Arranged love

Running a hand through my hair, I make my way back to my office, ignoring Titan and Cross, who still sit in their seats staring at me. Of course, Titan storms into my office once I sit at my desk. “You’re letting her go to the hospital?”

I bow my head. I just want one fucking day to myself. Just one. “Yes.” I sigh.

“Why?” he wonders. “Marsha-”

“She posted two pictures of us last night trying to get a hit on who Mia was. She got it. She may not have run the story I wanted her to this morning, but Mia’s face is out there.” Just as I say it, my cell dings, and I pick it up to see it’s a text from Lola-a woman I used to fuck in New York until she got too clingy and wanted me to meet her parents. I cut it off immediately after that. I glance at it.

Lola: Hey babe, I’m in Vegas …

I don’t bother to read the rest. “If she wants to go see Luca, I’m not going to stop her. Plus, Nite is up there.” We have security all over that private wing where I had Luca moved. His life and Haven’s life are in as much danger as Mia’s.

“Don’t let Grave get to you,” he adds softly. “He’s going through a lot.”Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

“Yeah, I know.” He and April may seem to be doing well, but who knows how much they are still hurting. I don’t expect what they went through to go away overnight. “I’ll go talk to him.” I stand.

Titan looks down at his phone. “He messaged me after he left the conference room. It said heading out for a few hours,” he states. “I told him to take the day off, but he said he’d be back.”

I frown. “Where did he go?”

Titan runs a hand down his face. “He needed to go to a meeting.”

I nod and sit back down, understanding why my brother is lashing out the way he is right now. He’s an addict. Every day, he wakes up and has to remind himself that he wants to be better than he was. For himself, for April, for their future kids. And some days, you need a little more help than others.

I hate to think that my life choices are contributing to that.

Titan plops down in the seat across from my desk. “So about this engagement …”

“Maybe Grave is right.” I sigh. “Maybe there is a better way to buy the time I need other than putting Mia through this.” As much as I want to protect her, my plan isn’t to make her life worse. And at this point, I’m not sure what her father is up to.

“I just want to remind you that I think a wedding is your best bet.”

I nod. “So you’ve said.”

MIA

I SIT IN Haven’s passenger seat, staring out the window while she drives us to the hospital. I finally get to see my brother, and my mind is on Dillan.

It’s not like I ever thought I’d get the chance to marry the man of my dreams. You can’t meet someone when you’re locked away in a house all your life.

“If it means anything, Bones wouldn’t do something unless he thought it was right,” Haven speaks, breaking the silence.

“All of a sudden, you’re on his side?” I ask, not caring to look her way.

She sighs heavily. “I don’t want anyone else to get hurt. Bones can protect you.”

“He can’t save me,” I say softly. My chest tightens, knowing how true that is. My brothers know where I am, and they’ve put Luca in the hospital. They cut off my lifeline. Dillan may think he has the upper hand, but he doesn’t. And even if he does, he won’t for long.

“It’s not like you have to actually marry him,” Haven goes on. “Just make it look like it’s believable. Put on a show.” She laughs. “The Kings are good at those.”

I stay silent for the rest of our way to the hospital. Parking, we walk inside and take the elevator up to the tenth floor. The door opens, and I see Nite standing up against a wall by a door. He’s staring down at his cell, typing away.

I used to think I was in love with him. Nite was the only man around my age who knew I existed, who wasn’t blood-related. Even though my parents did adopt him when we were younger. But I’m the reason he is the way he is. This is why I knew he would never find me attractive. Men like him and the Kings don’t fall for girls like me. I say girl because they prefer women. And I’m not that. I have no life experience or education. If I manage to survive this, I’ll just be sold off again. It’s all about how much my last name can bring in.

“Any news?” Haven asks him.

Looking up, he shakes his head, and I feel my chest tighten. I did that to him. Made him a mute. Not very many people know, but I’m the reason he has no voice.

I follow Haven to the door, and she pushes it open for me to enter. His room is large, with a sitting area over by a window that overlooks Vegas. We’re high enough up that we can see the Strip from here. The four towers that say Kingdom across the top stand out. Almost like it’s laughing at me. A reminder that my life is a joke.

It’s not the fact that Dillan is actually pretending to love me. It’s that he’s going to let my father think he’s won. That’s a hard pill to swallow when you’ve been choking on it for years.

“Hey, babe,” Haven says, walking over to the bed. “Guess who came to see you?”

My eyes finally look at my brother, and my stomach drops. He’s got tubes and wires everywhere. One is down his throat. His skin looks ashy. The room gives off a cold chill that makes me shiver.

I come to a stop, refusing to come any closer.

“It’s okay,” Haven notices. “They say he may not be awake, but he can hear us.” She gives me a small smile. “I’m sure he’d love to know you’re here.”

I shake my head and swallow the lump in my throat. “No-”

“Mia.” Walking over to me, she takes my hand. “I’m sorry for blaming you, but this is not your fault. Do not blame yourself.”

“But it is.” I sniff. “And I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not. None of it is. We know that, and he knows that.”

If he ever wakes up, he’ll hate me. She doesn’t know that he wanted me to stay away. That when I called him, he told me not to contact him. All I can do is prove I’m sorry, and I haven’t figured out how yet.