Page 15 of Emerald

I flinched back from the fury in his voice, my eyes darting to my father. But Declan just sat there, his jaw clenched and his eyes cold as he stared me down.

"Is this true, Cara?" he asked, his voice deceptively calm. "Have you been spreading your legs for some piece of trash, letting him fill you with his bastard seed?"

I lifted my chin, meeting his gaze head-on. "And if I have? What's it to you, Father? You're the one who has forced this match, without a single thought for my happiness or well-being."

Declan surged to his feet, his hand cracking across my face with enough force to snap my head to the side. I staggered back, my cheek burning and my eyes watering from the sting of it.

"You ungrateful little bitch," he spat, his face twisted with disgust. "After everything I've done for you, everything I've given you, this is how you repay me? By shaming our family, by ruining the alliance I've worked so hard to secure?"

I laughed, the sound bitter and broken to my own ears. "Shame? You want to talk about shame, Father? How about the shame of knowing that my own flesh and blood sees me as nothing more than a bargaining chip, a piece of ass to be traded away to the highest bidder?"

Mikhail stepped forward, his eyes glittering with a malice that made my blood run cold. "The marriage is off," he said flatly, his gaze locked on my father's. "The girl is soiled goods, and I will not have my family's name tainted by her whore's blood."

Declan's face drained of color, his eyes widening in panic. "Mikhail, please. Let's not be hasty. I'm sure there's a way to salvage this, to come to some sort of arrangement—"

"No." Mikhail cut him off with a slash of his hand. "There will be no arrangement, no compromise. You promised me a virgin bride, Declan. And instead, you bring me a slut with a bastard in her belly."

He turned to me, his lips curled in a sneer of pure disgust. "I hope it was worth it, devotchka. I hope whoever put that child in you was worth the ruin you've brought down on your own head. Because mark my words, this insult will not go unanswered. The Sokolovs do not take kindly to being made fools of."

With that, he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, his brothers falling into step behind him. I watched them go, my stomach churning with a sickening mixture of relief and dread.

I didn't know. Couldn't even begin to guess at the shitstorm I'd just unleashed, the war I'd started with a few well-placed words. I didn’t know I'd just painted a target on my own back.

Chapter 11: Cara

Iwoke up the next morning with a sense that something very bad was going to happen. I lay in bed for a long moment, staring up at the ceiling and trying to ignore the churning in my gut. I knew I couldn't hide in my room forever, much as I might want to. My father would be expecting me, demanding answers and explanations and God knows what else.

And I'd have to face him. Have to look him in the eye and lie through my teeth, all while praying he couldn't see the truth written all over my face. I had to do this if I wanted to buy myself any chance at a future that didn't involve being passed around like a party favor by the Sokolov brothers.

With a groan, I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower, letting the hot water pound some of the tension from my shoulders. I didn't bother with makeup or styling my hair, just threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and called it good enough.

Let my father see me like this, all pale and tired and undone. Let him think it was a result of my supposed condition, rather than the bone-deep terror and desperation clawing at my insides.

I made my way downstairs, my heart climbing into my throat with every step. I could hear voices coming from my father's study, raised and angry. One of them was definitely Declan's, the low, threatening rumble of his anger unmistakable. My stomach clenched as I recognized Finn's voice, tight and controlled but with an undercurrent of barely-leashed rage. What was he doing here? And why did he sound like he was about two seconds away from putting his fist through a wall?

I didn't have time to wonder. The door to the study flew open and my father stepped out. He spotted me hovering in the hallway and his eyes narrowed, his lips thinning into a hard, unforgiving line.

"There you are," he bit out, jerking his head towards the study. "Get in here. Now."

I swallowed hard and obeyed, slipping past him into the room. Finn was there, standing ramrod straight with his hands clasped behind his back, his jaw clenched and his eyes fixed straight ahead. As I drew closer, I could see the tension thrumming through his body, the white-knuckled grip of his hands where they were hidden from view. He was barely holding it together, his control fraying at the edges. My father slammed the door behind us, making me jump. He stalked over to his desk and leaned against it, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared at me.

"You've really done it this time, haven't you?" he said, his voice low and dangerous. "Not only have you shamed our family, ruined the alliance I've worked so hard to build, but you've done it by whoring yourself out like a common slut."

I flinched at the venom in his tone, my cheeks heating with a mixture of anger and humiliation. "I'm not a whore," I said, my voice trembling slightly. "And I didn't... I didn't do it on purpose."

"Oh, so you just accidentally fell on some bastard's cock, is that it?" Declan sneered, his lip curling in disgust. "Accidentally let him pump you full of his seed, ruin you for any decent man who might have had you?"

Beside me, Finn made a low, choked noise, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. I darted a glance at him, my heart twisting at the pain and anger and guilt warring on his face.

He blamed himself for this, I realized with a sinking sensation. If only he knew the truth. If only I could tell him that it wasn't a mistake at all, that the only thing I regretted was not being able to do it again, to feel his body moving inside mine and pretend, just for a little while, that we had a future together.

I turned back to my father, lifting my chin and forcing myself to meet his furious gaze head-on. "I'm not ruined," I said, proud of the way my voice didn't waver. "And I'm not a whore. I made a choice, and I'll deal with the consequences. But I won't let you or anyone else shame me for it."

Declan barked out a harsh, humorless laugh. "Oh, you'll deal with the consequences, all right. Starting with a visit to our family doctor. I want proof of this supposed pregnancy, and I want it now."

My heart stuttered in my chest, a cold sweat breaking out on my palms. The doctor. Of course. I should have known my father would demand proof, would want to see the evidence of my shame with his own eyes. I couldn't produce a positive pregnancy test or a sonogram image, because there was no baby. It was all a lie. A desperate, foolish lie, told in a moment of panic and desperation. And now it was about to come crashing down.

I couldn't let my father see my fear. I forced a nod, my spine straight and my head held high. "Fine," I said. "I'll go to the doctor. But Finn comes with me."

---