Page 15 of Kadra: The Unfeeling

I did it for them.

I will always do what’s best for them. They’ll always come first even above my own happiness because the sad reality is that they’re the only ones that made me happy when everything else brought me misery.

Now as the years have passed, my older sister, Arianna, believes I betrayed her when I stood back and did nothing as she was being dragged to another city by a man she didn’t know. A man our father so heartlessly sold her off to. I don’t make excuses or think of my decisions as mistakes. We all know the truth. I betrayed my sister when I stood back and did nothing. I took away her choice. I make no excuses for it and I don’t regret it either. If it had been up to her, she would have never left Detroit willingly. She would have never left us and in turn, she would have never gotten the dream life she has now. The life she was always too stubborn to hope for. A life meant for a queen. She has it now.

She is now the mother of two and has a very powerful man who stands beside her and treats her as his equal. A man who clearly loves her more than anything. The president of the United States of this goddamn forsaken country.

I took a risk when I brought the idea to Gabriele of trading Arianna for more reach and more power. I told him what the greedy bastard wanted to hear but I knew what he didn’t. Sebastian Kenton’s life and Arianna’s were intertwined way before they crossed paths and even though the man held a grudge against the three families, something deep in my gut told me he would never hurt my sister. Not when he had a daughter of his own.

Aside from taking that risk with my sister’s life I also knew he would see what hides behind those icy walls of hers.

She’s not only beautiful but she loves fiercely.

Her love made you feel safe and at the same time as if you could take on the world.

My sister was worth it and Sebastian Kenton knew it. I didn’t regret any of my choices.

Until my youngest sister.

Mila.

My sweet baby sister finally did something for herself.

She allowed herself to be selfish and got her one day.

The ’one day’ she used to dream about while reading her fairytale stories and romance books but never dared to make it a reality, too afraid to break my heart.

What she doesn’t know and what I’ll never tell her is that my heart was broken way before I lost them.

My greatest mistake with her was that I trapped her in a cage just like Gabriele did.

While I spent every breath keeping her safe and trying to spare her from the shit I went through, I didn’t realize I was hurting her just the same. Until I saw it for myself when the Irishman took her from me. That bold act of defiance from Riagan O’Sullivan changed everything.

As if fate was finally playing nice with me, everything fell into place after that.

After I came back to my city without my sister and a whole lot empty, I found what I didn’t know I needed and what I least expected.

The missing piece.

What I need to bring my father’s legacy to the ground.

A very angry and very determined boy.

A boy who is now huddled on the cold and filthy ground, seeking shelter from the rain inside a cardboard box. Looking down at the small figure, I harden my heart because if I plan to win this war that fucker started years ago, I’ll need to be just as ruthless and evil as them.

Kicking the carton box with my boot, I watch as it falls to the wet ground, exposing the kid.

Time seems to stop when I look at the lanky boy who looks like he fought death and barely survived. Tilting my head, I look at him waiting for him to give me something, anything, but he just keeps his head down while the rain pours over him.

Hard and cold.

He is not even shivering.

The image of him lying on the ground like he means nothing to no one takes me back to a time when that was me down on the floor but while I had two people who kept me sane in hell, this tiny boy has no one but himself.

He’s the war and the storm no one will see coming… the intrusive voice in my head whispers while I focus on the bruises on the boy’s arms and legs.

Are there more? Isn’t he cold? Is he hungry? A thousand thoughts cross my mind until I feel a pang in my chest. Tapping my chest harshly, I make the pain go away or at least I think I do but I know better.

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