Page 182 of Theirs to Possess: The Marriage Claim

I step closer, my hands trembling, and I shove them into my pockets to hide it. Her ring is there, its edges biting into my palm, a reminder of what I’ve lost—what we’ve lost.

“I fucked up.” My words spill out, heavy and jagged. “With you. With Isla. With everything.” My voice cracks, and I hate it, hate the vulnerability, but I can’t stop. Not now. Not after Altair’s truth stripped me bare, forced me to see the coward I’ve become. “I’ve been trying to control it all, to keep you both safe, to keep this empire from crumbling, and all I did was push you away. Both of you.”

Brennan’s head tilts toward me, just enough for me to catch the glint of his eyes, dark and guarded, but there’s a crack in his armor—a flicker of pain that mirrors mine.

He releases the door handle and allows his hand to fall to his side as he turns to face me.

His gaze rakes over me, taking in the unbuttoned shirt,the missing tie, the hollows under my eyes. “You look like shit, Dorian.” His voice is low, rough, but there’s a tremor in it, a hint of the man who’s been my brother in all but blood for years.

I laugh, a bitter, broken sound. “Yeah, well, losing you both will do that.” I take another step, closing the distance, my chest tight with the weight of what I need to say. “I was wrong, Brennan. About everything.” My throat tightens, and I force myself to hold his gaze, to let him see the truth I’ve been running from. “I was scared. Scared of losing her like we lost Lena. In trying to protect her, I caged her.”

He nods.

“And you…”

He waits.

“I was scared of losing you. And I fucked it all up because I didn’t trust that you knew her as well as I did. That maybe you didn’t care as much.”

His face shifts, a flash of raw pain crossing his features, and his fists clench at his sides. “Lena.” Her name is a wound we both carry. “You froze that day. So what?” He shrugged. “You’re human, Vale. Fucking human. I know you hate that flaw. You’ve been punishing yourself every day since her death, tearing yourself apart for something you couldn’t control. The truth is, there was nothing you could have done. Nothing anyone could have done. But you refuse to acknowledge that. By torturing yourself, you’ve punished me, punished Isla, punished everyone who cares about you.”

His voice is steady, but his eyes betray him—glistening, haunted, the weight of her loss as fresh as it was years ago. “I went to prison for you. Because I needed to atone for my failings too. For letting the situation happen. And you still don’t get it. You don’t get that I’d do it again, but not if you keep shutting me out.”

The words hit like a fist, stealing my breath. I see it in hisface—the betrayal, the brotherly love he’s never spoken of but has always shown through his loyalty.

I step closer, close enough to feel the heat of him, the tension radiating off his frame. “I know,” I whisper, my voice fraying. “I know what you did. What you’ve always done. You’ve been my anchor, my conscience, and I took it for granted. I pushed you, and I pushed Isla, and I’m so fucking sorry.”

He looks away, his jaw working, and I see the battle in him—the urge to walk away, to protect himself from me. But I can’t let him. Not now.

I pull the pink diamond ring from my pocket, holding it up between us, its facets catching the dim, artificial light of the security room, reflecting off a nearby monitor showing the front lobby. “I saw Altair.”

Brennan’s eyes narrow, a spark of surprise cutting through his guarded expression.

“Your doing, I suppose.” It had to be.

“Someone had to get through your thick fucking skull. You weren’t listening to me.”

I’m destroyed all over again. Even when we were apart, he’d been trying to save me. How had I not seen that?

“Is that why you’re here? He told you to?”

“No.” I shake my head. “He told me what I already knew but was too damn stubborn to face. I’ve been a fool, Brennan, thinking control was the answer. This ring—it’s not just Isla’s. It’s ours. Yours, mine, hers. I’m not drinking. I’m doing my goddam best to be the man you both deserve.”

“It’s not a one and done deal, Vale.”

“I know.” My voice is raw with the anguish I’ve been carrying. “It’s a lifetime commitment.”

“And you’re willing to make it?”

For him? For her? I’d fall on a sword. “I need you. Not just for the business, not for the fucking empire. I need youbecause you’re my family. And I need her. Isla. I love her, and I know you do as well.”

His head snaps back to me, eyes wide, a storm of emotions crashing through them—shock, pain, hope. “You love her.” His voice is measured, as if he’s testing the words, weighing their truth.

“I do.”

My admission is raw, and it hangs in the chilled air.

“And I love us. What we all share.”