Page 76 of Bride By Coronation

He stays silent.

"Something tells me you're upset with me for more than that," I push.

"More than just that? Like that isn't enough?" he bites out.

I hold my hands in the air. "I'm just trying to get to the root cause of our issues so we can get past them."

He glowers.

I add, "For Fiona's sake. Eternity is a long time."

He grinds his molars.

I finish my vodka, then say, "Fine. Have it your way. Don't say I didn't try when your sister is suffering worse than anticipated." I rise and take a step toward the door.

"Wait!"

I slowly turn back around.

He points to my chair. "Sit."

I don't move.

"Don't make this harder for me," he warns. He finishes his whiskey and then taps his tumbler.

I return to my seat and wait for him to speak.

Hatred looms in his expression. "Your family is the lowest scum on Earth."

The pit in my stomach grows. I reply, "I'll agree that many of my family members are what you claim."

He grunts. "I'm supposed to believe you aren't?"

"I don't know. You tell me. I don't rape women, force them into brothels, nor do I mutilate females or children."

He sits back, crosses his arms, and puts his ankle on his knee. "I'm supposed to believe you when generations of Petrov men before you tortured too many women and children to count?"

Bile rises in my throat. I fight it back and say, "Your father did."

"Why did he?" Sean questions.

The numbing pain over the night Sean Sr. discovered I wasn't like my father emerges. I push past it and answer, "He saw I was different."

Sean stares at me.

"You have to choose whether or not to give me the benefit of the doubt. But I promise you, over time, you'll learn I'm telling you the truth," I state.

The tension in the room builds again. Neither of us flinch.

I add, "Your sister will be queen, and you have my word she'll always be treated as one."

"So was Anne Boleyn until King Henry VIII beheaded her," Sean notes.

"He was paranoid and psychotic," I point out.

"And you're not?"

"No. I'm not," I refute in a stern tone.

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