Page 81 of Tied to Hope
“You didn’t know?” Rytsar asked in a sarcastic tone.
Brie cried out when Vlad suddenly rushed Rytsar, cocking his fist back to punch him in the face. Quick as lightning, Sir had Vlad’s arm behind his back, immobilizing the man before he even knew what had happened.
“Liar!” Vlad tried unsuccessfully to break Sir’s hold. “You fucking liar!” he screamed again, becoming so upset that spittle escaped his mouth.
Brie was surprised by how violently he was struggling against Sir. He was acting like a madman, but Sir’s grip was tight and he could not escape.
“I would never lie about a child,” Rytsar growled.
Eventually, Vlad stopped struggling against Sir and became still. In time, the room filled with the sound of his labored breathing as he took in the news.
Vlad looked at Rytsar. “If the child isn’t yours, then…”
“Yes, the boy is yours.”
Vlad turned his head away.
Brie watched as Rytsar’s angry glare transformed into a look of compassion for his brother.
Sir released Vlad, but he didn’t move.
Instead, he turned back to Rytsar and asked, “Anton, why did she keep it a secret from me?”
“I don’t know. Sasha told me that the boy was mine.”
“What?” Vlad yelled. Pounding his chest several times, he demanded, “Why would she do that when the child ismine?”
Rytsar didn’t answer.
Brie watched as understanding slowly crept into Vlad’s eyes. Soon, he snarled in disgust, “She’s after the money…”
“That fucking inheritance,” Rytsar answered with equal venom.
Vlad looked at Rytsar, slowly shaking his head in disbelief. “I have a son.”
“Yes, another son, on top of the three you’ve already fathered with your wife,” Rytsar said with disgust.
Vlad’s eyes flashed with anger. “Sasha was mine before I ever met Zoya, and long before you started fucking her.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Father didn’t consider Sasha a good match for our family, but I defied him by continuing to see her behind his back. So, he did the one thing he knew that would rip my heart out.” Vlad spat on the floor. “He took her away from me and served her up to you so you could play with her in your dungeon.”
Rytsar looked at him in shock. “I never knew this.”
“You didn’t even care about her, treating her like a slut, when I loved her. She wasmine, Anton!”
“Father used Sasha to punish you. I had nothing to do with it.”
“But you were the one who fucked her!”
“I swear to you I would never have touched her, had I known.”
“It doesn’t matter. You see, I learned my lesson and played the dutiful son, marrying a woman I didn’t love to further our family’s influence.” He laughed sarcastically. “And, I did it for nothing becauseyoureceived the inheritance.”
The rumbling growl from deep in Rytsar’s chest was low and ominous. “I thought I could not despise our father any more than I do, but this proves how truly evil he was.”
Vlad shook his head. “And now, I find out I fathered a child with the woman I loved, and she didn’t even tell me.”
