Chapter 26: Veiled Vows: Chapter 26

Roman’s abrupt departure isn’t how I want to end things, but when duty calls, there’s no choice. He leaves before I get the chance to tell him about the pregnancy tests, and given the urgency I overheard in his father’s tone, it doesn’t seem like texting him the information will be well received.

I’ll tell him next time.

Twenty minutes after Roman leaves, Catherine calls. Her hospital appointment is over and she’s ready to be picked up. I have just enough time to wriggle out of the remains of my dress and send a brief apology to my dressmaker with a few pictures, adjusting what kind of skirt I would like, before Catherine arrives.

“Do I want to know what happened?” She stands wide-eyed in the doorway staring at the remains of the dress on the floor.

“Wild animal attack,” I smirk, approaching her.

“Roman then?”

“Of course. How are you?” Glancing her over, she looks fine, and it goes without saying that I’m proud of her for making it here without needing help. “I would have picked you up.”

“I know but it’s close by and I thought calling an Uber would be a good test of how I handle being around a stranger all by myself. Don’t think I didn’t notice the guard you had in the hospital.”

“Only the best for you.” Linking arms, we exit the boutique and wander down the street with my guards lingering a few feet behind. “But the hospital was good?”

“Yep, I’m fine,” she assures me with a smile. “I still have a few more hours of mandatory therapy but everything else is healing well. And … Thank you, Jasmine. I feel like I haven’t said that enough.”

“Once is all I need,” I assure her softly. “And I barely even need that. You’re my friend and I love you, so it’s easy.”

“Mm-hmm, does that mean I’ll be sharing your love with Roman?”

“I don’t know if I’m quite there,” I reply as my cheeks warm. “But I did let slip that I really like him.”

“Oh my God!” Catherine tightens her grip on my arm. “What did he say?”

“That he likes me too.”

“Ah! That’s amazing!” She bounces up onto the balls of her feet. “Look at you, I’m so happy! Wait, did you tell him about the baby?”

“I didn’t get a chance. Everything sort of built up to the perfect chance to tell him, and then his father called.”

“Ew.”

“Yeah, so I’ll wait until the next time I see him. Texting this kind of news feels kinda weird.”

“Mm-hmm.” Catherine hums softly. “So … does this mean you’re going to keep it?”

That’s the most daunting question I’ve ever heard.

“I don’t know, honestly. But I don’t think it’s the kind of decision I can make on my own. I want to tell Roman before I tell anyone else. But after that … it’s not something I’ve ever thought about.”

“Weren’t you using protection?”

“No, but I’m on the pill so I just sort of relied on that.”

Catherine tuts gently, teasing, then she nods as we stop at the crosswalk. “God forbid the doctors give us something that actually works.”

“Maybe he’s just got some exceptionally strong swimmers.”

“Maybe,” Catherine laughs. “A full-on battle in your womb for first place. Well, whatever you decide to do, I’m here for you.”

“Thank you. I love you for it.”

“I know.”

“I just have so much else to think about too.” Crossing the road, we turn toward the park and fall into step. “My parents need to start getting along. Roman and I want to make this real, y’know? And it is a good thing, I just wish they would stop nipping at each other. They’ve always argued, but this is different.”

“Maybe it’s not.” She glances at me. “Maybe the years of arguing have built up and this is just the latest thing. You’ve always said your mom wasn’t always quite there, and your Dad is obsessed with profits and success over family.”

“It’s true. And I think it’s my fault.”

“How so?”

“Well, the last time he did anything for the family was when he gave up those routes to Santino as thanks for saving my life. That entire thing turned out to be a sham, and since then, he’s been this money- and power-obsessed tyrant.”

“Jasmine, that’s not your fault.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Hell no! You’re not to blame for Santino or your father. And you’ve worked hard to prove how good you are, so if anything, he’s the one to blame for growing so obsessed and forgetting what matters.”

“Maybe. I’ve tried to find time to talk to him about the Yakuza. After talking to Roman, I learned that they value loyalty but they also never forget. Undercutting them in this peace deal could bite us on the ass.”

“So you have a better idea?”

Birds flying home to their nests chirp overhead, a cyclist weaves around us on the path through the park and nearly collides with one of my guards, and a couple of children sprint past toward the ice cream truck pulling up into the parking lot.

“I do. I think. Basically, I want to meet their demands as a way of compensating them for all the death we’ve caused over the years. My father nearly obliterated them in the early years. Pissing them off further feels like a death sentence, but I think it’s a sacrifice we need to make, and should make given what we’ll gain when Roman and I marry.”

“It sounds generous,” Catherine murmurs. “I can’t pretend to understand all of that, but you do catch more flies with honey than shit.”

“Exactly. A good deal shows faith.” Once Roman and I marry, if the Yakuza are dealt with then the focus becomes helping Roman get revenge on his monster of a father. Our joined funds and forces will make us powerful enough to achieve my own goal, and dismantling Santino will give us both the assets needed to make us stronger.

By all accounts, this might be the best thing to happen to our families.

“Ice cream?” Catherine jerks her thumb toward the ice cream truck slowly getting swarmed with excited children.

“Sure,” I nod. “But only if I can get the entire bottle of raspberry sauce poured over everything.”

“You’re disgusting,” Catherine laughs as she breaks into a light run toward the truck.

“Maybe,” I agree. “But at least it’ll taste good.”

After dropping Catherine off back home and making sure she’s safe, I head straight home while sending a few texts to Roman to make sure he’s okay. Being ordered back by his father was so abrupt, and knowing what that man can be like, I can’t imagine he was demanding him back for any good reason. I add an additional slightly saucy text about how much I’ll think about him during bathtime, say goodnight to my driver, and head inside.

But something makes me stop.

I feel … cold walking into the house.

All the lights are off.

Every room is in complete darkness. There are no guards in the hall, no guards at the top of the stairs, and no servants in the kitchen when I pass. It’s as if I’ve come home at three in the morning, but even then, there would be a patrol moving quietly through the mansion.

My grip remains on my phone as I send a quick SOS to my driver.

Something is wrong.

“Mom?” I call as I hurry through the lounge and the study. “Dad?”

No one answers. There’s no one in any of the rooms, and my repeated calls for my parents and guards are met with complete silence.

I take the stairs two at a time as panic inside me rises. Where the hell is everyone? How can they all just up and vanish, disappearing like no one ever existed?

“Mom! Dad! Where are you?!”

My driver responds as expected with orders for me to get out of the house ASAP, and he’s put an alert in to the on-standby private guards. I should leave, but just as I make it to the end of the corridor and the thought occurs to get out, a sliver of light is visible peeking through the bottom of the door to my parents’ bedroom.

“Mom? Dad?” Forgoing knocking, I press on the handle and push it open, stepping inside. Relief hits like a tidal wave when I spot my mother kneeling on the floor in her nightdress.

“Mom! Oh, thank God. Where is everyone? I thought …”

I trail off as the full carnage of the scene before me comes into view.

Mom kneels on the floor surrounded by a puddle of blood that spreads out from the pale body of my father. He’s on the floor in front of her with his eyes open and his mouth twisted and gaping. Several stab wounds litter his bare chest, but they’re no longer bleeding.

I can’t speak. I can barely think.

I walk closer to my mother, terrified she’s in a similar state. Then she takes a rasping breath, and I jump out of my skin.

She rocks from one side to the other, and as I step closer, the glint of something in her hand draws my attention.

It’s a bloodied knife.