Chapter 3 #4
His voice was calm, though noticeably sharper than before.
He studied my sister carefully.
“Does Romeo know that while he was in prison...”
Father’s voice remained calm, but every word landed with deliberate precision.
“...you were already involved with Sergei?”
Yarina met his gaze without the slightest hesitation.
A flicker of defiance brightened her eyes.
“Why would I tell him?”
Father’s expression hardened. “Answer the question.”
“No.” Her answer came without the slightest trace of guilt. “He doesn’t know.”
A muscle twitched in Father’s jaw.
“If Sergei were still alive,” Father asked evenly, “would you be this determined to hold on to Romeo?”
His gaze remained fixed on Yarina.
“Or is it not Romeo you love, but the power he now commands?”
The question lingered unanswered.
He turned to me. Beneath the composure expected of the Sokolov patriarch, I caught something far more human—a father cornered by duty, trying to protect both his family and the legacy entrusted to him.
“Juliet will marry Romeo.”
His decision was delivered without hesitation.
“It is only for two years.”
He rested a hand on the documents spread across the table.
“I have never asked either of you to sacrifice your future for this family.”
His voice softened, though it lost none of its authority. “I am asking now.”
He looked at me first. “In two years, you’ll be free to walk away and reclaim the life you’ve planned.”
Then his attention returned to Yarina.
“Two years from now, if Romeo still wants you, no one will stand in your way. But until then, you will stand down.”
A heavy silence settled over the room before he spoke again.
“But if you insist on standing in Juliet’s way... if you insist on becoming the obstacle between her and Romeo...”
Father’s voice never rose.
It didn’t need to.
“...then you will leave me with no choice but to reveal the one secret you’ve fought so hard to keep.”
His gaze remained fixed on her.
“The child you’re carrying.”
A long, suffocating silence settled over the room.
“Romeo knows nothing about it. He doesn’t know the child belongs to Sergei. He doesn’t know that while he was serving his sentence, believing your feelings for him had remained unchanged, you were sharing another man’s bed.”
“...his own brother’s.”
The words were merciless.
“If Romeo learns the truth, what do you imagine he’ll call it? Love? Or betrayal?”
He took a measured breath.
“Ask yourself how the man you described only moments ago—a man who wiped out almost his entire family without hesitation—will look at you once he discovers you’ve been deceiving him all along.”
Another silence followed.
Then, with quiet authority, he delivered the final blow.
“If you don’t want that truth reaching him...”
“Step aside.”
“My decision has been made.”
The words settled over the room with devastating finality.
“Do you have any idea what can happen in two years?”
Her voice rose with every question.
“What if they fall in love? What if they become husband and wife in more than name? What if she gets pregnant? What if they have a child together?”
She swallowed hard.
“Do you honestly believe they’ll just sign divorce papers and walk away after building a family?”
Her composure began to crack beneath the weight of her own fears.
“What if something else binds them together? What if two years become forever?”
Yarina wrapped her arms around herself, as though sheer force could keep her heart from splintering apart.
“No.”
The word escaped as little more than a breath.
She shook her head, panic creeping into her voice.
“No, Father... please. Don’t do this to me.”
For the first time that evening, he looked every bit the father instead of the Bratva capo.
“I’m sorry, Yarina.” He rose from his chair. “But my decision is final.”
Without another word, he moved behind Mother’s wheelchair and rested his hands on the handles.
As he turned her toward the door, Mother looked back at us over her shoulder.
Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
She couldn’t speak.
The grief etched across her face said everything words never could.
The quiet whir of the wheelchair filled the room as Father guided her into the hallway.
A moment later, the door closed behind them with a soft click.
The silence they left behind felt heavier than anything that had been said.
Yarina stood motionless for several seconds before slowly turning toward me.
Mascara streaked down her cheeks, carving dark trails through carefully applied makeup.
She looked terrified.
“You wouldn’t actually marry him, would you?”
I didn’t answer immediately.
The question hung between us, heavy enough to suffocate.
I searched my sister’s face, trying to reconcile the woman standing before me with the girl I’d grown up beside.
Yarina had always been manipulative. Lies came to her as naturally as breathing.
After being betrayed by her more times than I cared to remember, I no longer trusted anything she said.
