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

the Kiss of Judas if I recall correctly. My mind flits through information I’ve garnered over the years, and even though I’m not religious, I can’t deny my wife has finally realized she’s free of her deceitful father.

“Goodbye, Dad,” she says, her tone serious. Her voice doesn’t break, it doesn’t even crack as she steps back, releasing him from her hold, and that’s when she nods at Darius. She knew my brother would take the lead because I wouldn’t.

I’ve already saved her.

He’s her soldier, while I’m her king.

My queen sidles up beside me, her body slinking under my arm and she relaxes instantly. We watch as Darius grabs Horatio, pushing him to his knees. Marinda’s face is a picture of heartbreak as she steps closer to her husband and slaps him harshly across the face. Her anger is palpable, an entity that hangs heavily between them. The room is stifling, and I’m tempted to open the door just to allow fresh air inside.

“You’re a bastard, Horatio,” Marinda tells him. “All these years, I’ve stood by you, kept the secret about your lying father, because I thought you were better. And you could’ve been, but you made the wrong choice.”

Those words ring in my mind. Scarlett said the same thing to her grandmother. It seems the Bardot blood line is cursed. It’s not the love between Scarlett and me that brought about the curse, it’s the choices of a mother and son.

Darius slides his blade from the back of his suit pants, and I have to stifle a chuckle. My brother always keeps a weapon on him, no matter where he is. I guess this time is no different.

“Shall I tell you about a little something I believe in called an eye for an eye?” he questions, gripping Horatio by the hairline, tugging his head back, and slipping the sleek steel against the column of his neck.

“I deserve it,” the older man whispers, but it’s loud enough for us all to hear. “I don’t deny it any longer. Please, do it because I can’t live with myself. Now that my daughter knows what I’ve done, I can’t live with her hating me.”

“Do you think you deserve the mercy of death?” Darius tips his head to the side, his eyes blazing with pure malice, and Scarlett shivers as she watches her hunter ready to kill for her. “Your daughter is now my family. She’s a Shaw,” he tells Horatio. “If you truly think you can slip from his life easily, then you’re sorely fucking mistaken, because what you’re actually going to do is pay. For the rest of your fucking life,” Darius promises. I’m not sure what he has in store for the man on his knees, but I can only assume it’s not something good.

We watch as the knife slides across his neck, not deep enough to kill, just enough as a warning. The wince on Horatio’s face is clear. He doesn’t cry out though, his face contorts, his mouth falls open as the trickle of crimson slides slowly down his neck. And then Darius tugs the knife away, releasing his hold on Horatio.

He pulls out his phone and taps on the screen. We wait. Silence once again hangs in the air, threatening and foreboding. And then the dining room doors slide open and a few of the Kovenant saunter in.

“Take him to Atreo. I’m certain the mafia will know how to deal with trash,” Darius orders, and this time, I do chuckle.

Alexei’s brother is Darius’s other half, both ready to kill and torture at a moment’s notice.

He looks to Marinda. “You going to follow him?”

She glances over her shoulder at Scarlett.

I’m not sure what my wife wants to do. Her mother was mostly innocent in all this, but she still kept secrets. Even though she wasn’t responsible for her husband’s actions, I don’t trust her. She needs to leave my home, my wife, and my family. But I’ll allow her daughter to grace her with that news.

“Will you sit with me, to talk?” she asks, turning to face her daughter. Hope dances in her eyes, her expression is one filled with the need to come closer, but she doesn’t. I’m not sure if she’s fearful of me or Scarlett, but she doesn’t shift an inch. But she waits, and I’m almost sure she’s holding her breath, waiting on the answer.

Scarlett glances at me for a moment, and I offer a nod of support. It’s her choice, not mine. But whatever she decides, I’ll stand by her side. I can’t deny her the chance to learn about her mother, I mean truly get to know the woman, but it has to be her who makes the decision.

“We can talk,” Scarlett says when she turns her attention back to her mother. “But I can’t say I’ll ever forgive you.” Her voice is strong, confident, filled with conviction, and my chest swells with pride.

“I can live with that.” Marinda nods, and a hint of a smile graces her lips.

“I want to know what happens to him,” Scarlett says suddenly, and I realize she’s looking at Darius. “I need to know exactly what is done to him, and if he’s alive afterward.”

“Of course,” he says with a smile. “You’ll be the first to know.”

I take this moment to step forward, making my way to Marinda, and I stop inches from her. “Let me make something very clear to you,” I start, before fisting my hands to calm down, and continue, “This opportunity you have with my wife, is what she graces you with. If you decide to fuck it up, I won’t think twice to get my brother involved and let me tell you, he does enjoy torture. If you so much as make Scarlett cry, I will come for you. The time you spend in our home, Scarlett and I are allowing you, is a privilege, because you don’t deserve it.”

I take a deep breath, my body is taut with anger, with the