The Tyrant (Banker 3)

“We should eat out here more often,” I said. “It’s nice.”

“Yeah, it should be a tradition.” He leaned back in his chair and stared across his property, his fingers resting along his glass. “I bought this house because I wanted the privacy for my clients. But now I’m glad I bought it to have privacy with you and Martina. We can have our own lives away from everyone else. We can watch the stars without people watching us. I can have a normal life—with the woman I love.” His eyes moved to mine across the table. “I’ve been with a lot of women, but not one of them gave a damn about me. And the only woman who has ever cared about me hated me when she met me. But then she got to know me…and fell hard for me. She loved me despite my flaws. She saw the good instead of the bad. And she proved her loyalty to me…a million times over.”

I listened to him pour his heart out to me, observing a version of Cato no one else ever got to see.

“I haven’t been whole since my father abandoned me. When I became a man, I didn’t think it bothered me. But now I realize it’s eaten away at me this whole time, like I’ve always felt like I had something to prove, like I needed to be someone for another person to actually care. But now that I have you…I realize that’s not true. You love me for me, not my money or my power. And now I feel whole…for the first time in my life.”

I smiled and felt my eyes water at the same time. It was easy to forgive him for the wrongs he committed when he said things like that. He was still a boy with a heart of gold underneath all that man. He was a sweetheart. I saw it every time he interacted with Martina.

“I love you, baby. With all my heart.” He looked at me over the candles. “You have all of me—wrapped around your finger.”

“I love you too, Cato.” He was the only man I’d ever loved. He was the only man I ever wanted to love.

He reached into his pocket then pulled out a small box, a box that could fit a ring.

That’s when I stopped breathing.

He opened the box and placed it in front of me, revealing a small diamond ring. A white-gold band with a simple diamond in the middle, it was sleek, simple, and humble. It fit my personality exactly.

I watched it reflect the lights of the candles, the clarity obvious flawless. It might be small, but it was the highest quality diamond on earth.

He watched my reaction as he left the box in front of me, his blue eyes watching mine stare at the ring in shock. “Marry me.” It wasn’t a question. It was a command. I would be his wife no matter what.

I stared at the ring again, feeling the happiness burst inside my chest. My natural impulse was to say yes. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this man, to grow our family, and grow old together until we were buried together in the same cemetery where my parents rested.

But there was something I needed first.

Cato’s eyes darkened in pain when he didn’t get the reaction he wanted.

“I’m not saying no…” I brought the ring closer to me, admiring its simple beauty. But I didn’t take it out of the box and put it on my hand.

“Siena.” His pain became more noticeable—like I was breaking his heart. “I don’t understand. You love me. I love you. We have a daughter. What…what more do you want from me?”

“You know what I want, Cato.” I closed the box so the beautiful ring wouldn’t tempt me anymore.

“I really don’t.”

I knew this man loved me, so he would probably give me what I wanted. It was a sacrifice he should make whether I was in the picture or not. “I can’t live like this…”

“Like what? In a mansion? With a rich husband? Under the stars? What does that mean?”

“Cato, you almost died. Let’s not forget what happened.”

His eyes narrowed. “I’m not following, Siena. I’m really not.”

“In your line of work, we’ll never be safe. There will be periods of peace before there are periods of war. It’ll happen in a cyclical pattern, but one of us might die during a war period. My father didn’t take me seriously, and he lost my mother. Then he lost his own life. You and I got lucky. Really lucky. We won’t get lucky again.”

His eyes softened as he listened to me. “What are you suggesting?”

“I want you to quit.”

“Quit?” he asked. “There’s nothing to quit. I own the company.”

“Then sell it. Give it to Bates. Step aside…and let’s have the simple life I want.”