Page 145 of Forbidden Forget-Me-Not

“It was not what I had with Reneta,” he said, measuring his words. “But it was real. Helena gave me beautiful children. Children, I adore. I love her for that.”

“You could have fooled me with the way you’ve pushed everyone away. Nathaniel, Titus, Mom, and now me. Ronan is all you have left. How can you still claim this family is what matters to you?”

He flinched as if I had struck him. Then he leaned forward, glaring at me.

“Do not speak to me like you understand things that you know nothing about.”

I looked away from him and shook my head.

He sighed and swore in Russian.

“You think I do not love you?”

The truth was complicated. I believed he loved me in the only way he knew how. But love from Dimitri Mikhailov came with chains.

He continued before I could formulate an answer.

“Kaylani, I’m going to be honest with you. Mikhailov Enterprises has taken a massive hit since Nathaniel left.”

My stomach sank. He rarely said my brother’s name. Usually, it was ‘traitor’ or simply ‘him’.

“Over half of our income moved with him. He took his operations. His contracts. His loyalty. Nathaniel has been slowly working to dismantle what remains.”

My throat constricted.

“Then Titus followed,” he said, like it was offensive. “And now you.”

“I didn’t leave to hurt you,” I snapped. “I left because Nathaniel gave me real responsibility. He saw me as an asset, not as a thing to prop up in the corner like a decorative statue.”

“Why you left is not the point. You left the fold.”

I stared at him, chest rising and falling too fast.

“There are people.” He tapped the table once. “Thousands depend on this family. The company is bleeding. Your brother thinks he can play these games and build his own empire. He can. But he is not carrying the weight of ours.”

He held my gaze.

“This family needs stability.”

My spine stiffened. I knew what was coming.

“You will marry…” Dimitri remained calm. “As I command, for the greater good of this family and the generations yet to come.”

The room tilted, and the air felt too thin.

“I won’t,” I said, shaking my head as the walls closed in around me.

He didn’t react. His eyes darted to the band hanging from my necklace, then back to mine.

“I will ask you again. Do you love him?”

I stayed silent.

His next words cut sharper than any knife.

“Goran will serve time for the theft.”

Ice spread through my veins.