Chapter Three

The second we step into the house, I don’t hold back.

“You son of a bitch!” I seethe, my voice echoing through the grand foyer. “How dare you do this to me?”

Cassian exhales sharply, already exhausted with my fury. He shrugs off his jacket and tosses it onto the couch like we didn’t just leave a meeting where he sold me off like property.

“Lower your voice, Riva.”

“Lower my—” I let out a strangled, humorless laugh. “Are you insane? You just handed me over to that man like I’m some fucking commodity, and you want me to be quiet about it?”

Cassian pinches the bridge of his nose. “I did what was necessary.”

I take a step forward, shoving him hard against the chest. “No, you did what was convenient for you,” I spit. “You signed me away to a monster so you could hold onto your precious power.”

Cassian doesn’t even flinch at my shove. Instead, he exhales slowly, his expression hardening into something cold. Indifferent.

“That’s what the ladies in the Walsh family are for.”

My breath catches. A sharp, icy rage slices through my veins.

“What?” My voice is quiet, but it’s the kind of quiet that comes before a storm.

Cassian meets my glare without a shred of remorse. “Power isn’t given, Riva. It’s taken. And the women in this family? They’ve always been a part of that process.”

I stare at him, barely able to process the words.

“That’s how this world works,” he continues, voice measured. “Mom knew it. Our aunts knew it. And now, so do you.”

A sharp laugh rips out of me, brittle and disbelieving. “You’re actually saying this like it’s normal. Like it’s just a part of life, like—” I shake my head, fury clawing at my throat. “Like we’re fucking cattle being traded.”

Cassian’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t argue.

He believes this.

He believes that my life—my choices—belong to the family before they ever belonged to me.

A sick wave of betrayal curdles in my stomach.

I shake my head again, stepping back from him, as if putting distance between us will somehow lessen the disgust crawling up my spine. “You’re just like Dad,” I whisper.

Cassian goes rigid.

Good.

I see the flicker of something dark in his gaze, but I don’t stop.

“You talk about securing power, about keeping this family intact,” I spit. “But all you’re doing is repeating his mistakes. Using people like they’re things, like they don’t have a say—” My breath shudders. “Like I don’t have a say.”

Cassian’s jaw clenches so tight I think his teeth might crack. But before he can respond, another voice cuts through the tension.

“Cass?”

We both turn.

Dakota stands at the foot of the stairs, wrapped in one of Cassian’s dress shirts, her blonde hair falling in soft waves around her shoulders. Her blue eyes flick between us, her expression uneasy. One hand rests on the small curve of her belly.

“What’s going on?” she asks, her voice gentle but firm.

Cassian exhales sharply, dragging a hand through his hair. “Nothing you need to worry about, Kota.”

I let out a scoff. “Oh, but it is,” I snap, turning to her. “Your husband just signed me over to Aarav Rune like a fucking business transaction.”

Dakota’s brows knit together. “What?”

Cassian sighs. “She’s marrying Aarav.”

Dakota doesn’t react.

Not in shock. Not in disbelief. Not even in concern.

She just stands there.

A quiet confirmation.

She already knew.

The realization slams into me like a punch to the gut.

I let out a hollow laugh, shaking my head. “You knew,” I murmur, more to myself than to her.

Dakota swallows, her fingers tightening against her belly. “Riva—”

I snap my gaze back to her, something bitter and jagged clawing at my throat. “You knew, and you didn’t say anything?”

She exhales softly, her lips parting like she wants to offer some kind of excuse. But there is no excuse.

I take a step back, the betrayal burning through me like acid. “I can’t believe this.”

Cassian sighs. “Riva—”

“No,” I cut him off, my hands trembling at my sides. “You get to marry your high school sweetheart.” I swing my glare back to Dakota. “You get love, you get to choose, and I get—” My voice wavers. “I get sold?”

Dakota flinches at the word.

Good.

I shake my head, my vision blurring at the edges. “How the fuck is that fair?”

Cassian exhales sharply, his patience fraying. “Life isn’t fair, Riva,” he says, his voice laced with something cold and immovable. “And it’s especially not fair to the women in this world.”

I let out a bitter, humorless laugh. “Oh, so that makes it okay? That makes it right?” I glare at him, my nails biting into my palms. “You’re supposed to protect me, Cassian! Not throw me to the wolves for your own goddamn benefit!”

Cassian’s jaw tightens. “I am protecting you.”

I bark out another laugh, sharp and incredulous. “By forcing me into a marriage with a man who sees me as nothing more than a womb?” My voice rises, the rage clawing at my throat. “That’s not protection—that’s fucking control.”

His eyes darken, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “You think this is control?” He takes a slow step toward me, his presence suffocating, oppressive. “You don’t have a clue what control looks like, Riva.”

I don’t back down. “Oh? Enlighten me, big brother,” I sneer. “What is this, then? Some grand fucking sacrifice for the greater good? Some noble martyrdom for the family?” I scoff. “Give me a fucking break—”

“Enough.”

The word is sharp, slicing through the air like a whip.

I freeze.

Cassian steps closer, towering over me now, his entire demeanor shifting—his voice dropping into something heavy, dangerous. “I am the man of this house, Riva,” he says, his voice quiet but thick with authority. “You will watch your tone.”

A cold shudder rolls down my spine.

I swallow, but the lump in my throat doesn’t go away.

Cassian stares me down, his expression unreadable, his presence suffocating. “You don’t have to like it,” he murmurs. “But you will obey.”

I clench my fists so hard my nails dig into my skin.

Obey.

Like I’m nothing more than a soldier following orders. Like I have no choice.

Dakota shifts beside him, looking uncomfortable, but she doesn’t speak. Doesn’t interfere.

Of course, she doesn’t.

I suck in a slow breath, my chest heaving, my eyes burning with unshed rage. “Go to hell, Cassian.”

His expression doesn’t change. “Already there, little sister.”

And with that, he turns away.

Dismissed.

Like I don’t even matter.

Like I never mattered.

I bite the inside of my cheek so hard I taste blood. Then, without another word, I storm upstairs, slamming the door behind me so hard the walls shake.