Page 14

As the days ticked by into weeks, I couldn’t fight the restlessness anymore.

Being stuck in the house made me feel like I couldn’t breathe, which only felt worse whenever Daniil was near, giving me those looks of disdain that were all too revealing about how he felt about everything.

Despite the hope I once had for us acting as actual partners and finding a common ground that suited us both, we seemed so far from that moment in the car when the passion had been too hot for us to resist.

If it wasn’t Daniil, then it was the reality of my decisions weighing on me like a ton of bricks.

It was getting harder to look him in the eye, knowing he was likely regretting ever agreeing to my proposition in the first place. He didn’t want me involved in the business, that was certainly evident enough.

Even after our fight, things were still beyond tense, and I knew he didn’t trust me. Something in me wondered if he ever would.

It took me that time of isolation to realize just how naive I had been to believe Daniil would be fair in the slightest, that he would be honest and run with my offer.

I wanted to combine our strengths to not only rebuild my family’s name but also to boost his own in the process. It was possible, but that was apparently the last thing he wanted.

In a way, it seemed like he wanted to erase me and everything I had to offer.

Without him having to say it, I knew he looked down on me. Whether that was because I was a woman or new to the scene, it didn’t matter. It was all the same in the end. He was just like the others—the other bosses and associates who thought I wasn’t worth a second glance because I wasn’t a man.

To Daniil, my leadership and authority were nothing but a means to an end—a goal to be achieved without me in it.

While he was still angry with me for not completely relinquishing all control, I was just as pissed at him for trying to push me out, and for being an ass about it all.

I was caught in an impossible place, and I didn’t think he realized that. Not only were his intentions confusing given how cold he was to me most of the time, yet could switch and be all over me at moment’s notice, his motivation to push me out of power made me feel lost and disrespected by the man I agreed to marry despite how it was the last thing I wanted. I was sorely misled about it all, and while I wanted to place all of the blame on Daniil, I knew it was also my negligence that landed me in that position.

After my dad passed and Esidor was taken out before he could truly accomplish anything, I stepped in to continue my family’s name with the intention of restoring our reputation beyond what the other crime families thought of us. I wanted to bring honor to our name even if they fumbled it, and I didn’t want all of that taken away by the Novikovs.

I hadn’t needed to step up, but I did. And I did so to mend what had been broken by my brother’s carelessness. If I were to leave it all in Daniil’s hands, it would be an injustice not only to our name, but to myself, for all I sacrificed to get there.

Regardless of what Daniil wanted, I wasn’t going to be a passive wife. I wasn’t going to let it all slip through my fingers.

Even thinking about it while I paced back and forth in the living room made me feel every moment of that pressure weighing on me. I didn’t know what to do with that anger or how to get it out of me. Not when the house was empty, and not when Daniil was the only other person around when he could be bothered.

He refused to look at me like I had ambitions of my own, refused to acknowledge my authority over what was mine, and how I was just as deserving of that kind of role as he and his brothers were.

My restless steps stopped the moment I caught the sound of something from the direction of the foyer. Loud voices and what sounded like a struggle went on, pulling at my curiosity until I couldn’t resist it.

Those muffled voices grew louder as I approached the heavy wood doors in the lit-up entryway, able to see several figures distorted through the frosted glass.

Something was going on, and the guards posted at the door were struggling.

Drawing closer, I finally caught the words.

“I don’t give a damn about who owns this house, we need to see her,” a familiar voice demanded, sharp and as insistent as ever. Just as commanding as I could be.

“Wait a minute,” the guard said, reluctantly continuing while he tried to hold the three bodies back. “Let me check—”

“No—no checking,” Angel snapped, obviously not taking no for an answer. “She’s our cousin. We’ll see her as we please.”

There was more of a struggle as the other two fought, and slipping her body out of his grasp, Livia pushed through the front door, face appearing like a sight for sore eyes.

Her eyes lit up the moment she saw me standing there. “Aria!”

A smile tugged at my lips, and I couldn’t fight the laugh that bubbled up from my chest.

They were there to see me—regardless of the restraints of the guards, my cousins didn’t give up on me. They fought to see me.

“Liv,” I managed, pulling her in for a tight hug. Her familiar contact and warmth immediately put me at ease, like the lifeline I had been waiting for; nothing could’ve felt as perfect in that moment.

Soon after, Angel and Silvia pushed in through the entryway, the latter scoffing at the guards who could only stand there, looking annoyed and defeated by three young girls.

At a moment’s notice, all three of them were surrounding me, wrapping me up in their arms while they grinned at me, looking teary-eyed. It almost seemed like it had been years since I last saw them—it might as well have been.

