208. DIAMONDS

208. DIAMONDS
KADE
Kai sighed. That’s his reaction. Then he muttered something about being retired and playing with grandchildren.
Yup, that’s the great Kai’s retirement plan. Now that I think about it, he wasn’t born cruel. He never wanted the power. He only did what he did to find out about his daughter, especially after knowing what happened to his son.
He never said that out. I hadn’t realised that until Seline pointed it out last night. She still hates him for not looking for me sooner. Still, the fact that he showed up and became a parent in his own way was more than enough. Now, I am watching him in a new light.
I looked at the sight in front of me.
Another older guy, bruised and bloodied, tied to a chair, shaking violently.
“He is dead,” Kai whispered.
“Apparently, he didn’t.”
“You ruined me.” Our former enforcer, my grandfather, Nina’s father, screamed. “You ruined our family, Kai. And I will ruin yours.”
Kai laughed, dangerously. “You have to live to plan that ruin.”
“You used Nina. You—,”
“Nina used me.” Kai cut him off. “I was only eighteen, and she was planning a future with me. Should I say, it was who planned this all along? She lied that she had aborted the child and begged me to take her back. We were never together to take her back. Your whole family conspired to tie me down. A boy paid the price. And you are here, spewing nonsense. I will gut you—,”
I didn’t hear the rest. Soon after Alexander handed over Nina’s father, it took Dante a day to break him, to reveal who was spying on us and helping him from my outfit. It was a mere soldier who was stacking some extra money.
Big mistake. We would make an example out of him. Nina’s father colluded with Alexander’s uncle. Together, they thought they could bring us down. Bring me down. How easy it would have been if they had just got close to Seline. She is my ultimate weakness. And my ultimate strength.
If they get to her, they will get to me. If they get to her, she won’t let them reach me. She will bury them before they breathe the same air as me. The thought made me equal parts comfortable and disturbed. Seline wouldn’t think for a second before putting her life on the line for me.
And that’s the only way she knows how to love.

I would rather negotiate another war.
At least wars made sense.
This was psychological torture.
The jewellery store was absurdly bright. Every surface sparkled. Every display case contained enough money to buy a small apartment. And somehow every necklace looked exactly the same.
The saleswoman smiled professionally.
"This one features a three-carat oval-cut diamond with D colour and internally flawless clarity. The brilliance is exceptional due to the precision of the cut."
I stared at it.
Then, at the necklace beside it.
Then another.
"They sparkle the same."
Dante immediately covered his face.
"We've been here for thirty seconds."
"Exactly."
"Thirty seconds."
"Thirty seconds too long."
The poor woman looked horrified.
Dante looked exhausted already.
"This one is oval-cut."
She pointed.
"This one is emerald-cut."
Another point.
"This one is radiant-cut."
Another.
"This one is pear-shaped."
I looked at all of them.
Then looked back at her.
"They're shiny."
The saleswoman made a tiny choking sound.
Dante looked like he was about to leave me here.
"They are not just shiny."
"They are literally shiny rocks hanging from chains."
The woman blinked.
Dante pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Please stop saying that."
"I am not wrong."
"You are offending generations of jewellers."
The saleswoman bravely continued.
"The quality of a diamond depends on the four Cs."
I nodded.
"Excellent. Then you'll understand why this stone is remarkable."
She placed another necklace before me.
"Two-point-eight carats. D color. Internally flawless. Excellent symmetry. Triple excellent cut. Nice stone."
Dante frowned.
"That's it?"
"What else do you want me to say?"
"You spent two seconds looking at it."
"It's a nice stone."
The saleswoman stared.
"You identified that immediately?"
"It's obvious."
Silence.
"How?"
I pointed at the diamond.
"The cut."
Then another.
"The proportions."
Then another.
"The fire."
The saleswoman's eyes widened.
"You're in the jewelry business?"
"No."
"Investment?"
"No."
"Then how do you know all this?"
I shrugged.
"I buy diamonds."
Dante laughed.
"You buy diamond mines."
"Sometimes."
The poor woman looked like she regretted every assumption she had made about me.
Unfortunately, understanding diamonds wasn't helping.
Because the moment they became jewellery, my brain stopped working.
"Which one would your wife like?" Dante asked.
That was the problem.
I didn't know.
I could identify a flawless stone from across a room.
I could estimate the value within seconds.
I could tell whether a diamond had been artificially enhanced.
But none of that answered the actual question.
Which necklace would make Seline smile?
The saleswoman slid another tray forward. "This collection is more romantic."
"They're still shiny."
She nearly cried.
Dante nearly cried with her.
"Describe Seline."
"Why?"
"So we can find jewellery."
I thought about it.
"She likes knives."
"That doesn't help."
"She likes me."
"THAT DOESN'T HELP."
The entire store turned to look at us.
I ignored them.
Dante didn't.
He looked mortified.
The saleswoman cautiously smiled. "Perhaps something elegant and understated?"
I pointed at a necklace.
"That one."
Dante immediately shook his head.
"No."
"Why?"
"That's for someone's grandmother."
I pointed at another.
"That one."
"No."
"Why?"
"That one looks like it belongs to a billionaire divorcee."
I pointed again.
"No."
Again.
"No."
Again.
"No."
"Why did I bring you?"
"Because without me, your wife would end up wearing a chandelier."
I spent another twenty minutes staring at necklaces.
The problem wasn't that I disliked them.
The problem was that I could picture Seline wearing every single one.
I imagined her wearing the oval-cut pendant.
Nice.
Then the emerald-cut.
Also nice.
Then the solitaire.
Nice.
Then the tennis necklace.
Also nice.
Seline could somehow make a potato sack look expensive.
Then a thought occurred.
A very reasonable thought.
I looked at the display.
Then at the display beside it.
"Dante."
He immediately looked suspicious. "What?"
"What if I buy all of them?"
The saleswoman dropped her tablet.
Dante closed his eyes.
Slowly.
Painfully.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because there are forty-seven necklaces."
I looked again.
"Forty-seven isn't that many."
The saleswoman looked ready to faint.
"Sir—"
"I own buildings I have never visited."
"THAT IS NOT THE SAME."
"It feels similar."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because your wife wants a necklace. Not an inventory."
The saleswoman carefully pointed toward a much simpler necklace.
A single diamond suspended from a delicate chain.
Nothing excessive or flashy.
Just elegant.
Simple.
Beautiful.
My eyes stayed on it longer than the others.
For some reason, I immediately pictured Seline, curled against my chest, playing with my shirt buttons, stealing food from my plate, threatening people with tiny knives, making our giant house feel like a home.
Dante noticed immediately.
"Wrap it."
The woman immediately reached for it.
Then I noticed a bracelet.
Then earrings.
Then another bracelet.
I pointed.
"Those, too."