Page 22 of Pretty Pink Poison
I lifted my chin, not answering him. That’s right, asshole. Play dumb games, win dumb prizes. For instance, leaving me to clean up the mess of you screwing me while I was blackout drunk should result in you getting a kid and a permanent reminder that his actions had repercussions. Having you sweat was the least of what justice should have served you.
“Shewas… with your child. She miscarried last week,” my father ground out.
My father's words were blunt—too blunt—and they hit me like a dagger, twisting deeper with every syllable. I barely registered the murmur of surprise from Rafe, whose face flickered with something unreadable for just a second. My father, though, showed no remorse, not even the faintest trace of empathy for me.
He stood there, staring at Rafe, as if the miscarriage were merely an inconvenient business deal gone wrong.
The silence that followed felt suffocating, as if the very air had been sucked from the room. Could we go? I wanted to escape to my room and mourn the loss of my dignity and the imaginary relationship I’d concocted in my head with Bane.
Rafe’s father frowned before he leaned over to say something to his son, his gaze lingering on me for just a moment—flickeringwith something that almost felt like pity, though I knew it wasn’t meant for me. It was the kind of pity you reserve for someone who’s lost their value, someone who had been discarded after fulfilling their purpose.
And when Rafe took a deep breath and glanced at me with a look of remorse, I knew what was about to happen. I was going to be tossed aside. "We’ll have to reconsider a union if she can’t conceive,” Mr. Black told us. “My firstborn son deserves an heir.”
“We can see what happens, Dad,” Rafe softly objected.
“See what happens?” I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Give your body time to heal. It’s a loss to all of us, obviously. And it wasn’t something we’d planned for this early on.”
“This early on?” I echoed again.
“In five years maybe, Bianca.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m not ready to settle down. And it seems you aren’t either. Take some time. We’ll get to the wedding soon enough.” He winked at me like this was so fucking easy.
The words echoed in my mind and my breath caught in my throat. For a moment, I thought I might faint right there on the floor. It was a mixture of relief and pain. He was proposing a five-year plan of no marriage, of giving me my freedom at least for a little time.
But it was on a leash. It came with strings attached.
“But everything’s still fine between us, Stefano. I mean, my daughter is still obviously willing to marry and as you know I never meant harm with …” My father’s voice died because he didn’t want to take the responsibility and say out loud that he’d tried to cut Stefano out of a deal.
It was as if I were no more than a ledger entry, something to be weighed and measured in terms of usefulness. His eyes flicked to Bane and Ezra, standing stoically to the side. “If Rafe doesn’t feel ready for marriage, maybe another…”
Ezra chuckled and rubbed a hand over his face before he slid that sleek black helmet on. “She’s for Bane. Always has been.” Then he looked at his younger brother and clapped him on the shoulder. “Good luck, bro,” he said and walked out.
Good luck? As if I was the problem here.
At the mention of his name, a chill shot down my spine. I couldn’t look at him, couldn’t bring myself to meet his gaze. Bane wanted not a single thing to do with me at this point, and I knew that was for the best. Still, I wanted something from him.
Some emotion.
Some feeling.
The man had been my quiet protector in ways no one, not even me, had ever noticed. The one who had always been there, even when I was too young to understand. And before tonight, he’d been the one fulfilling my every want and desire even if it was a twisted game between us. But now? Now, I knew he would be the one to break me.
The last decade between us didn’t matter. The closeness and comfort I had once felt, now felt like a distant memory. I had hoped, foolishly, that things could be different—that Bane could be more than just another pawn in this brutal game. Now, I knew better.
When I finally lifted my gaze to him, I saw nothing in his eyes. No sympathy. No anger. No love. There was just a cold, empty look—a look that spoke volumes more than any words could.
"I’ll agree to watch over her for the benefit of a partnership for the five years Rafe needs," Bane said, his voice low, measured, and final. His words hung in the air like a death sentence. "I don’t need an heir or a wife…nor do I want one. But we don’t need a liability either. So, I expect it not to be a permanent arrangement."
My father’s eyes lit up, willing to take whatever scraps were offered to him. "Oh, of course. Five years should give you ample time to enjoy a bachelor life?"
Bane’s father waved the idea away as though our lives, our futures, were nothing more than minor inconveniences. "Five is perfect. As long as she keeps up appearances—"
"Bane will keep her in line," Rafe interrupted smoothly. And some sort of mischief danced in them when he glanced at his brother. “Right?”
His eyes turned to me then, dark and unreadable. "I’m sure she’ll keep her indiscretions secret like always, right, Bianca? All of us can keep our affairs quiet whether it’s a roll in the hay or a nightcap."
I flinched at his words. His slight was meant to hurt and it did. It felt like a damn knife gutting me and leaving me to bleed out.