Which meant I couldn’t tell whether what she’d felt for Romeo ten years ago—or what she claimed to feel for him now—was truly love.
I studied her quietly.
“Tell Romeo about the baby you’re carrying for Sergei first.”
I held her gaze.
“Then we can talk.”
For the briefest moment, something unreadable flickered across her face.
Then it vanished.
“No.” The answer came instantly. “I plan to make the baby his.”
My stomach tightened.
She continued as though she were discussing a simple inconvenience rather than a life-altering deception.
“I only need him to be with me soon. A few times should be enough.”
Her confidence was chilling.
“He’ll never question the timing. Not when he believes he loves me.”
Her eyes locked onto mine.
“I’m asking you one last time. You aren’t actually going to marry him, are you?”
Slowly, I rose from my chair, clutching the legal documents against my chest.
“If you truly loved Romeo, you wouldn’t allow him to raise another man’s child while believing it was his.”
Her expression hardened.
I shook my head.
“That isn’t love, Yarina. It’s a carefully constructed lie designed to trap a man who trusts you. But I suppose deception has always come easily to you.”
For a heartbeat, she simply stared at me.
Then she laughed.
The sound was humorless. Almost frightening.
Her smile vanished instantly.
“I know Father has already chosen his side.”
Bitterness seeped into every word.
“He wants this marriage. He needs this marriage. And apparently...”
She looked me up and down. “So do you.”
“I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Her voice became dangerously calm.
“So listen very carefully.” The warning in her tone sent a chill through me. “If you marry Romeo...”
She leaned closer. “...you will regret it.”
Each word was slow.
“I swear on my life, Juliet. I will make certain you never know another peaceful day.”
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, but there was nothing vulnerable about her anymore.
Only fury.
“I’ll make every moment of your life miserable.”
She smiled again.
This time it was almost beautiful.
Which somehow made it even more terrifying.
“You’ll forget what happiness feels like. You’ll wake up every morning wishing you’d walked away while you still could.”
She moved close enough that I could smell her perfume beneath the faint trace of salt left by her tears.
“You’ve always underestimated me.”
Her whisper brushed my ear. “You have absolutely no idea what I’m capable of.”
The words settled over the room like a death sentence.
For several long seconds, neither of us moved.
Then she stepped back.
Without another glance, she turned and strode toward the door.
It slammed shut behind her with enough force to rattle the framed portraits lining the walls.
Silence rushed back into the study.
I stood motionless, listening to my own heartbeat.
Only after several moments did my legs finally give way.
I sank into Grandfather’s chair, the legal documents still clutched tightly against my chest.
Two years.
That was all the will demanded.
Two years married to the one man who had never truly known me, yet had somehow been a part of me for most of my life.
Two years to make Romeo see the woman behind the name.
To make him understand that Yarina was not the woman he believed her to be.
Two years to make him question everything he thought he knew.
Two years to make a man who saw me as nothing more than his lover’s sister perhaps look at me differently.
Perhaps...
Even admire me.
I closed my eyes, the weight of the decision pressing heavily against my chest.
Could I really do this?
Father’s decisions were rarely challenged, and I knew this one would be no different. Not for long, at least.
Besides, refusing Grandmother’s final wish because of threats from relatives who only cared about what they could gain would make me no different from them.
Father was right.
He would handle them.
And the truth was, the inheritance was not merely about wealth. Those assets kept the Sokolov family powerful. They strengthened Father’s position as capo and ensured no one could easily challenge his authority.
But Yarina’s words remained.
They lingered in the darkest corner of my mind.
To her, this wasn’t about a will.
It wasn’t about legacy.
It wasn’t about family.
To her...
I was stealing the man she believed belonged to her.
Her final words refused to leave me.
They echoed again and again until they no longer sounded like a threat.
They sounded like a promise.
Just a few hours ago, my biggest concern had been surviving another painful family gathering after my grandparents’ funeral.
Now I was expected to marry Romeo Flynn.
The thought alone sent a confusing mixture of warmth and dread through me.
The legal documents slipped from my lap onto the polished desk with a dull thud.
I rubbed my temples, hoping the pounding behind my eyes would ease.
It didn’t.
My thoughts refused to slow.
A sharp vibration broke through my thoughts.
My phone lit up on the desk.
The sudden sound made me flinch.