Page 89 of Tarnished Queen

Then Melinda’s voice comes over the line. “Hurry up, Elise. Tell her I dropped the charges and you’re coming with me. That was the deal.”

“I will! Just give me—” Elise sighs. “I’m sorry, Belle. But we’re going to the airport right now. I hope you… Well, I hope things work out. But I gotta go. Bye.”

After the message ends, Belle stares at the phone like she’s waiting for Elise to say something else. Finally, she shakes her head.

“After everything, Elise is back with my mom. We came so far. I… I honestly thought it was over. But now, she’s back where she started. I guess it really is over. Just not how I ever expected.”

“Fuck no, it’s not over.” I reach over and grab her hand fiercely. “Your mom made an unexpected play, but that isn’t the end of the match. We can fight back.”

She blinks. “What options are there? I’m not Elise’s legal guardian. The warrant was right; I did kidnap her.”

“The worst-case scenario is that my lawyers take a week or two to beat in the skull of every judge between here and Oklahoma until Elise is back where she belongs. This won’t last long, Belle.”

She chews on her lip. “I don’t know. I want Elise back with me, but this is… a lot. She’s been ripped back and forth across the country over and over again. Across the world, even. I don’t want to put Elise through even more drama. Maybe I should just—”

“Then fuck the lawyers. I’ll go handle it myself.”

Her chin wobbles, and she shakes her head. “No. No, I don’t want to put Elise through that. Or me, either. God, is that selfish?” she asks. “Maybe it is, but I don’t have the energy for this right now. Elise doesn’t even want to live with me anyway.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it.”

“It’s not,” she protests. “She may like me better than our mom, but that’s a low bar. And you heard the message she left. Elise didn’t even ask for my help.”

I have a strong suspicion the only reason Elise didn’t ask for help is because she wanted to make sure Belle didn’t end up in jail. She made the deal with her mom to go with her so long as Melinda dropped the charges. Otherwise, Belle’s phone would be blowing up with messages from Elise asking to come back and live with us.

Deep down, I’m sure Belle knows that.

But this isn’t my decision to make.

When it comes to the Bratva and my men, I call the shots. But Elise is firmly Belle’s territory. I have to let her decide what’s best for her and her sister.

“Whatever you do, just know that my offer stands,” I tell her. “Elise is your sister. You have to decide what’s best. But she can come back and live with us or we can adopt her once we’re married. Whatever you want, Belle.”

She turns to me, eyes wide. “You’d… you’d adopt her?”

“Of course I would. If it’s what you wanted. I’ll give you whatever you want.”

A tear slips down her cheek. She wipes it away. “Can you… can we go home for now?”

Home.I’ve owned my house for years, but it’s never felt like a home before. Not until I had Belle to come home to.

I nod and bring her hand to my lips to press a soft kiss there. “Yes. Let’s go home.”

27

BELLE

My bridal room is humming with activity. The hairdresser and makeup artist are arguing about whether my eyeshadow should match the flowers in my hair or not. The wedding planner, a high-strung woman who can’t stop complaining about the quick turnaround time on this whole affair, is on the phone with the security team, begging them to try and look presentable.

"Forget the boutonnieres," she’s saying. "I'll settle for black button-downs at this point. You're guest-facing, so the cotton polos have got to go."

It should be exciting, seeing my big day come together.

But all I can think about is who isn't here.

Elise should be with me. There hadn’t been a good time to ask, but she was going to be my Maid of Honor.

And in another world—another life—my parents would be here, too. A loving mom, worrying over all the details and helping fix my veil in place. A proud dad trying and failing to hold back tears as he walks his baby girl down the aisle.

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