Page 31 of Secret Betrayals
He doesn’t.
Instead, he rises to his full height, stepping into my space, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. Damn this man. I sigh and shake out my arms, staring up at him.
“I can’t break,” I say flatly. “And you know it.”
He holds my gaze, but I continue, my tone hardening.
“This is about business. About the children. It’s not about me. It’s not abouthim. It’s not abouthim and me. What happened—happened. I can’t undo it. My feelings, whatever they are, aren’t relevant. What matters is getting the business under control andletting the kids decide how they want to move forward with the rest of their family.”
I mean it. Every word. Ihaveto mean it. I can’t let emotions rule me. I’m not that girl anymore—the one who used to love blindly, who let her heart steer her into hell.
Talon killed her when he broke me.
What rose from her ashes is a woman who leads with logic, not love. I don’t ignore red flags anymore. I don’t look away or make excuses. Emotions cloud judgment, and clouded judgment in this world will get you killed.
And I quite enjoy living.
This mess? It’s a bump in the road. Once it’s handled, I’ll go back to the life I built—with control, order, and no surprises. Armand doesn’t see it yet, but I’m far more in control than he gives me credit for. The sooner he understands that, the better.
I return to the heavy bag, throwing punches with renewed focus—my signal that the conversation is over.
But of course, Armand doesn’t let it go. He never does.
He steps forward, grabs the bag mid-swing, and pulls it away just before my fist lands. My eyes shot to his.
“Ye always try to be the strong one, lass. I respect that,” he says. “But you deserve peace. And maybe to knock thatfraochÚnwhore down a peg or two. Seventeen years, lass. Seventeen.”
He exhales sharply, then levels me with that look—that damn look I hate. My hands curl into fists.
“You’ve never let yourself move on. And I’m not counting Con as moving on. That’s a whole other conversation.” His tonedeepens, like he’s been holding this in for too long. “This might be your chance to set the shite right. You deserve happiness, girl. Someone who’ll fight for you, respect you, andneverlet you go. But you keep pushing everyone who tries to get close away. You need to let go of what was—and what you thought it could’ve been.”
I open my mouth to speak, but he lifts his hand to silence me, and I let him. If I don’t, he’ll keep after me like a dog with a bone.
“You might not want him back,” he says, “but you’re still holding on to his memory like a curse. That betrayal’s been haunting you, holding you back from living. Damn it, lass, you need tolivenot just for the kids or the family, but foryourself.Not everyone’s gonna hurt you or walk away. And youknowI’m right.”
He pushes the bag hard, sending it swinging straight at me. I catch it, jaw tight, arms wrapping around the leather as I wrestle to steady the weight—and the weight of what he said.
I know he sees it—the storm in my eyes, the pain I still carry. I know he sees right through me.
Then he turns and walks away.
I let go of the bag, stepping back. My chin drops to my chest as I take in his words. And he’s not wrong. I’ve never really made the effort to move on from Talon—not really. My father used to say I was wasting my time, even trying, because a Barone only loves one person in a lifetime. It’s a gift and a curse, he used to say.
And he apparently wasn’t wrong. Because the one time I tried to move on.
Yeah. I’m not going there.
Can anyone blame me for feeling this way? I have children. An empire to help run. I don’t have time or energy to deal with fragile egos or alpha games. And yet, alpha males are the only kind who can even hope to handle me now. The only kind thatignitesanything in me anymore.
Damn it. Why am I even thinking about this?
I stare at the heavy bag, breathing deep, trying to stop my mind from spiraling into shit I’ve fought like hell to bury.
“Mamma?”
Malakai’s voice cuts through the gym noise—music, clanking weights, men grunting. But I’d know that voice anywhere.
“Yeah?” I look over at him, forcing a half-hearted smile.
