Page 28 of Owned & Bred by the BRATVA

I know better.

He’s here for the same reason he was before: control. He’s not after Clara’s heart. He’s after the narrative. He wants to rewrite the past, paint himself as misunderstood, a desperate man who made hard choices. Not a coward who sold his daughter to keep his accounts balanced.

I step half a pace closer to Clara, but I don’t touch her.

Not yet.

“Do you want to hear him?” I murmur quietly, low enough that only she can hear. “Or do you want me to have him removed?”

Her mouth opens, but no sound comes out.

I know this is too much. Too fast. She wasn’t prepared. That’s my failure.

And if she asks me to end it now, if she saysget him out, I’ll do it. No hesitation.

But if she wants answers, I’ll stand here beside her and make damn sure she has everything she needs to see the truth for herself.

Even if it kills me to let her hear him speak.

Even if it means I have to watch her heart break.

Clara

My feet won’t move at first. My mouth is dry. My brain is scrambling to find context, to rewind and make sense of how we ended up here, how my father is standing in the same room where I was supposed to become the wife of the man hesoldme to.

I feel Maksim beside me like a wall, unmoving, silent, watchful. His body is taut, but he’s giving me space. That alone is enough to anchor me. I thought he might speak for me, shield me, drag me back. But he doesn’t. He gives me the thing no one ever has.

The choice.

Do I want to hear him?

Maybe.

Not because I believe he’ll say the right thing. Not because I want him to redeem himself. I just need to know. I need toseehim clearly. And I can’t do that if I keep looking away.

I take a slow breath and nod once.

“I’ll listen,” I say softly.

Maksim doesn’t move, but I feel the breath he exhales. Fury, maybe. Or restraint.

Dad’s smile flickers wider, like he’s won something, and that more than anything makes my stomach churn.

We move to one of the empty meeting rooms. I walk in first. I don’t look over my shoulder to make sure Maksim follows, but I feel him there, a quiet shadow beside me. He stays near the door, arms crossed, expression carved in granite.

I sit across from my father at the polished table. He doesn’t reach for me. Doesn’t try to hug me. That almost makes it worse, because I can tell he thought about it. He’s playing this carefully.

“Clara,” he says with a long sigh, like I’ve already disappointed him. “You look well.”

I say nothing.

“I’ve been trying to get word to you for days. Maksim’s people don’t exactly make it easy.”

“Good,” I say. My voice is steady. That surprises me.

“I know you’re angry. I expect that. But I think you’ve misunderstood what happened. What Ihadto do.”

I raise my chin slightly. “Yousoldme.”

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