Chapter 4 4

CHAPTER FOUR

CLARK

I sit on my bed for thirty minutes.

My headache spreads all over my body, but nothing compares to the pain in my heart.

He has changed so much. He is different now. The boy I love is gone, replaced by a man forged by my abandonment. If I could go back to change the past, I’d still make the same decision. I left to protect him, and I will do it all over again. 

He is the first child of Petrov, the heir to the throne, and there were so many guns aimed at him. I like to believe my departure did something good, but now, I don’t know what to think anymore.

There’s a knock on the door, and Stella walks in.

“Hi, Clark.” She whispers.

“Hi, Stella. You have nothing to worry about. I’ll figure it out. You’re young, and you should not be bound to a man you don’t want. There’s no reason for his vengeance to be your business. He wants to hurt me. I’ll place myself on a platter before I let him touch a hair on your head.” I assure her firmly.

She sighs, “I am so tired of all these. Can you drop me off at Mara’s place? A new season of our favourite show is out, and I need to watch it with her.”

“Of course. Get whatever you need, and wait in the car. I need to speak to your father.” I stand up, and she chuckles, “Our father, not just mine.”

“Semantics.” I scoff and walk out.

Something vicious curls in me. I rush down the stairs and storm into my father’s office.

He has a smug smile on his face and a bottle of brandy on the table. He ends the call with, “I’ll call you back,” and looks at me. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Cancel the marriage,” I order.

He scoffs and pulls out the certificate from his desk, “It is signed and stamped.”

I look at it. There’s no mention of Stella’s name, just our surnames. A deranged idea flicks into my head, but I push it away.

“Who gives a fuck about a piece of paper, Dad. Cancel the marriage. Stella is a child. What is your fucking problem?” I demand, panting.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He shrugs calmly.

“You don’t?” I laugh dryly. “Ten years ago, you found me getting ready to run away with Nik. You knew how much I loved him, how transcendent it was. He was the love of my life. He was my best friend. He was everything to me. Our relationship was a secret, but you knew from the beginning. You didn’t end it when it was still fresh. Instead, you made us go deeper, you watched me lose sleep over him, and when everything finally aligned, when we decided to leave this shitty world, you pulled the rug from under my feet.”

“You followed me to the roof, and you told me plain and simple that if I didn’t turn back, you were going to kill him. You were descriptive in the ways you described it. You would frame his murder as an accident, or worse, as an attack from the Cartels, and let it start a full-blown war. You knew how I hated innocent people dying, you knew everything, and you used it against me. I was your son, and you took away the one piece of my life that made sense.” My broken heart spills out of my mouth.

“Because I loved him, I listened to you. I moved to London and haven’t been back ever since, at least not long enough to see him. You claim you were protecting me. Yet, here we are, with you willing to throw your teenage daughter to the wolves. Nik was nineteen years old then, and he’s twenty-nine now. He’s angrier, a monster, and he will hurt her, but you don’t care about that? You’re willing to do anything to be right, so tell me, what exactly are you planning?” 

He is amused.

“I am not planning anything, boy, and even if I was, it’s none of your business. You’re not in the family business. You don’t get your hands dirty. Your job is to hold on to the legitimate flow and make billions. Now, run along and convince your sister to marry him.” He waves his hand at me dismissively as if I do not matter.

I shake my head, “Stella’s name is not on that marriage certificate, Father, only her surname is. Stella doesn’t have to be bound to him.”

He frowns, caught off guard.

I walk to the door, turn around and add, “You should have confirmed before you signed it.”

I walk out of the house and find Stella in the car waiting.

“I think I forgot my earpods. It was on the table.” She grumbles.

“Sit. I’ll get it for you,” I say, and she smiles.

I make my way back in and find the earpods on the table.

Dad’s office door is ajar, so his words slip out.

I’m about to leave when I hear my name.

“We need to move quicker. Clark knows we are up to something.”

I freeze.

“Just do it tonight. The bastard should be at his club or the boxing ring. Do what you need to, and make it a clean shot. Once he’s out of the picture, Stella can marry Maxim. He’s head over heels in love with her, which will make him easier to control than that wild beast.” Dad’s words are bitter and vindictive.

“Kill him tonight and do not miss. We’ve missed twice. This is our only shot. Nikolai dies tonight.”

I have heard enough.

I turn around and walk out of the house.

The reason the marriage certificate is ambiguous is that he had no intention of following through.

He wants Nikolai dead tonight. Fuck.