Twisted (Never After #4)(42)

My father is dying.

And I can’t save him, as much as I wish I could.

But maybe I can save his legacy.





“What are you doing?”

My heart shoots to my throat and I spin from where I’m packing up the last box of things I want to take with me. I’m not sure when Julian wants me to move, but it’s better to be prepared, so after I had my meltdown, I got my shit together and started to figure out what I wanted to keep out of Julian’s reach and what I was okay taking with me.

This time, it’s not Julian but my best friend in the doorway. “Riya, what are you doing here?”

I’m happy to see her, but the sight of her causes a crack in my newly formed shield and my bottom lip trembles, a burn starting to spread behind my nose and eyes.

Riya’s face drops. “Shit, what happened?”

“He— I… He… I’m…” I stutter over the words, not sure how to say them, how to give her the truth without giving her the truth.

“What?” she cuts in, her hands going to her hips. “What did that asshole do?”

“You don’t even know who I’m talking about.” I laugh through the ache.

“Doesn’t matter. If he makes you look like that”— she points a finger at my swollen eyes— “he’s an asshole and I have no choice but to plan his murder.”

I chuckle, but the gravity of the situation dims my amusement. Does it make me a bad person if I wish we really could plan his murder? I shake my head, dispelling the notion.

I’m not that kind of person. I’m not him.

“I don’t have my phone,” I say.

Her perfectly manicured brow arches. “Yeah, I got that when you didn’t call me back for the past two days. And you missed Sunday brunch.”

Honestly, I hadn’t even thought about our brunch. “Oh my god, Riya. I’m so sorry.”

She shrugs. “I figured you not showing up was your distress call, so here I am. Now tell me what’s wrong.” Her eyes scan the room, widening as she sees the boxes scattered and the empty shelves. “Are you…packing?”

I nod, that ache stirring up again in the middle of my chest.

“I’m marrying Julian,” I force out, refusing to meet her gaze.

She purses her lips. “By choice?”

My teeth clench to keep the truth from spilling off my tongue, but she sees through me anyway. I’m not sure why I even tried.

“Not by choice,” she answers for me.

“It doesn’t matter.” I wave my hand like it can wash away the situation. “What is it you always say? If you can’t get out of it, get into it? This is me getting into it.”

She huffs out a noise, half laugh and half scoff, before her hands fly to her hips. “You’re insulting as hell when you lie to my face like that.” Riya moves until she’s standing right in front of me, her hands coming up to rest on my shoulders, eyes locking on mine. “You jump, I jump, remember?”

“Please.” I laugh even as tears brim on my lower lids. “Don’t quote Titanic to me right now, Riy. I don’t think I can handle any more pain.”

But her actions have the desired effect, and I give in and start to talk. About how Aidan’s life is at risk. How I haven’t been able to find my phone to even send him a message. How Julian wants me to pretend that we’re in love and how easily my father believed it.

And once the words start slipping from my lips, I can’t stop, the heavy burden feeling a little less intense when someone else helps to shoulder the load.

“He’s not a good person,” I say. “And I don’t—I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know what he’s really capable of.” Panic starts to wind its way around my spine, pricking my nerves like needles. “What if he hurts my father?”

“What if he hurts you?” Riya hits back.

I shake my head. “I’m not worried about me. I can handle myself. I just… I can’t take the risk that someone else might get hurt because of me.”

She nods, sympathy filling her gaze. “So what’s the plan?”

Sighing, I walk over to my vanity and grab a silk scrunchie, pulling my curls off my neck. “Play along for now while I figure out a way to gain the upper hand. I don’t really have another choice.” I spin toward her. “I need a lawyer, or…I don’t know, someone who’s willing to go up against Julian so I can get out of this sham marriage and keep Sultans.”

Riya sucks on her lips and nods, walking over to me at the vanity and staring at both of our reflections in the mirror. “I don’t know if a lawyer would be able to get you out of this. Not many would go up against Julian Faraci. We need to come up with a different option.”

“I don’t know what to do,” I whisper. “But I have to try something.”

She hesitates, running her fingers through her hair before her eyes lock on mine. “Have you thought about the police? If he’s out here causing car accidents and threatening you and Aidan, they really need to know, Yas.”

I shake my head without a second thought. My father has police chiefs and district attorneys over for dinners and soirees all the time, and I know they’re all on a first-name basis with Julian, happy to line their pockets in return for looking the other way whenever they need to do something less than savory.