Shadows of the Past

"I don't understand why you agreed to marry a complete stranger. And given the history between our family and theirs,"

"I'm doing it because it's necessary, Cress. Christian wouldn't have asked me if it wasn't."

"He shouldn't have asked you."

"Maybe not, but the alternative is..."

"Me."

"Right, and we both know you wouldn't have agreed."

"Because it's insane. You shouldn't agree either."

"Why not? What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that it's an arranged marriage. The guy is ten years your senior, and you've barely started your life."

"I'll be living my life, and he'll be living his. Aside from a few appearances to make it look official, I'll get to do whatever I want."

"You can do whatever you want now, Jona. I can't believe you would be okay with any of this."

"It's a family business."

"Family business is you taking a job at the Devereaux Corporation or opening your own branch of some type of business. Not a pretend marriage to a killer. What about Cole?"

"What about him? You have no clue who he really was or what happened that night."

I froze, clutching the phone. "And you do?"

"I know enough, and I'm going to do whatever needs to be done."

To make him proud. To make him love you.

"It changes nothing, Jona. He's not going to suddenly be proud of you. He barely knows who you are. So if you're doing this for him,

Our father.

"This isn't about him. You wouldn't understand. You've never understood. It's my life, not yours, Cress. Stick to dancing. Leave the family business to me and Christian. You made your decision years ago. You don't get a vote on what I do with mine now."

She hung up on me, and there was no point in calling back. Jona was just as stubborn as her namesake, Jonathan Devereaux. My sister wanted his approval so badly that she would do just about anything to feel like he loved her the same as he had before she'd messed up all those years ago. Truthfully, he did. She had disappointed him, sure, but our father loved us fully and wholly.

We all had our moments where we didn't live up to the image of the children he expected us to be, but that never took away from our place in his heart. Even Cole, whose carelessness could have cost our family everything, still received our father's love. Jona simply didn't believe that. She felt she had something to prove when she didn't. I hated that our brother was using that desire to be loved to his advantage. One thing was for sure: me and no one else would change her mind.

I couldn't worry about that right now. I needed to eat, rest, and prepare for my show tonight. The one thing that allowed me to feel free of the weight and stress in myself

THREE

elias

Everything about this moment felt stifling. Being back in Crescent Falls and having memories of why I'd left caused the air around me to become thick with a weighted tension I wasn't prepared for. I had been managing just fine, being away. My mental health had been stable, aside from a few flare-ups where I allowed myself to be pushed to the point of reacting.

"Mr. Omari, we're here."

The hour-long drive from the airport somehow managed to fly by with me being lost in my thoughts, but now I had to actually deal with people. My brother's people, which made this that much more annoying. He lived for family business. It had never been my desire to walk in my father's footsteps, which was what made it that much easier for me to sever ties. My brother lived for this shit.

"You can park nearby. I don't plan on being here long."

"Yes, sir."