13| Choice

┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓ Choice ┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛ Chapter 13: Choice (Rose's POV) I stared at the grandfather clock that stood tall in the corner of the room, each tick echoing in the painful silence I was trapped in. My eyes continuously darted from the clock to my father as he paced before me, his otherwise nonexistent nervous ticks on display for Dom and me to witness. Yet another agitated sigh left him as he loosened a tie, ran a hand over his mouth, and slowly began shaking his head before he finally came to a stop in front of me with an accusatory finger pointing straight at me. Blinking, I stared at him blankly, waiting for the insults to come. Before they could… "Dad," Dom sighed, the one word cutting through the tension in the air like a knife. "This girl is the bane of my existence," my father sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "For God's sake, Rose. Why on earth are you so adamant about ruining this family's name? To ruin my name? My life? Everything I've worked so hard to build?" Silently, I held his gaze. It was simple, nothing that he wouldn't be able to get through his thick skull. I was adamant about ruining his life simply because he was adamant about ruining mine. It didn't take long for me to realize that this was nothing but a setup. This whole arranged marriage bullshit was nothing but a sham, just another way for my father to play me like a pawn and leave me with no choice but to do as he told me. After the colossal failure that was my blind date with Kai, naturally, the first thing I did was question my father. Nothing in this world could have convinced him to call a truce with the Warners in the past, but something had evidently changed. I just couldn't figure out what it was, and my father's silence gave me little answers. It wasn't until he slowly began singing Kai's praises to me that I realized what this was. It was never supposed to be my choice. My father had set me up with some of New York's worst eligible bachelors because he wanted me to choose Kai. It was a trap. This alliance that he had with Kai's father was far dearer to him than anything else in this world, and he would stop at nothing to make it happen. My life was just a game to him, I was just a pawn for him to solidify this alliance, but I'd be damned if I let it happen. If he wanted me to marry Kai, he shouldn't have given me a choice in the first place. That was his only mistake. The power was ultimately in my hands. I wouldn't let him win. "I'm not trying to ruin anything," I sighed, leaning back in my seat as I crossed one knee over the other. "You gave me a choice, Dad. That's all I'm doing, I'm choosing." "And you choose Nikolai?" he asked incredulously. "Yes, I do," I nodded in confirmation. The fire that my words set ablaze in his eyes was enough to make my stomach twist. "Oh no, Rose. This isn't how we'll play," he said calmly. The quietness in his voice contradicted the rage in his eyes, and it terrified me. Suddenly, although it was just for a moment, I was six years old again, and there I was, terrified of the man before me, the man I no longer recognized, the man I no longer wished to call my father. A sharp gasp escaped me, and I couldn't help but physically flinch as he slammed his hands down on the armrest of my seat, the loud clap echoing in the stillness of the living room. "Dad," Dom said sharply. My lungs struggled to get enough air, but I refused to cower away from him. "This is my game, Rose," my father said quietly, "my rules." My jaw ticked. "It's my choice," I whispered meekly. "I won't marry Kai, and that's final." His eyes pierced into mine, pure wrath simmering in them. My hands formed into tight fists at my side before he could see them shaking. "You will marry Kai," he replied, "and that is final." Pushing off the seat, he backed away from me, and I almost immediately swallowed all the air I could get. "Stop it," Dom said sternly. "Just stop. She's done nothing wrong; she did everything you asked of her! You said it would be her choice!" "I never would have said that had I known she'd be foolish enough to reject Kai," my father scoffed in response. "Nikolai is not half the man that Kai is; his parents and his family aren't worth half of what the Warners are. They have no power in this world, Dominic. They haven't earned their name or their respect." "Just because their business and their lives don't revolve around murders and corruption doesn't make them less reputable," Dom argued. "Wouldn't it be better for Rose to live a life away from all this?" "She works for the fucking FBI, Dom, she'll never live a life away from all this. This is her life, this is your life. I've worked too hard to let the two of you throw it all away." "I like him," I persisted, "I really do like Nick. For once, can't you just let me choose what I do with my life, Dad?" "You don't like him," he said dismissively, "you just don't like Kai. Nick is your next best option. I won't allow you to settle for less." "I'm not settling," I sighed in exhaustion. "Kai and I will never last, Dad. We're not compatible! We've spent our whole lives hating each other, it's all we've ever known, it's what we've been taught, what we're born to do! We'll kill each other before the wedding ever happens, why don't you understand? I can't love him! I can't trust him, I can't even tolerate him! How can I marry him?" He stared at me, almost in disbelief. "Love?" he asked before a mocking laugh crawled up his throat. "Wake up, Rose," he said sharply. "Love doesn't exist in the world we live in. Quit dreaming; your reality is staring you in the face. Nikolai isn't enough for you." "No," I bit out, "he isn't enough for you. Nothing ever is." "Rose," Dom warned me quietly. Ignoring him, I persisted, staring right back at my father. "Lower those eyes," my father warned, "how dare you speak to me that way?" When I didn't obey, he began heading my way, but Dom was quick to jump out of his seat and block the way. "Dad, don't," he warned, "please." "Kai doesn't want this any more than I do," I continued anyway, "even if I agree, he never will." "You're a woman, Rose. It wouldn't take you long to convince him," my father scoffed at me. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" I snapped, jumping out of my seat. The shrill crash of my father's glass of whiskey hitting the marbled floor ricocheted off the walls as the shards pooled around my feet, the smallest of them cutting into my skin. Shoving Dom out of the way, he marched over to me and tightly clasped my jaw between his fingers. "You listen to me now, Rose. I'll only say this once. Do whatever it takes and convince that boy to marry you. It's Kai or no one, do you understand? You either marry him, or I'll bury you myself. Do you understand?" I bit my tongue and held his gaze despite the tears pooling in my eyes. "Do you?" he asked, squeezing my face harder. I will never win. I can't. He'll never let me. "Fine," I answered shakily, "I understand." "Good," he nodded, finally letting go. Dom's eyes met mine, pure concern flooding them. I watched as my father commanded him as he left the room, "Make me another drink, Dominic." Dom and I stood still for several seconds, waiting to hear our father's door close. "Rose…" Dom started softly. "What do I do, Dom?" I whispered softly, blinking back tears. He was at my side within seconds. "It's okay," he mumbled, dropping to his knees to dust the glass off my feet. "We'll figure it out. You'll get through this, Rose. You're stronger than him." He stood upright and fixed a strand of my hair. "I know you are." "Maybe I'm not," I shook my head. "I can't take it anymore, Dom. I'm terrified of him." He paused for a moment before sitting me down. "Rose… I know this isn't what you want to hear, and this isn't what you want to do. I wish I could help you. I wish there was something we could do, but… I don't see another way out right now, Rose. It's your only escape." I let out a heavy breath and let my head fall forward in defeat. "You think I should marry him," I said. It wasn't a question. "You think I should marry Kai." I met Dom's gaze. He sighed softly, placing a hand over mine. "You decide who's worse. Kai or our father?" "But Dom-" "Take tonight," he cut me off. "Talk to him, talk to Kai at tonight's fundraiser. He's your best shot right now, Rose. Just think about it, please." My father's words continued to play on a loop in my mind for the rest of the day, and they kept haunting me until I was standing on the steps of that very fundraiser. It's Kai or no one. I took a deep breath, watching the crowd enter ahead of me. It's Kai… or no one. . . . . . Chapter 13