Page 65 of Unforgiving Queen

It all slammed into me at the same time. I had to take a second to swallow my burning rage. It sizzled in my blood and distorted their voices, the furious rush in my ears making it hard to hear. Red crept into my vision until everyone was covered in it. My knuckles turned white from the force of my fists.

My brother could have anything and anyone. Except her.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, then released it slowly. Reina’s voice registered.

“Papà, c-can we please talk about this?” The turmoil in her expression didn’t escape me. For a flicker of a second, her blue eyes met mine and pierced me right in the middle of my chest. “Alone.”

A corner of Dante’s lips lifted, and I wanted nothing more than to punch him, effectively wiping it off his face.

“As your future husband,” Dante drawled, “you can say anything in front of me.”

My back teeth gritted as I clenched my jaw.

She frowned at Dante before turning her attention back to her father, choosing to ignore us.

“Papà, please. Grandma will never approve.”

“She has no say in the matter.” Her eyes flashed.

Dante reached out and I grabbed his wrist, pinning him with a touch-her-and-I-will-kill-you look. Brother or no brother. Dante being Dante just grinned, while Reina glared at both of us.

“No.” Reina squared her shoulders. The scar on the back of her right shoulder blade caught my eye and my insides coiled at the memory. “I’m not doing it.”

That’s my girl.

“Reina—”

“Papà, I really need to talk to you,” she hissed under her breath. “Alone.”

As the two of them walked away, she glanced over her shoulder and flipped us both off.

23

REINA

My heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to explode from my chest.

Ten lifetimes of separation wouldn’t be enough for me to agree to marry Dante Leone.

The thought of shackling myself to him for the rest of my life was as appealing as being dropped into the ocean with concrete blocks tied to my feet.

The moment we were out of the Leones’ earshot, I hissed, “Papà, please. Don’t make me marry him.”

His hands gripped my shoulders as he forced me to face him. “Reina, I’ve spared you this talk at your grandmother’s insistence. But I’m sick.” My eyes widened. I’d attributed his weakened and rough shape to the stress from his work. “I’m not going to live much longer. I need you and Phoenix protected, and your marriage to Dante Leone will ensure that protection.”

I swallowed and whispered, “You’re dying?”

“The doctors gave me another few months at best.”

Silence filled the space between us—dark and ominous. The impending death should shake me. Somehow it didn’t. I wasn’t sure whether it was due to the strain on our relationship over time or because I was reeling from the idea of marrying a Leone.

The freaking brother of the man I loved.

“Is there anything they can do?”

“No.”

With one hand in his pants pocket and the other hanging loosely at his side, he looked like he didn’t have a care in the world. However, apathy rolled off him in waves. Whether at me or at life in general, I didn’t know.