Page 147 of Broken & Bound

I looked up into the face of the man who was supposed to be my father-in-law one day. Someone who, despite me not knowing fully, I respected.

“I’ll tell you like Martina told Isabella. You’re coming on this trip. You can try to fight me, but I’ll shove your ass in the boot of my car and then strong-arm you onto that jet. Don’t let the age fool you, son.”

“Is that what Martina told Isabella?” I choked.

“Not in those words, but my wife’s stubbornness absolutely got Isabella on that plane. She’s still sulking there, so we’ll tackle the family first and then you can give her those gifts yourself. They’ll mean a hell of a lot more coming from you than me.”

His words struck a chord deep inside my soul. The thought of being in the same room with her made me light-headed.

“Pasha, it was divine intervention that I was leaving at the same exact moment you were getting ready to knock on the door. Ten minutes later and we would have passed one another on the street and been none the wiser.”

I took a deep breath and stood. He was right. “Destiny.”

“Exactly.”

Mentally, I did the math in my head. If he thought the four parents would vote my way, that helped. In the deepest places of my heart, there was probably only one who wouldn’t vote to at least let me see her.

This was an opportunity of a lifetime. A chance for me to tell her how I felt, and then I’d offer her more time, if that’s what she needed. I’d tell her I’d wait for her. Forever if need be. I’d become Sebastian and dedicate my entire soul to her for all eternity. Forsake all others.

“Okay. I’ll come. I need to get my bags.”

His smiled widened, and he patted my back. “Good. Let’s do this.”

How stupid had I been these past months? I couldn’t give up on her, on us. I would fight. She was my future, and I was hers. No one would ever truly know the pain she felt like me, and it was the same for her.

This pain was shared, and we both lost something monumental. It only made sense for us to grieve together.

Thirty minutes later, we were boarding the jet. As we took off, the feeling that this was right only solidified. Damn it, we had a bond.

A deep and real one. Forged in fire as it consumed us both in its path. Then in deep sorrow and triumph, when she regained pieces of her stolen childhood. And each of us were grieving the loss of our precious girls.

I would do everything I could to show Isabella that the love I had for her was unwavering and that our bond was as strong as the ones she had with her Season Sisters. Come hell or high water. I was going to get my princess back.

Ocean waves crashed against the shore. Once, the sound had been enough to settle all the restlessness inside me. This year it grated on my nerves. Two days into our annual trip, the beach house no longer felt like the haven it was. This was the place we reconnected, reset for the year, and dreamed about the future together as a family.

This year, everything was different. We were simply existing beneath the same roof, mourning different pieces of the same family. It was strikingly reminiscent of the summer Vanya ran away. It was like we were all in mourning. Again.

When had everything gone to shit?

As much as I’d like to put all the blame on the attack, I couldn’t. Things were off even before that. Sitting on the porch of the beach house, I had the startling realization that nothing was the same and probably never would be.

Alek stood by the railing, staring out at the ocean. The distance between us grew each day. He’d erected a barrier between us, something we’d never experienced in the thirty-some-odd years of knowing one another.

In my heart, I knew it had everything to do with Kinsley. I’d tried everything I could think to get back into her good graces, but the only things she wanted from me was an apology and to accept Pasha back into the family.

Had I wanted to kill him when I found out? Unequivocally.

Did I still want to? Absolutely.

So the only things I had left at my disposal, wasn’t something I could give. That she refused to be around me in any capacity only made things more tense. I understood her fierce determination and loyalty to Pasha, but I was struggling to forgive him.

Nik rose from his chair and strode over to Alek. For so many years, the three of us were like triplets, inseparable. And now I was the odd man out. Talking it out with Marcel was a vicious circle.

I couldn’t separate Hannah’s actions from Pasha and didn’t want to. Maybe it had to do with the fact that, once again, I wasn’t there when Isabella needed me the most.

Once again, I’d arrived after the damage was already done. That seemed to be my speciality where Isabella was concerned. Every promise I’d ever made to protect her rang hollow in the face of another moment when she’d needed me most.

Ivan and Marcel sat nearby, their conversation subdued. Everything felt forced, and it hadn’t escaped the notice of our parents. Christopher, ever the diplomat, tried for the first few days to get us to find some common ground, to concede and come together.