Bitter Truths: A Twisted Arranged Marriage Romance (Crimson Falls Duet Book 2) by Dani René (best fiction novels to read .txt) 📗

my dad. “Still enjoy the vodka, Horatio? I don’t have any, but I’m sure scotch will do.” My husband grins when he hands my father the glass, and there’s something in the look Dad gives him that’s filled with warning.

“Thank you, Mr. Shaw,” my mother says.

“Call me Lycan, please,” he tells her before joining me again, his hand finding its place at the base of my spine. “I’m not my father, he was Mr. Shaw,” he says with a hint of pain in the words he speaks.

And that’s when I see it. The guilt written on my father’s face. He does know. Seconds pass before he schools his features, and he’s once more the man in the ice mask. The dining room door opens, and I’m met with Darius’s grin.

“Sorry I’m late,” he says as he enters, dressed in a black suit, white button up, and a tie which is the color of blood. I’ve only ever seen him all dressed up like this at my wedding that didn’t happen, but now, I can’t help but smile at seeing him all cleaned up.

My father turns to see who’s entered, and his rage explodes. “You fucking bastard!” Dad pushes away from the table where he’d been standing, his face bright red from anger as he pins Darius with a glare so fierce, but the man in the line of fire is not at all perturbed.

“Mr. Bardot,” he greets, a smirk gracing his handsome face. My brother-in-law. The man who took me last night, with my husband, and made me feel things I hadn’t felt before. He saunters into the room with all the grace of a predator ready to devour its prey. “Good to see you.”

“You stole my fucking money,” Dad grits, spewing his anger. His teeth clench, his jaw ticks, and I’m shocked he hasn’t broken it. “And you stole my daughter!” He throws his hatred toward Lycan.

Darius shakes his head slowly as he regards the older man. “It’s funny you should say so,” he says. “Because there’s something I wanted to talk to you about. I heard you’ve become a regular at Heaven, where there are girls your daughter’s age.”

The accusation hangs in the air, and my mother sucks in a shocked breath. “What are you talking about?” she asks, stepping in front of Darius, but the interest in her eyes says more about her than it does about the concern she’s trying to portray. She wants Darius. My stomach roils. She’s standing next to her husband, and the desire is clear on her face.

I can’t judge though. I was with both men last night. But that was different. Was it? My mind is awash with guilt and shame as I consider what I did. Lycan’s warm breath is on my ear. “Don’t you dare question yourself,” he whispers, as if he were reading my thoughts. There are times I wonder if he can. Perhaps he has a superpower, not only to make me feel powerful and strong, but also to delve into my thoughts and pull out those negative ones, only to replace them with positive.

“I… I mean…” When I turn to him, he’s shaking his head at me.

“Don’t.” The warning is clear. “We’ll talk about this later.” His promise is one I believe, because if I’ve learned anything about my husband, it’s that he’s not someone who leaves things unfinished.

“Don’t you fucking threaten me.” Dad’s voice cuts through my thoughts. I turn my attention to him, finding him pointing a finger at Darius, his face inches away from the younger man. “I will—”

“You won’t do shit to me,” Darius interrupts with an easy smile. The calmness he exudes is what I usually see with Lycan, and I wonder if he’s keeping his cool because I’m here. Surely he hates my dad, and knowing Darius, that would lead to my father being tortured, and possibly killed. Not that he doesn’t deserve it.

“And why not?” Dad’s challenge has Darius chuckling.

“Because you know that all those filthy little secrets you’ve been hiding will be spilled, and your daughter over there will learn about what a lying, cheating bastard you are. Or are you not bothered with her since you sold her off to a Shaw? You know, your mother was a sucker for the Shaw name.”

Dad rears his fist, but Darius is faster, catching the attack without flinching.

“Don’t you speak about my mother.”

“Or shall we talk about your murderous father?” There’s another challenge that drips from the question.

Dad’s resolve falters, and it only confirms that he knows. He knew about Lycan and Darius’s father. “That wasn’t—”

“You know your father is a murderer, don’t you, Horatio?” The corner of Darius’s mouth tilts in satisfaction, knowing he has Dad on the ledge.

There’s no way he can deny it now, and finally, Dad surrenders and lowers his head. “I thought so. When she told me, I didn’t know what to do. I was already in too deep. My name was linked to things I didn’t want anyone to find out about.”

“What are you saying?” my mother questions, stepping up beside my father who looks like a defeated man. As if he walked into a war that he thought he could win but got annihilated in the process. “Horatio?”

When Dad turns to Mom, I can see the guilt written all over his face. “I didn’t make the best decisions. There are things that I hid from you to keep you safe. I couldn’t let you get caught up in the grave that I’ve dug for myself.”

“I don’t understand.” Mom shakes her head, and for a moment, I feel sorry for her. I want so much to go to him, to tell them I don’t know if I can ever forgive him, but then he glances at me.

“I signed your hand in marriage to Lycan because I knew he’d keep you safe.”

“From you?” I ask, arching a brow, folding my arms across my chest, as if to keep any lies away. But the barrier won’t