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“It should.”
Ash drops from the end of his cigar and breaks across the desktop. “You would turn your back on your family for her?”
“Would you choose a feud over your son?”
His face remains unreadable, but a muscle pulses along his jaw.
“There is no choice,” he says. “Lorcan can step into your place.”
My next breath stops halfway in. I gave him a choice, and he answered by replacing me in a heartbeat.
“Then use him. Let him spend the rest of his life trying to become whatever version of me you’ve decided you’re owed.”
“You think your roads and companies make you untouchable.”
“No one is untouchable.”
“Exactly,” he says. “Not even Sera Tallon.”
My breathing turns shallow. Whatever has stopped me from treating my father like any other threat is no longer there. I shift forward by an inch. His gaze drops to the movement, and he smiles.
“You came here asking for peace, yet you look ready to start a war.”
“I’m ready to stand between you and her.”
The smile disappears as I straighten to my full height and check my cufflinks.
“I respect what you’ve built,” I say. “I respect what you taught me when you had the time. I know exactly what I owe the Harrington name, but you don’t own every decision I make because you gave it to me.”
His stare burns into mine. “You really believe you can just walk away without consequences?”
“I’d like to believe you’d respect me, respect the fact I’m your son, before anything else.” My voice roughens on son. I run a hand through my hair and force the rest out evenly. “But I’m not really surprised that you chose your ego.”
The cigar holds steady before his mouth. I wait for him to contradict me, but the denial never comes. Instead, he takes a slow draw and exhales the smoke between us.
“Get out.”
My shoulders loosen for the first time since I entered the study. He’s made it simple. I was only ever his son while he had control over me.
“You’ll leave Sera alone.”
“You don’t give orders in this house.”
I head for the door.
“Fionn.”
My hand closes around the handle, though I don’t turn because nothing he says can repair what has ended. Whatever comes next will tell me whether this war begins tonight.
“You built your little empire quietly.” His voice slips over my shoulder. “Let’s see how well it survives when people realize you don’t have my backing. Pick that girl, and you’re dead to me.”
I face him again.
“If you come for what’s mine, make sure you’re ready to lose what’s yours.”
For the first time in my life, I leave my father’s office without waiting to be dismissed.
Chapter 33