Through everything, I failed to realize how much I missed them, how badly I needed them to light up the room for me.

The guards gave me a questioning look when I looked up at them, and I gave them a dismissive wave, letting them know it was fine. It wasn’t like they were going to cause any more problems.

Seemingly satisfied and disarmed by my relaxed state, they both huffed and shook their heads, closing the door behind us.

“It’s about damn time,” Angel murmured, gently rubbing my back while she maintained our hug. Then, she pulled away slightly to get a better look at me. She frowned. “Are you all right? It looks like you’ve been going through it.”

With a small breath, I nodded and put a supportive hand against her cheek. “I’ll be fine…things just haven’t been as expected.”

It wasn’t the whole truth, but I didn’t want the girls to know how difficult it had been for me. Despite not knowing the details, they all seemed to understand.

“We heard what happened from Giovanni and Vinny, and we knew something wasn’t right when none of us heard from you…what’s going on?” Silvia asked, blue eyes glimmering with worry for me.

The sight alone was enough to make my heart ache.

Letting out a breath, I gestured to the living room. “Sit, I’ll tell you everything.”

With the four of us seated on the various couches, finally able to catch up, I explained the whole situation, from the abduction to the marriage pact to Daniil trying to deny me my rights as a leader. Of course, I left out the part about us sleeping together, since they didn’t exactly need to know those details.

After everything, Livia looked at me with concern flooding her youthful features. “What now?”

Leaning back in my seat, I shrugged with a hint of defeat. “I don’t know…I’m trying to do what I can, and I’m trying to keep it all together, but he doesn’t want me involved. He doesn’t trust that I can do my job. And without any way to communicate or the chance to be with the ranks, I can’t do a thing.”

She frowned and looked at me squarely. “You can’t let him get away with that. He can’t just take what’s yours. You lead the family, not him. They’re your people, and he doesn’t have their support.”

My people. That hit harder than I expected it to, and I had to pull in a breath to not fall apart.

“I don’t want to let him, but here, I have no power. Everything’s crumbling and I’m too far away to do anything about it. The legacy, my position…it’s all up in the air because of Daniil. I haven’t felt this helpless since everything was first dropped in my lap.”

The girls went quiet for a moment, then Angel adjusted herself on the cushion beside me and looked me in the eye with that fire she never let go out. She put a hand on my shoulder. “Look at me, Aria. We didn’t stand with you just to watch you hand your empire over to him willingly. You didn’t fight tooth and nail for your place and the respect of those men just for him to take it. I know we aren’t much help physically, but we’re here for you. We’ll help you however we can. Just don’t give up because of some man.”

“She’s right, you know,” Silvia chimed in, arms crossed. “You’ve risked too much to let it end here. From the very start, we’ve been there for you, and that’s not changing now just because of some marriage pact.”

Livia nodded. “You’re the badass we all want to be, so let us live vicariously through you some more.”

Raw emotions bubbled up inside me at their words. The gratitude, determination, and love I had for them all resurfaced to remind me of exactly that.

They were completely right, and I knew it.

I couldn’t just throw in the towel because Daniil said so, just because he was throwing a hissy fit about not getting his way.

My family’s empire was mine and mine alone, regardless of our agreement.

Schooling my features and drawing from their support, I took another steadying breath. “You’re all right…I know you are. I won’t give in, but it’s complicated. Daniil isn’t the man I thought he was with his agenda. I don’t know how to prove to him that he needs me.”

Angel’s face softened, and she nodded. “We all know you’ll figure it out one way or another. You always do.”

“Don’t let him take it all from you,” Silvia added, sounding wise as ever.

As much as I wanted to believe Daniil was the only roadblock, that wasn’t the entire truth. The fight was also with my lingering doubt and the fear of failure…the fear of making the wrong move and allowing him to tear it all down.

I believed that Daniil didn’t care about me or see my worth, but something in me also knew he could’ve done away with me a while ago. He could’ve put it all behind him and moved on to something more beneficial.

But, for whatever reason, he kept me around. That had to mean something.

Even if it took time, I had to prove to him that I wouldn’t back down and that I was as integral as the men he wanted to slide out from beneath me.

I was an asset, not a burden.

Closing my eyes, I took another deep breath before glancing between the three of them.

“Thank you, for being so stubborn and fighting your way in here,” I murmured, managing a smile they easily reflected to me. “I needed this…and I needed to see you all. Thank you.”

The girls all piled around me again, giggling through their own rising emotions, making me feel more at home than I had in a while.

Thanks to them, I didn’t feel quite so lost or alone.

Regardless of what was happening, I knew I had them by my side. I had them to remind me exactly what I was doing it all for.