Page 132 of Vow to Claim You

“Embarrassing the family.” I scoff. “That’s what you’re worried about? Your reputation?”

“I’m worried about my daughter. Both of them.”

“Then you should have kept your promise.”

“The arrangement I made for Naomi was advantageous⁠—”

“The arrangement you made was selling her to a man old enough to be her father.”

“You’re being dramatic.”

“And you’re being a monster.”

My heart slams. I’ve never spoken to him like this. Never challenged him so directly. Never let him hear the fury I’ve been swallowing since the day he told me I was marrying a stranger.

Naomi stares at me like she’s never seen me before.

“Ayanna.” His voice has gone cold, the warmth evaporated as if it had never been there. “I am your father. You will show me respect.”

“Respect is earned. You’ve done nothing but prove you don’t deserve it.”

“Send Naomi home.”

“No.”

“That wasn’t a request.”

“And that wasn’t an answer. It was a statement.” I stand and pace around the room. “Naomi is staying here. With me. In my husband’s house, under his protection.”

“Your husband.” Father scoffs. “Is that a threat?”

“It’s a fact.”

“You’ve changed,” he grunts. “This place. This man. They’ve changed you.”

“No.” I stare out at the snow, at the frozen landscape that’s become my home. “I’m exactly who I’ve always been. You just never bothered to notice.”

I hang up before he can answer.

My hands are shaking. I don’t realize it until I try to put the phone back in my pocket and nearly drop it.

I just told off my father.

Either I’ve grown a spine or I’ve lost my mind. Possibly both.

“Ayanna.”

I turn. Naomi is standing now, tea forgotten on the windowsill, her eyes bright—pride and fear and relief all tangled together.

“That was terrifying.” She chuckles.

“Tell me about it.”

“I’ve never heard anyone talk to him like that.”

“Neither have I.” I exhale slowly, trying to steady my pulse. “Apparently marriage to a Norwegian mafia heir does wonders for your backbone.”

She huffs a laugh and crosses the room and throws her arms around me.