Page 59 of Sinner's Binding
“Yes, she’s moving in. As for never getting rid of her, that’s the plan. She’s my future wife, Ro.” I informed him.
His astonishment made him sputter, then half-yell, “You can’t do that!”
“Oh, Rowan, why can’t he? Is it because now that you have no job and haven’t found another, you’re hoping to move in with Reign? I wouldn’t recommend asking. Even if I weren’t a part of your brother’s life, he’s over your entitled brattiness,” Anastasia told him calmly.
Rowan jumped to his feet. “Bitch, shut your mouth!” he shouted.
This time, there was no holding me back. I rose and, in two large steps, was in his face. Rowan tried to back up, but there was nowhere for him to escape me. His hands came up in a placating gesture, but I wasn’t about to be placated. I latched onto his wrinkled shirt and shook him.
“Don’t you ever swear at her or say anything against her again! If you do, you’ll never be my brother again. She’s moving in, and soon, she’ll be a Caldwell. It will be our children who’ll inherit my company and everything else I deem theirs, not you. Stop trying to do things the easy way. You need to put in the hard work to make something of yourself in this world, Ro.”
I gave him another shake, hoping to drive the point home. I’d never hit him, other than roughhousing as kids. However, I was on the edge of my control. The urge to give him a beatdown beckoned.
“But I’m your blood. She’s not. Kids only share half your DNA. I share a hundred percent. You can’t leave me without anything. You’d allow your only family to become homeless and to die on the streets when you have so much? That’s not how family works, Reign. You’re supposed to watch out for me. Dad and Mom always said so. Why are you allowing her to change that? I came here to talk sense into you.”
The whine in Ro’s voice made my teeth ache. I had them clamped together hard, and the urge to shake, yell, and then smack him was overwhelming.
“You are an adult with the ability to work. There is no reason for you to be living homeless on the streets. You may not have the home you do now, but you can survive. While I waited to open my own practice, I lived in a studio apartment in a bad part of town. I ate ramen four nights a week. I never ate out, watched every nickel I made, and drove an old beater of a car. I sacrificed. It took two years of working for another chiropractor while saving to get enough to open my clinic. I remained in the same studio, driving that same car for the first year after I opened. The eating was a little better, but the rest wasn’t. It’s doable, Rowan. Your brother wants to show you that it is,” Anastasia explained to him.
She hadn’t shared the bad neighborhood or eating ramen with me. I glanced over to find her giving me an empathetic look.
“I don’t want to live like a bum! And why should I, when Reign has more money than he needs? He’s going to waste it on you, and if you have kids, on them. It’s unfair. You can talk all day, but it won’t change the fact that you’re screwing me out of my inheritance. Let go. I’m leaving,” Ro growled at me.
I pulled my hands away from him and watched as he shook his shoulders, then inched away from me. He stomped to the front door. I followed him at a distance. When he reached it, Rowan looked over his shoulder at me. His scowl was still in place.
“You’ll regret choosing a stranger over your brother,” Rowan spat.
He unlocked the door and yanked it open as he said those words. As he finished and stepped into the hallway, I said to him, “No, I won’t. Goodbye, Ro. I hope you wake up and see me one day. I still love you and would like to have a relationship with you, but not when all you’re doing is making demands and wasting your life.”
His derisive snort told me all I needed to hear. I stood there with the door open until he was on the elevator. Then, I closed and locked it. Anastasia had moved over to stand next to me. Her arms encircled me, and her head landed on my chest.
“I’m sorry, honey. I know it hurts,” she whispered.
“It does, but he has to learn. As long as I have you, I’m good.”
We stood there holding and comforting each other for the terrible families we’d been given. Luckily, we’d found each other and could create our own circle of friends and family, whether they were blood or not.
Anastasia: Chapter 15
The rest of Sunday, after Rowan’s visit, passed in silence. The weight of the confrontation with his brother had hurt Reign, but he knew there was nothing he could do. Rowan would have to hit rock bottom before there was any possibility of his seeing the truth and doing what was necessary to rise without Reign coddling him.
What we did do that was fun for both of us, and educational for me, was go into depth about the kink lifestyle. Reign explained how he saw our relationship within that context. I gave him my input on what I wouldn’t want. I learned about setting soft and hard limits. Safety within the Dom/sub relationship. Establishing safe words. He told me even more about shibari, which made me anxious to try it.
We both talked through our wants, needs, and what we wanted to explore. What was a huge surprise was when he presented me with a contract that we’d lay everything out in and both sign. I hadn’t expected that. Reign assured me it would leave no room for ambiguity. And it wasn’t set in stone. Over time, either of us could ask for modifications. That’s when I learned that communication and consent were central to the lifestyle. It wasn’t random hedonism.
Reign didn’t live the D/s lifestyle twenty-four seven. Yes, he was a man with dominant tendencies, no matter what, but he wasn’t one to dictate to me. When we chose to play, that was when I’d see the most of that side of him. We worked on theparameters. When we were finished, he said he’d put together a clean copy for us to review and sign. A secret thrill raced through me.
Monday, we went to work as usual. He dropped me off at my office before heading to his. Thankfully, the day passed without my family calling, texting, or showing up. I should be relieved, but I wasn’t. I knew they were up to something. Rowan hadn’t bothered Reign either. We went home to enjoy a quiet evening alone at his place.
That brought us to today, Tuesday. Both of us took the day off to help Mom move. We arrived at my family’s home a few minutes before eleven. Mom was alone. She’d been packing since we decided she was moving out. She hid the boxes in the guest bedroom’s closet. No one went in there. Reign and I assisted her in finishing up packing a few more boxes. At eleven thirty, the truck arrived to haul her stuff to my townhouse.
When the driver’s door opened, out came Poe. With him was another guy who I discovered worked for Iker. Poe introduced his coworker as Chad. Mom and I were told to relax and let the men do the carrying. The most we did was provide them with something cold to drink and direct which items were to go. It all fit in the bed of Poe’s truck.
An hour after they arrived, everything was loaded. I walked around the house with Mom, ensuring nothing was missed. Even though she hadn’t taken many visible items, the house felt cold, as if life had left it. I wondered what Dad would say or do when he came home to find her gone. We were prepared for a scene. Also, I noted how much it bothered her to leave the home she’d lived in for so many years. The final thing Mom did before walking out was to place an envelope containing a letter addressed to Dad on the kitchen counter.
Since she was taking her car, I rode with her, leaving Reign to drive his car, and Iker’s men took the truck. At mytownhouse, they unloaded everything in no time. When they were finished, Mom tried to pay them.
“You have to let me pay you something. You took the time to do all this for me. I never expected it to be free,” Mom protested.
