Forever (Betrothed 7)

He breathed heavily for a while longer. “I want to kill him first.”

“You’ll never have me if you kill him.”

“It’s pretty easy to force a woman to do whatever I want…”

“Then I’ll kill myself.”

Now he was dead silent.

“I would rather be dead than be forced. You kill Damien, then I’ll kill myself. That’s the deal.”

He clearly didn’t know what to say because he was quiet for so long.

Maybe I’d finally found a solution to this.

“I’m calling your bluff, Anna.”

Suicide had never crossed my mind, even in the darkest of times. I didn’t really mean it now; that was true. But if Damien was really dead on the floor and Liam was about to make me his prisoner, what would I have to live for? “It’s not a bluff, Liam. If you kill the man I love, then I have no reason to live.”

“And if he kills me, you’ll be just fine?”

“No. That’s why I asked him not to. Liam, you’ve had your chances with me, and you blew them both. If you love me, let me go. Let me be happy.”

He was silenced again, breathing quietly over the line.

I hoped I’d said the right thing to fix this, to manage this crisis.

But then he hung up.

Patricia knocked on my door before she opened it. “Miss Anna?”

“Hey, Patricia.” I turned around on the sofa to look at her standing by the door.

“I was going to bring up your lunch, but Miss Catalina is here having lunch with her father. Would you like to join them?”

“Uh…who’s Catalina?”

“Damien’s sister.”

“Oh…” He’d mentioned her before, but not by name. “Oh, I don’t want to intrude.”

“She asked me to extend the invitation. She’s very lovely.”

Having lunch with them was better than sitting here alone. “Sure. What’s his father’s name?”

“Richard.” She started to close the door. “I’ll let them know you’ll be joining.”

I entered the dining room, where cathedral-style windows took up the west side of the wall. Sunlight flooded the dining table, where tall white candles and various flower arrangements were placed across the surface. A young brunette sat there, thin and in a bright pink dress. She spoke quietly with her father, an older man who contained subtle hints of Damien’s handsomeness.

Now I felt nervous, felt my heart drop into my stomach, because I was meeting his family for the first time. “Thanks for inviting me to lunch.” I walked to the dining table and watched them both turn to look at me. “Ooh…everything looks good.” I glanced at the tea sandwiches and individual salads, full of juicy slices of tomatoes, thick pecans, and other delicious toppings.

Catalina halted her conversation with her father and turned to me, unintimidating despite her ridiculous beauty. Her pink dress had ruffles along the straps and down the back of the shoulders on each side. She wore thick mascara, smoky eye makeup, and painted lips. “So, you do exist?” She rose to her feet and greeted me with a hug that practically crushed me. “Damien doesn’t tell us anything.” She pulled away. “He didn’t tell us you were hot. He didn’t tell us you were cooped up in this castle like a princess. He mentioned you in passing this morning like it wasn’t a big deal. Jackass.” She rolled her eyes then patted me on the shoulder. “So sorry about that.”

I liked her already. “He mentioned you were a ballet dancer.”

“Yes. My feet are killing me as we speak.” She turned to her father. “Daddy, this is Anna.”

I came around the table so I could extend a hand. “Nice to meet you, sir. You look a lot like your son.”

He started to rise from his chair.

“Oh, don’t worry about standing…”

He gave me an affectionate smile then wrapped his arms around me to hug me. He patted me on the back despite his obvious frailty. Then he pulled away, his eyes much younger than the rest of his appearance. “You’re going to give me grandchildren. So, damn right, I’m gonna stand.”

My eyes widened in surprise. “Uh…”

Catalina patted me on the shoulder. “Don’t freak out. Daddy is just—”

“You’re the first woman of his I’ve ever seen,” his father continued. “And you’re living here…so let this old man have hope. I’ve told Damien so many times that he’s getting old and he needs to have children. It’s more important than money, drugs, and all that other shit he does.” He gripped the sides of the chair and slowly lowered himself back into the seated position. “And you’re beautiful, so that makes me more thrilled about it.”

Damien was the quiet type, but the rest of his family certainly wasn’t. I had no idea what Damien had said about me to his family, and I was still unsure. I moved around the table and took the seat across from his father, his sister at the head of the table.