Page 201 of Forbidden Forget-Me-Not

“You wanted to speak.”

I stepped forward until I stood across from his desk. “I do.”

Silence stretched between us. Neither of us rushed it.

Dimitri finally sat and opened the bottom drawer of his desk. He produced two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. He didn’t ask, just poured a finger and slid it across the desk.

It was the closest thing to an apology I would ever receive from him.

Taking the invitation, I sat and picked up my glass. It was a new experience. I had always stood by the door or in the corner while Nathaniel had a meeting.

He took a sip of his drink, then watched me in silence, one finger tapping slowly against the arm of his leather chair.

“Well. Speak.”

There were a hundred ways this conversation could go wrong. A hundred ways I could say the wrong thing. But the truth had never been complicated for me.

“I love your daughter.”

His expression didn’t change.

“You’ve made that abundantly clear.” He took another sip of his whiskey.

“And I want you to know that I will spend the rest of my life protecting her.”

No response.

“I’m not here to challenge you. And I’m not here to start a new fight between us.”

Dimitri’s eyebrow lifted slightly.

“No?”

“No.”

I swirled the whiskey in my glass, letting it breathe as I thought about the perfect way to say what needed to be said.

“I need to make something crystal clear.”

Now his attention sharpened. He sat a little straighter.

“Kaylani is still your daughter. That will never change.” My voice stayed calm, steady. “But she isn’t a bargaining chip anymore. She isn’t leverage. She isn’t an alliance. And she isn’t yours to control.”

“I do not feel the same way.” Dimitri’s tone remained cool. “Family is always my business.”

The word hung in the air between us.

Family.

That was the difference between us. Dimitri had built an empire on the back of that word, while I would burn everything down for it.

I rubbed my bottom lip, knowing I needed to tread carefully. I had seen it done a million times in meetings over the years. Egos like Dimitri’s didn’t respond well to insults or threats.

“If you want to repair your relationship with Kaylani after everything that has transpired. I won’t stand in your way…despite the many reasons that I probably should.”

His eyes flickered slightly. Just enough to tell me he heard the challenge buried in the words.

“Personally, I don’t want to because I think you deserve the chance to meet your grandson.”