Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
“Now,” I say as I look at Brielle. “We’ve had a bit of a chat about me, but there’s more I need to know about you. I’m sure Judah and Valen will also need to be there for that, so if you can wait until tonight, maybe we can all sit down together and come clean about our secrets.”
“I’d like that,” she tells me. “I never meant to keep anything from anyone. Especially you, Val, and Jude. I’ve just been taught to hide the real story about my transplant. My father didn’t want anyone to know. And he didn’t tell me who the donor was. I found out by snooping.”
“So, you are a little spy,” I tell her as I smile. Her cheeks darken with a soft pink, which makes me chuckle. “Don’t be embarrassed by it. You should be proud that your skills are so good you’re able to do it unnoticed.”
Brielle shrugs. “I just needed to know what my father had been hiding from me. I don’t like secrets, and he’s obviously got so many. I just didn’t realise how deep they truly went. And now I do…”
I wonder, if faced with the same decision, whether Brielle would be able to do what I did, all those years ago. It’s not easy to kill anyone, let alone a parent. Brielle grew up with her father, whereas I didn’t know my mother.
To me she was a stranger. Perhaps that’s what made it a easier. That moment I pulled the trigger changed me—I became closed off, but it didn’t alter the fact that I believe women should be cherished.
No woman should have a man raise his hands to her. And I will die upholding that moral code that has been instilled in me since I was far too young to understand it. None of the men I’ve grown up around consider it wrong to harm a woman. Besides Judah and Valen, of course, and I know Emilio and Jordan are of the same mindset, which is one of the reasons we’re all so close.
We may be the Lawless Princes, but that doesn’t mean we’ve broken all the rules.
“Will you be okay till tonight?” I ask Brielle.
She smiles so brightly, it makes my fucking chest tighten. I didn’t expect her to affect me like this, but without realising it, she’s dug her nails deep inside my chest.
“I will,” she tells me with a nod. “I think I’m going to finish up some of my projects that are due in a few weeks. If I can get ahead, it will help me focus.”
“Good plan. Getting in front with your work will make the courses a lot easier. That’s what I did. And when you’re ready, we’ll work some more on your fighting skills. Now you’ll be taking over the Venier family, alongside Judah, you’ll need to know it all.”
“I can’t wait.”
When Brielle first arrived here, I never once expected her to feel this way about the life laid before her, but I think everything has changed. Something’s clicked, and now she’s ours.
“And we’ll all have dinner tonight,” I tell her.
Emilio is leaving for the mainland, and Jordan will no doubt be out with any one of a number of girls he frequently has on his arm. So it will be just the four of us, and tonight will be something of a confession circle.
“I’d like that,” Brielle replies. “Thank you for telling me about yourself. I know you didn’t have to open up, but I cherish your honesty. It means a lot to me.”
“You’ll always get honesty from the Princes, even if you don’t want it. It’s something we agreed amongst ourselves, years ago. We’ve all grown up with lies, and we don’t believe they bring anything but destruction.”
“See you later,” Brielle says as she leaves me with my thoughts.
I’ll have a class of students here soon, and as much as I’d rather spend the afternoon with her, I know I’m going to have to focus.
I feel good, lighter, now she knows.
I just hope we can move forward after dinner tonight when all those hidden truths will be revealed. No more lies, and no more fucking secrets.
NEVER SURRENDER
BRIELLE
It’s almost dinner time, but my mind is still on what Kai told me about his past. It can’t be easy living with the reminder that you killed your mother.
With all the secrets slowly making themselves known, I feel as if I’m spinning in the dark, and bits of light keep blinding me. Never did I think I’d come to care for these men. Each of them broken in some way. Which has me worried about what Valen’s story is.
When I make my way into the dining room, the three of them are there already, waiting on me. Nerves flutter in my belly as I glance at each one, their eyes focused on me. I’m pretty sure they know I’ve spoken with Kai and he’s admitted to his past.