Broken Pieces Read online

  My brows touch my forehead as I look from my father back to Fredrick. “We are together. We are family. Loyal to each other.”

  Meeting my gaze, Fredrick nods. “I mean in union.”

  Swallowing hard, I know he has a daughter, and I have a feeling I know exactly where this is going. “Union?” I ask, just to hear it from his mouth.

  “I have a daughter who would very much love to marry you.”

  I scoff, much to my father’s dismay. “I’m sorry, no.”

  Father’s and JJ’s eyes widen in shock as my father warns, “Oceanus.”

  “Excuse me?” Fredrick asks, and I shake my head once more.

  “Not only do I not know your daughter, I am in love with another. I’m about to take over my own clan, which I doubt your daughter is ready to run at only eighteen. I want a woman, not a child. Not to mention, I can’t run this clan because your son will. I gain nothing from this arrangement. I don’t need the formula. My father does, make him marry someone.” I gesture to him dismissively.

  My father barks, “Oceanus, that is enough.”

  “Fine,” I say, holding my hands up. “But I’m not marrying her.”

  Shaking his head, Father looks to JJ, who just shrugs, and both of them are clearly unsure where to go with this. Glancing to Fredrick, my father asks, “What about Cyrus? He is closer to your daughter’s age.”

  But Fredrick doesn’t bite. “My darling Amelia wants to marry Oceanus. If she is to marry, that is your option.”

  Father looks to me, and I shake my head. “Then I guess we aren’t getting the formula ’cause I’m off the market.”

  “You will marry this girl, for your sister.”

  “Nope,” I say simply. “My sister wouldn’t want this. I believe that in my soul.”

  “William,” JJ says, but I still hold my father’s gaze. I won’t be bullied. I’m done. My heart is broken because of him.

  “No, he will comply!”

  I shake my head again. “I do everything for this family. I gave up the woman I love for this family.” My voice is breaking as I fight back my tears. “I do everything you say, even when I don’t agree. I won’t do this. It’s that simple.”

  Slamming his fist to the table, Father stands, but I don’t flinch, nor do I care. I refuse to be unhappy, along with being married to someone I do not love or want. No way. “Leave.”

  I’m taken aback. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. You are dismissed.”

  Unbelievable. Rolling my eyes, I head out the door, slamming it for good measure. My father has completely lost his mind. I may have just set myself back even further from getting to my rightful spot, but I won’t allow him to use me as bait. No way in fucking hell. I understand that I probably just hurt my sister in the process, but I truly believe she would kill me if she knew I’d done that. She wouldn’t want that. She’d want me to be happy. I’m not going to marry anyone if I can’t have Taegan.

  Reaching for my phone in my pocket, I go to call Taegan, but then I stop. I can’t do this. She isn’t mine anymore. I can’t burden her with my family problems.

  Letting out a long breath, I go to tuck my phone back into my pocket, but then it starts to ring.

  It’s Cyrus.

  My stomach drops as I hit the green button, fearful that he is calling to say something happened to Rebekah. “Cyrus.”

  “Hey, when are you guys coming home?”

  “A day or two. Why? Is everything okay?”

  He hesitates, and I hear Rebekah complaining in the background. “Eh, well, yeah, but no? I kind of knocked Rebekah with my foot, and she can’t see.”

  “Jesus,” I mutter before shaking my head. “Tell her to hang in there, we’ll be home soon.”

  Hanging up, I tuck my phone back into my pocket and then head back to the office where JJ and my father are with Fredrick. When I open the door, I see my father signing something before handing it back to Fredrick. Standing up, they shake hands as Fredrick says, “So it’s final.”

  “It’s final,” Father agrees.

  “What’s final?” I ask, and Father looks to me, fire in his eyes.

  “None of your business,” he snaps, and I glare. “What do you need?”

  “I feel it is my business. This will be my clan.”

  He scoffs. “Will it?”

  “Yes, it will be. You can’t run it forever, Father, and my day will come. What have you done?”

  “Again, none of your business,” he says, his voice low and warning. “Now what do you need?”

  I feel everyone’s gaze on us, and I know this isn’t the place to argue. Swallowing hard past the lump of anger in my throat, I nod. “We need to go home. Now.”

  Thankfully, I don’t have to explain. JJ and Father just get up, and we head out. While I’m thankful for that, I know something was done during my absence.

  I’m just unsure what it was or what will happen next.

  The plane ride home with my father was both brutal and uneventful.

  We didn’t acknowledge each other, nor did we discuss anything considering what had happened, or even Rebekah. I had told JJ that Rebekah had been hurt, and he told Father, but that was it. We are both too proud. Plus, I was livid. I was mad that he had ruined my life thus far, add to that the fact that he wanted to make it worse by marrying me off to my cousin. If I can’t have Taegan, I don’t want anyone. I don’t understand how that is hard to comprehend, but I refuse to back down. I can’t back down.

  I can’t just protect everyone else; I have to protect my own heart too.

  When we arrived home, I was unable to see my sister because she went straight into the lab with my father. We are not permitted inside the room, so we have to wait, and I hate waiting. Leaning against one side of the door, Cyrus matches my stance, and I can tell he blames himself.

  Which he should.

  “I didn’t mean to.”

  “I know,” I look over at him. “But it happens.”

  “She let her guard down.”

  “Which I will discuss with her.”

  Smiling, he meets my gaze. “It felt great to get one on her. She’s so tough, man.”

  I grin, proud of the fighter my sister has become, even with her rookie mistake. “She is.”

  “She’ll be okay, though, right?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure,” I say, though I don’t really know. Sighing loudly, I ask, “Other than almost blinding our sister, anything else happen?”

  He shakes his head. “Not really. It was pretty chill. She worked, she slept and ate, and I did the same. It was easy.”

  “Did she go down into the bastille?”

  “Yeah,” he says. “I think she talked to Killian too, though she has everyone lying for her.”

  “Awesome,” I mutter on a sigh. I knew it. I just knew she’d go down there. “Did you hear anything?”

  He nods. “He shifted for her.”

  My eyes widen. “Did you see who it was?”

  He shakes his head. “No, it was dark, and she was blocking my view. I also didn’t recognize his voice, but she knew him.”

  “She did?” I ask, stupefied. “Really?”

  “Yeah, they talked like they knew each other, and I think they’ve got feelings for each other.”

  “What?” I ask incredulously, unable to fathom what my brother is saying. “Are you sure?”

  “I am. He was protective of her and wanting her to be careful going down there. It was crazy. I don’t know who he could be. I’ve looked through the Kelleys’ family history, and I can’t think of anyone.”

  “Did you ask her about it?”

  He shook his head. “No. I didn’t want her to know I was spying.”

  “True. Do you think she’d tell you?”

  “No,” he says honestly. “Or, at least, I don’t think she would.”

  Nodding, unsure what to do with this information, I look to the door. If my father knows this, he’ll question Rebekah ruthlessly, and it will cause m