Page 56 of Deceit

My heart stilled in my chest as my jaw hit the ground.“Va…Vanessa King,as intheVanessa King, whose uncle killed our mom?”

Rafe’s grimace confirmedthatI had hit the jackpot.

“What?!”I shrieked.“What the hell is Papa thinking?”My heart hadrestarted, only now it was beating faster than a racehorse.

“He said it’s to improve relations between our families.”

“Improve relations? Rowan King killed Mama!”

Rafe’s gaze lifted to where Connor and Rob hovered, the two guards nowstaring intently at me, wearing matching expressions of concern. He took my arm and gently pulled me to carry on walking, lowering his voice.

“And Dad killed Rowan. The families have been feuding since, but like usand the Wolfes, Dad wants to strengthen our ties,”Rafe explained, his voice almost a whisper as he leaned into me.

My nose wrinkled in confusion. What the hell was Papa playing at? Why,after all these years, was he trying to strengthen our ties by marrying us off to our enemies?

“I don’t understand.”

“Me neither, Sofe,”Rafe shrugged.“But the deal’s done. In a few months,I’ll be in the same position as you. At least Miles is tolerable. I met Vanessa a few days before your wedding; she's vile. She was there, you know, at your wedding.”

“She was at my wedding? How did I not knowthat?”

“Probably because you were too busy mourning your future,”Rafe chuckledhumorlessly.“Her brother was there too. Lucas King. Arrogant fucker. Unsurprisingly, he got on well with Kai. They’ve been staying at the house sincethen.”

“Did Lucas do that to your face?”

Rafe swallowed, and something indecipherable flashed in his eyes.“Yeah.”

“Why?”

He sighed.“Let’sjustsay he and I have some unresolved issues to figureout.”

I didn’t push him any further. If Rafe wanted to tell me what the unresolvedissues were, he would. Besides, I was at a loss for words. How could a father dictate who his children married? It was unfair. We had no choice but to accept the life we were born into, and suck up whatever our father decided was best for us.

Sometimes, Ireallyhated Papa.

“I don’t know what to say, Rafe.”

He lifted a shoulder.“There isn’t anything you can say.”

“Is there any way you can get out of it?”I asked, knowing what the answerwould be.

Rafe had little more power over Papa’s decisions than I did, but not enoughto convince him to change his mind.

His entire body slumped in defeat.“No.”

We walked in silence for a while, tension gathering between us, whichonly thickened when Rafe said,“I’ve got to go away for a few days. I won’t be able to call or message you.”

“Where are you going?”

“New York.”

“Why?”

He shook his head.“I can’t tell you.”

A pang of sympathy hit me. I hatedthatRafe couldn’t share his burdens withme. In the months since he’d taken on the role, he’d lost his shine. He was always the positive one, the one who kept me smiling. Now, his lips were set in a permanent frown.

Damn Papa. Damn him to hell for taking my happy brother and destroyinghim, like everything else he touched.