Page 75 of Made in Malice

I hold my hands up in surrender when she glares at me. “I never told you I did.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t tell me you didn’t either.”

“I’m always going to take the advantage.”

“Not that I should be surprised,” she mumbles. “What do you know?”

I think about trying to extract more from her before I tell her, but I decide to stick with my original deal. “I know when she left, she was disowned, dead in the eyes of her family and the founders.”

“So she couldn’t have come back if she wanted to?” She latches onto the fact as if it gives her hope for something else.

“I wouldn’t say that, but it wouldn’t have been easy.” I don’t tell her the families would have demanded a sacrifice that I’m not sure her mother or grandmother would be willing to make. They would have had to forfeit something equally as valuable—like their term of power, a portion of their property, or something—and all that was contingent on the Umbras even allowing her to return.

“Do you know why she left in the first place?” she questions, hanging on my every unsaid word. Damn, I like having her attention on me.

“That’s family business.” I shake my head slowly. “But it may have something to do with your father. Some families still arrange pairings, and I can guarantee your father would not have been chosen.”

“Are you kidding me?” She stands up and sneers at me with disgust, as if I just told her I would be the one picking her husband. Even the thought of her with a partner enrages me just as much.

“I said it happens, not that I’m in charge of it,” I reply gruffly.

“That’s insane,” she argues as if she can’t believe it’s true.

“It’s business.” I widen my hands.

“Are you… Never mind, none of my business.” She spins away to start pacing.

I lean back and spread my arms along the back of the couch to watch her. Her eyes are lowered, but I can tell her mind is working overtime.

“I asked my grandmother if my mom was made to choose, and she told me no.”

“What exactly did she say?” Nox prompts.

She slows her steps and closes her eyes, thinking back, but more importantly, she’s trusting both of us, even if she doesn’t realize it. “She admitted my mom left to be with my dad, and I asked if she had to choose between being here and him, and she said there was no choice.”

“And you thought that meant she didn’t have to choose,” I surmise.

“Well, yeah.” She tosses her hands up in the air.

“I don’t think that’s how she meant it,” Nox replies softly.

“No crap.” She laughs bitterly. “So what was the point of bringing me back here?”

“I told you, without an heir, they would have died out. Your grandfather took your mother’s place. There are no Umbras left to take over besides you. They need you to keep the family name.”

She scowls. “Screw that. I’m not sticking around here.”

I almost tell her she’s not going anywhere, but I manage to rearrange the words trying to spew from my lips. “And let them win?” I goad, poking at the defiant part of her that bucks against me all the time. I find myself just as intrigued as I think about her dominating the other families rather than submitting to me. I’m not right in the head, but I don’t care.

“How would they win if I disappeared?” She cocks out a hip, scrutinizing me.

Shit, I hadn’t thought that through. “They would be able to keep everything that should be yours,” Nox offers.

“Like money? All I want is a decent place to live and a car. I don’t need some mansion on an island or any of the trouble that comes along with it.”

Her words are spoken with too much conviction not to believe her, but it’s still not easy. It’s been my experience that everyone cares about money and wants as much of it as they can get.

“Money makes those troubles go away,” Nox offers.

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