Page 33 of Snowed in with the Brutes
Chapter Nineteen
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Cora
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Ipromise myself Iwon’t start crying until I’m completely alone and far away from everything here.
Oh God, what a mess.Why do I always have to make everything so hard for myself?
Why did I fall in love with them?
No, I have to focus only on my dad.I can’t taint his freedom with my broken heart.Besides, I deserve to be laughed at for falling head over heels for three mafia heads when I’m just a stupid girl with no money and no family connections.Stupid, stupid Cora.
“Masters,” Cynthia and Summer say at the same time, all shy and demure and so incredibly beautiful I want to throw up.For a moment, I wish I were one of them, worthy of being in Kian, Flinn, and Sinclair’s company.Then I right myself.Never.
“Henry, will you show the Andersons out, please?”Flinn says.
“Of course, sir,” Henry replies, starting to usher them out.They’re as confused as I am and protesting, but Henry doesn’t hear anything, and soon it’s just me and them in their penthouse in the sky.
“I can explain,” I say, biting my lip so hard I taste blood.“Pierre Anderson is not my father.My dad is Dominic Hayes.He was a ranch hand and started working for the Andersons when he was eighteen.
“My mom was a maid for the Andersons, and they married and had me.Fifteen years ago, my mom was diagnosed with cancer.My dad asked Pierre Anderson for a loan for my mom’s medical bills.Pierre said no, so my dad stole ten thousand dollars from him.
“For that, Pierre sentenced my dad to a lifetime of working on the ranch for him until the day he died.He wasn’t allowed to leave the property.Not even to go anywhere.He didn’t fight Pierre for his freedom.He was heartbroken after my mom died.”
I take a breath but don’t stop talking.
“I never knew why my dad never left the ranch.He only told me the truth a year ago because he wanted to go to the fair, my mom’s favorite thing to do.”
“Pierre’s daughters had no intention of sacrificing themselves to save their father, so he ordered me to pretend to be his daughter.I struck a deal with him: my dad’s freedom for his.”
“We know.We know everything,” Sinclair says.
“But you looked as if you needed to tell us in your own words, and that’s why we didn’t stop you,” Flinn adds.
“I don’t understand,” I say, confused.
“Cora, you’re the woman we’re going to marry.The mother of our children.We had to know everything about you.And it changes nothing.But you were going to leave without telling us anything?”Kian asks, though there’s not much darkness in his tone.“Not that leaving means we wouldn’t turn the world upside down to find you.”
Fat tears linger in my eyes.
“I don’t know...I just wanted to save my dad.”
“Your dad is safe.”
“What?”
“Cora, when we said you were ours, we meant it.Whatever makes you happy is our command.Your dad has been moved to a house for now.He’s protected.You can see him afterward,” Kian says as they approach me.
“Thank you,” I cry.“Thank you,” I say again, wiping my tears.Time to get a grip.“But I can’t be your bride.I don’t fit the criteria—”
“And you think we care about criteria when it comes to you?”
