Chapter 143: Bail granted

Malachi

"The galleries are requesting more of your paintings, sir," a voice said through the receiver.

"I have informed them of your commission rules and guidelines, and how you prefer to remain anonymous."

I grunted in response, chewing on the cigarette stuck between my lips. I had been in the studio since six in the morning, chain smoking through half a pack and staring at walls covered in her.

Every canvas, sketch and half finished piece I had started in the last month was of Ivy. Ivy laughing. Ivy sleeping. Ivy with her hair a mess, her cheeks flushed and her lips parted slightly.

"Fuck, that’s not right," I chuckled darkly. "She’s Harper now."

My hollow chuckle bounced off the walls and came back to mock me. Felix Kingsley’s daughter. The daughter of the man who had murdered my parents and had the fucking balls to attend their funeral, shake my hand and tell me how sorry he was, how tragic and unfair it all was.

The whole time we were working on our revenge, the whole fucking time, his daughter had been in our house. In our bed. Dammit, my nerves were getting shot again. I took a long drag of the cigarette and exhaled slowly, watching the smoke curl toward the ceiling.

"What should I tell them, sir? Will you still be taking commissions?"

I had fallen for her bait like a fucking idiot.

What was I, a boy with his first crush?

I had done dumb as fuck things like buying a teddy bear and shit. I had painted her a hundred times. I had told her things I never told anyone and shown her parts of myself I kept locked away.

And she had been lying through her pretty teeth the whole time. I kicked the nearest canvas. It toppled to the floor with a crash and the frame splintered. Her face stared back up at me, those amber eyes and that soft smile, and I wanted to kick it again.

How could you? How could I let you do this to me?

"Sir?"

"I’ll take commissions. I’ll send the paperwork later," I said finally. I needed the distraction anyway. I had to paint something other than that devil’s daughter.

I left the studio and found my brother in the gym, punching the shit out of the bag hanging from the ceiling.

He was shirtless and soaked with sweat. His knuckles were wrapped but already bleeding through.

"Damn, go easy on the bag, will you? How long have you been at this?"

The bag swung wildly with each punch, and two broken weights lay on the floor beside a cracked mirror and a dumbbell embedded in the drywall. Shit, it had been three days and my brother wasn’t any better.

This was exactly why Gideon had banned our asses from the company in the meantime. He was the only one coolheaded enough to go to work. Roman was stewing, and I had to make sure my twin wasn’t going to do something silly like...

"We should bring her back."

Roman finally stopped. He pressed his forehead to the bag, breathing hard, his shoulders heaving.

My face twisted into a scowl. "You’re joking."

"I’m not."

"Did you lose your mind punching that bag? She’s the daughter of the man who killed our parents."

"Is it awful of me..." He finally turned, and his hazel eyes were bright with something that looked a lot like desperation. "That I don’t want to care, Kai? I don’t want to care who her father is. I don’t care what she did. I just..." He dragged a hand through his hair and tugged at the roots.

"I want her back in my bed. We let her off too easily. Maybe we should have kept her. We could chain her to my bed so she can’t feed her father information about us."

"I can’t believe this shit I’m hearing," I spat, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Listen to yourself, Ro. Chain her? That’s not you, that’s Felix’s kind of love, and you know it."

Roman flinched as if I had hit him. "No," he said, quieter. "No. I just... I don’t know how to stop wanting her."

"That’s enough punching. You’re coming with me. We need to leave this bloody house. You’re going insane."

Roman turned back to the bag, but he didn’t punch it. He stood there breathing with his back to me, his whole body trembling, before he dropped to the floor.

"Ro!" I yelled, rushing over. He curled forward with his forehead on his knees and his arms wrapped around his head. "The fuck? Don’t scare me like that, man."

He groaned. "I can’t do this. I can’t. I can’t eat or sleep... She’s everywhere, Kai. In the kitchen, in my bed, in my head."

He broke off, and his shoulders started to shake.

Dammit, Ivy. Look at what you fucking did. I sat down next to him and nudged his shoulder with mine.

"Hey, Ro. Look at me."

He lifted his head. His eyes were wet.

"We’ll figure it out," I said, patting his hair and ruffling his curls. "Okay? We’ll figure it out. Now please quit being sappy, it’s messing with my head."

My phone rang. I fished it out of my pocket and glanced at the screen. "Well, look who’s calling."

"Hey, kid."

"Kai!" Irene’s voice was high and frantic. "Kai, you have to help me. Dad’s talking about marrying me off again. He wants to move the wedding date forward. He’s talking about next month!"

I chuckled and rolled my eyes. "Irene, you’ve been engaged to Stanley for a year. He’s hardly a stranger."

"Oh my gosh, I know, but I don’t want to get married yet. Ugh, why is Dad in such a hurry?"

"Okay, okay, calm down. We’ll talk to G."

"Can I just..." She hesitated. "Can I come stay with you guys? Just for a while? If I’m in the house, Dad keeps bringing it up, and if I’m with you, at least I’ll have a buffer."

I glanced at Roman, who was still slumped against me. "Actually, we might not be at the estate for a while."

"Why? What’s going on? Did something happen?"

"Something like that."

"Is it Ivy?" Her voice brightened. "Oh my god, is she okay? I miss her. Can you give me her number? I’ve been meaning to call her."

I couldn’t help the bitter laugh that left my lips. "You won’t be calling her Ivy anymore."

"What? Why? What happened? Is it that bad?"

"Bad is an understatement."

"Kai, you’re being cryptic. Just tell me..."

My phone buzzed with another call. Thank fuck. I couldn’t explain shit to Irene. "Hold on, Irene. G’s calling."

"Fine, but you owe me an explanation!"

I ended the call and switched over. "Yeah?"

"Meet me at the bar, now. Both of you."

"What’s going on?"

"Felix posted bail an hour ago, and he has called a press conference for tomorrow morning. He is going to present his daughter as his heir and accuse us of framing him over Meyers. Felix has made his move, and his daughter is a part of it. Looks like she has chosen her side after all."