Page 53 of Depraved Royals
I open my eyes and smile. “You got me. I don’t know exactly how far, just a couple of months.”
“Have you told Kal? Is that why he dropped you off without a word and disappeared?”
“He knows. He just wants me to be safe.”
I don’t know why I’m defending him, but Mama sees the doubt in my eyes.
“You know something, Dani? Whatever you believe, you’re right.”
“What does that mean?”
“You believe Kal is a good guy who loves you enough to forsake his family? Then he is. If you think he’s just another Bratva asshole who only wants a woman to control, you’ll soon be proved right on that too. You know why?”
I shake my head.
“Because people see whatever their prejudice and fear show them. We filter out all the information that doesn’t fit our bias because it’s so incredibly hard to be wrong about something, especially our principles.”
Mama takes a swig of her wine and tops it up from the bottle.
“On the night of your birthday, while you were out with Kal, your Papa went to meet a rival from out of town. There were rumors he was going to push into our territory and cause problems, but your father went to that meeting believing that he need only assert his position reasonably, and all would be well. He didn’t find out until later that the rival had a pistol under the table the whole time, pointing at him.”
My eyes widen. “They could have killed him. Isn’t this why he rarely gets his hands dirty?”
“Dani, you’re missing the point,” Mama says. “Papa is still here because he showed good faith. The other guy came to him with paranoia and hostility, but in the face of your father’s decency and goodwill, it all went away. They negotiated a deal, and now the rival is actually working for us.”
My tea is lukewarm now. I put the cup on the table.
“Please put me out of my misery, Mama. What are you getting at?”
Mama smiles. “Dani, you’re in love. It’s obvious. You don’t have to have your pistol pointed at him the whole time, ready to blow him away if he slips up. He’s only human. If your father can see the good in Kal Antonov, surely you can?”
I open my mouth to speak, but she shows me her palm. The conversation is over.
“Think on it a while.”
She stands, heading out of the room.
“Mama?” I say.
“Yes, my Dani?”
“Please don’t tell Papa about… you know.”
“I won’t. Now try to rest.”
20
Kal
Strange how much difference a change of perspective can make.
My mother has a house, but it’s not ahome. I never realized before how impersonal the place is.
No pictures on the walls, not even of Erik. No photo albums, no keepsakes. No ornaments or books, or flowers. Nothing suggests that the person here has a family or even a personality.
But that’s not the case. It’s just that Idina’s personality is deeply disordered, and it hurts me profoundly to know it.
I thought we were normal.