adriana. I owe it to him to make these negotiations smooth.”
Why was my Dad talking to them? And what the fuck did he mean about a bargain?
“I really don’t like not telling him about this, Silvio,” Kieran said, as if him and my dad were old friends. “I think he needs to know the truth.”
“He does need to know the truth. In time, when your niece and nephew are born, and my grandchildren are protected, he will know everything,” my dad said. “Right now, this is what must happen.”
My heart hammered like a drum, betrayal igniting like fire in my veins. How could he speak of truces and bargains over my life as if I were just another chess piece in their twisted game? Clutching the silk fabric of my gown, I stepped from the shadows, the mask of the ball now useless to conceal the fury in my eyes.
“Truce?” My voice sliced through the air, sharp and accusing.
“Ade–”
“You fucking liar,” I said, vaguely aware that I had never before sworn at my father at all. “You talk about me as if I’m not your daughter but a pawn in your dealings!”
My dad turned, his face etched with annoyance and worry. “Adriana, you shouldn’t have heard that.” He glanced at his conversational partner who’d quickly excused himself, leaving us alone. “It’s complicated, there’s more to it—“
Liam and Kieran watched us, neither one of them saying a thing.
“Complicated?” I spat the word out like poison. “You call a deal with the man who kidnapped me ‘complicated’? And what about Tristan? Do you think so little of him?”
“Adriana, this is the world we live in. It’s not black and white.” His voice was strained, trying to infuse some calm into the tension between us. “I’m doing what’s best for our family. What’s best for your children.”
“Best for the family or best for you?” I challenged, stepping closer, my voice rising. “You call yourself a father, yet you bargain with my life, with my future! Maybe Nick Rossi hasn’t killed me yet, but what life am I left with if I’m just a chip in your games?”
“Watch your tongue,” he snapped, the gentle façade slipping. “You don’t understand the weight of the decisions I have to make.”
“Then make me understand, or are you afraid to?” I was trembling now, rage mingling with an overwhelming sense of helplessness. “Because right now, all I see is a bastard who sold out his own daughter!”
I heard the slap before I felt it.
A disorienting rush of pain blossomed across my cheek, followed by the sting of betrayal that cut even deeper. I stumbled back, clutching my face, staring at my father in disbelief. The impact ricocheted through my skull, my father’s usually gentle hand sharp against my heated cheek. The sound echoed eerily in the silence that followed, my father just as stunned as I was. Beyond the shock, there was a flicker of regret in his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, but I didn’t want to hear it. The apologies were worthless, flimsy attempts to mend a rift that had split too deep and too wide.
No one moved or spoke. Liam and Kieran were frozen, their eyes wide. And me? I touched a hand to my cheek, the sting blooming into a steady throb. For a moment, all I could do was stare at him, my father - the man who had raised me, loved me, and now betrayed me.
“How dare you?” I heard myself ask.
And then, when I thought he might apologize again, he…rolled his eyes.
