Page 24 of Until Retribution Burns (Beauty in Lies 3)

Her eyes that were so close to Isa's trailed down over Isa's baby blue dress with long sleeves, to cover my name and the brand for the time being, and the heels on her feet. Her nostrils flared as she studied the flawless sheen to Isa's hair as it fell over her shoulders in cascades of waves. When her eyes finally landed on her sister’s hand wrapped within mine, she raised her glare up and over my body until it landed on my face. Her gaze narrowed further, seeming to condemn me for the fact that Isa didn't wear the marks of my abuse.

"The prodigal daughter returns," Odina sniped, wiping the pissed off rage off her face. Whereas Isa's anger filled me with the need to help her flourish, Odina's washed over my skin like a disease.

Toxic, and full of so much hatred that I wondered how Isa wasn't already dead. The thought made me itch to wrap my hands around Odina’s neck until the life faded from her eyes that were too like Isa’s—a cold mockery of her beauty and warmth.

"I'm glad you're home," Isa said, smiling at her sister more kindly than she deserved. She made no move to approach Odina, and the sisters faced off while the rest of the family remained quiet as if they were waiting for a bomb to drop.

It might have been less tense.

"I moved your stuff to the corner of the room when it didn't seem like you would be coming home. I suppose I can move it back," Odina said. The words probably seemed giving to her family, an olive branch that they were praying for.

A truce, but I knew better than that. The curiosity in Odina's gaze made me more than confident that she only wished to fish for information regarding my place in Isa's life.

"That's not necessary," Isa said. "I won't be moving back in."

"Oh," Odina said, dropping her eyes to our hands held together once more. She stilled when her gaze landed on the rings I'd placed on Isa's finger the day we married, her mouth parting in shock as her face twisted with something cruel.

"Rafe, I'm sure it is obvious," Isa scoffed. "But this is my sister. Odina, this is my husband, Rafael Ibarra." Isa leaned further into my side, absorbing the heat from my body as she twisted so that her breasts pressed into my side. I released her hand finally to wrap an arm over the back of her shoulder and drape it along her waist.

The physical nature of her claim on me didn't go unnoticed or unappreciated, even with the awkward silence from the rest of her family. It pleased me to know my wife was territorial, and that she would mark me as her property whenever she had the opportunity.

Her father cleared his throat, breaking the silent competition between sisters so he could get back to the topic that mattered to him in that moment. "We did research after Chloe came home," Isa's father said. "There is no lack of articles about you and speculating about your business practices."

"Yes," Odina chimed in. "It was very concerning. Our precious Isa would never be involved with an animal like that, so what exactly are you doing here?"

"Odina," her mother scolded.

"What? Let's face it. Dating a murderer is much more a me thing to do than an Isa. Though I suppose they were made for each other," Odina said, making her mother go still. The family turned wide eyes to me, the dirty laundry aired before a stranger not sitting well. Odina smirked at Isa, no doubt expecting her sister to cower in the face of the deepest shame she hid from the world.

"I have no secrets from my husband," Isa said instead, meeting Odina's eyes with a proud smile. "He is very aware of the mistake I made all those years ago, so if you intend to drive a wedge into our marriage, you will have to try much harder than that,sister." Her smile turned mocking as Odina's mouth turned down in a frown of disappointment.

"None?" she asked. "So he's aware of the fact that you nearly murdered your twin and finds that acceptable for the woman he chose to marry? What does that say about him exactly?"

"That he's more forgiving than you?" Isa asked, tilting her head to the side. "I've felt guilty for that day for far too many years. I won't allow it to own me any longer. I was a child, and I did something foolish.Youhave done far worse in the years since then, and you do not have the excuse of being a kid anymore. Move the fuck on, Odina. I sure as hell have."

Begrudging respect bloomed on her grandmother's face as Isa spoke the words. "Language,Nohsehsaeh,"she scolded, but a tiny smile threatened to reveal itself. She quickly suppressed it.

"You're such a fucking cunt, Isa. Did you finally get tired of being so perfect all the time?"

Isa shrugged, her face impassive as she studied her sister's rage. "No. I just got tired of being your whipping girl."

I tightened my hand at her spine, pulling her tighter into my side as pride welled within me. I hadn't thought she would stand up for herself so thoroughly. My one regret was that she didn't seem able to turn the same ferocity on the rest of her family and the questions that felt like they would be endless.

"Would the two of you stop it?" her mother asked, hanging her head and rubbing her fingers over her brow. "Isa has been home a matter of minutes and you're already at each other's throat. We need to discuss what we are going to do about this..." she trailed off, pausing to look down at Isa's rings in distaste. "Marriage.That's what is the most important right now."

"Of course it is. Everything about Isa is what's important," Odina said with a roll of her eyes. She ducked out of the room, making for the stairs at the back of the house and stomping her entire way up them.

Her mother sighed, dropping her fingers from her face to stare at Isa with a shake of her head. "I can't believe you didn't invite us to the wedding at the very least."

"It wasn't exactly planned," Isa said evasively. "He surprised me with a very romantic ceremony overlooking the water. I couldn't say no." Her voice went dreamy on the last words, the romantic notion she slid into her statement nearly making me snort.

I had the distinct impression that her mother would have a very different opinion of me putting a gun to her daughter's head.

"I'm sure," her mother said, her glare settling on me. "How convenient for him that we weren't present to talk you out of such a foolish thing."

Isa's eyes widened as she studied her mother, moving to put her body in front of mine. "I know you think I’m still a child and incapable of making my own choices. But I promise you, I knew exactly what I agreed to when I married Rafe. The only game he plays with me is chess, and, unlike most men, I know exactly where he stands."

"Oh, Isa," she sighed. "What do you know of men?"

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