He Chose His Pregnant Mistress. I Was the Bratva Princess. novel · Chapter 21 of 24

Chapter 21: The Ring

I looked at my left hand.

The thin gold band had sat on it for six years.

It was my mother's, and I had never once taken it off to wash my face.

"It's on," I said.

The chairman waited.

"It has listened to me for six years. It has been a rule my father gave me when I was twenty-two, and it has been a leash my husband used." I turned it once around my finger. "It almost killed a woman who had done nothing to me."

I glanced at Alessia, and she lowered her eyes.

"I used it because I had to," I said. "I'm done."

I pulled.

It was tight.

It had been on so long that the skin had grown around it, and it took three tries to get it over the knuckle.

When it came free, the finger underneath was pale and narrow.

I felt every eye in the room on it.

"Papa," I said.

My father stood.

His chair scraped back, and he came around the table with his hands hanging at his sides.

I took his big hand and turned it palm up.

I laid the ring in it.

"There's a tiny ear inside," I said, "and a rule that kills. I give them both back. No more men on corners. No more cups on benches. No more reports with my name at the top."

He closed his fingers.

"If I want you, Papa, I'll call you. If I want to be left alone, I will be left alone. And if I ever see a grey coat across the street, I'll walk over and pour the coffee on it."

A thin laugh ran through the room.

← Chapter 20 · All chapters · Chapter 22 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend