Page 64 of Modern Romance March 2025 (5-8)

I stare at him. Then I laugh. “Gavriil?” I finally say, my sides hurting from laughing so hard. “Are you joking?”

“I don’t joke.”

The cold delivery of that statement has me laughing harder. I grab my napkin and press it to my lips. It takes a moment, but I finally wrestle myself back under control.

“Marrying Gavriil would be like marrying Katie.”

The slightest crinkle appears at the bridge of his nose. “How so?”

“Gavriil is the brother I never had. It would be like incest.” I suddenly remember the other man at the wedding. Tall, hulking, like a lumberjack stuffed into a tuxedo. But he had been surprisingly kind and fun to talk with. It had taken me a moment to realize why he felt so familiar.

The eyes. The same pale blue as my husband’s.

“What about your other brother?”

Rafe stills. “Other brother?”

“Michail.”

I can feel the fury whip across the table before Rafe pulls his mantle of apathy back on and shuts me out.

“Gavriil told you about him?”

“I met him at the wedding.”

“Ah.” He downs the rest of his bourbon and sets the glass on the edge of the table. “What about him?”

“I didn’t realize you had another brother.”

“I didn’t either until just before the will reading.”

“Are you…” My voice trails off. Rafe never had much of a relationship with Gavriil. From what Gavriil had shared, Rafe essentially ignored him ever since he stepped foot inside the Drakos villa after his mother died and he was sent to live with Lucifer. Whenever I saw them together, I noticed the distance between them, as well as the lack of emotion on Rafe’s end and the lingering hurt and bitterness Gavriil held on to.

“Are you okay with having another brother?”

One shoulder rose and fell in a subtle shrug. “It’s inconsequential. He has no interest in Drakos Development and has chosen not to fulfill the requirement to inherit.”

“But what about…” I pause, then decide to go for it. What do I have to lose by holding back at this point? “What about getting to know him?”

Two blinks this time. “Why would I?”

Pain squeezes my lungs. Pain for the man in front of me who cares about nothing, who exists solely for the purpose of his company. Pain for the numerous relationships he’s dismissed.

Including our own.

But this is good, I remind myself.A clear answer he’s not the one for you.

One day, that will be comforting. One day, I will look back on this moment and know it was the best thing to ever happen to me, second only to my decision to move to Paris.

But right now, it just hurts.

“I don’t want to wait, Rafe.” I breathe in deeply, exhale harshly. “I’m ready to move on with my life. Surely you could break the will.”

“I haven’t explored that option yet.” His gaze is intense, penetrating. “My proposal is much simpler.”

“Yes, but longer.”

“Is being married to me for eight more months such an abhorrent thought?”

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