Page 308 of Wicked Brutal

“Alison.”

I step out from behind Mom. My knees feel like they’re going to fold under me. I’m terrified. My whole body is shaking. But I look at him. “I will not marry you.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I do.”

“You’re upset.”

“I've been upset since the day I was told I had to marry you.”

“You’re coming with me. We are getting married.”

“I would rather fucking die than marry you.”

Victor goes silent. So does Dad. Ryan stares at me. Mom grabs my hand.

Whatever polish Victor had left disappears. “What did you say to me?”

I can’t stop shaking. But I say it again. “I would rather die than marry you.”

“You ungrateful little bitch.”

Ryan lunges. “CALL HER THAT AGAIN!”

X goes with him. Arthur catches Ryan. Gideon grabs X.

Walter gets directly in Victor’s face. “Back the fuck away from my kid.”

Victor shoves him. “She’s not your fucking kid.”

Walter shoves him back. “She is now.”

“WALTER!”

“I’M DONE, ARTHUR!”

“So am I.” Theodore. His voice rips through everything. Everybody turns. He comes forward — not slowly, not cautiously. Furious. “I’m fucking done.”

Dad stares at him. “This doesn’t concern you.”

Theodore laughs. It sounds broken. “Doesn’t concern me?”

“Theodore,” Arthur warns.

“No, Arthur. Fuck that.” Arthur reaches for him. Theodore jerks away. “You don’t get to calm me down.” He points at Dad. “I have known you for years, Roman.” Dad’s jaw clenches. “I’ve sat at your table. You’ve sat at mine. Our kids grew up together. Our families have been tangled up longer than half the people standing here have been alive.”

“Theodore—“

“I know you.” His voice breaks. “I know exactly what kind of man you are, because I spent half my life surrounded by men just like you.”

Dad steps toward him. “Watch yourself.”

“No. You watch me.” His eyes are wet now. “I did what I was told.”

Katya isn’t here. Becca isn’t here. They don’t need to be. They’re written all over his face. “I married Hartley when the woman I loved was somewhere else, because that’s what people like us did. We smiled. We made the right marriages. We protected the right names. We kept the right secrets.” Dad says nothing. “And look where it got us.” His voice cracks. “My daughter almost died.”

Everything quiets.