Ms. Calloway (Book 2 in the For Better Or Worse Trilogy)

Chapter 10

The rest of dinner is so strained and silent. So silent that one could hear a pin drop. As Selene was removing our dinner dishes and Elena was serving dessert, I leaned over to whisper to Roman. "Can we talk somewhere a little private?"

He looks at me with an expression that asks if I'm serious. Once he's sure that I am, he nods. Roman excuses us, earning relieved expressions from everyone. We walk towards the back of the home, hearing our footsteps echo since neither of us can find the words to spark a conversation. He opens the glass doors to lead us to the backyard. Backyards at home are more like pools, barbecues, and hammocks. The Berkshires have a different definition of backyards. Between the garden maze, twinkling lights, stone statues, a gazebo, fountains, and variety of flowers, this is less like a backyard and more like Botanical gardens.

"Come on." He starts towards the maze, but my feet are rooted to the ground. My face must say everything that my mouth won't because he releases a heavy sigh. "I'm not going to hurt you. You asked for privacy and I'm trying to give it to you. I want to explain everything to you. Things that my mother can't. Preferably without curious eyes watching our every move." Nodding his head toward the direction of the house, I look over my shoulder to find Selene watching us. Reluctantly, I follow him into the maze.

Surrounded by hedges, a certain kind of fear fills me. A kind of fear that I've never felt around Roman before. A kind of fear that I never wanted to feel around him. The feeling brings overwhelming devastation. Once upon a time, I actually imagined that Roman and I could be together. Maybe not forever. Maybe not marriage. An epic kind of love that the poets write sonnets about. However, Roman Berkshire is anything but the kind of man that is written in poetry. I'm starting to wonder if I held him at an unrealistic standard.

"I know my mother explained the family business in the best way she knew how, but I'm sure you're curious about the parts we all play." My silence is enough to urge him to continue. "My mother tries not to get very involved, if i'm being completely honest. She's not completely naive though. Her own father was a criminal, but not a very good one. My father offered her a life that no other man could. She knew what he did and accepted it as it was. Maybe she thought she could change him for the better, but if you knew my father, that would never happen. Not in a million years. My father is a man who is addicted to riches in all its forms. He finds wealth in his family, or he used to. Wealth in drugs. Wealth in weapons. Wealth in art. Wealth is trickery. Wealth in the form of money. I don't think he could ever live an ordinary life. It would be like a prison sentence." We turn a corner. Our path is illuminated by the twinkling lights upon the hedges. "Like his father, and his father before him, a long line of men who will never be content. They will always crave, even when nothing is left. This is why Harris and my family will never get along. We both want territory and neither will give in. If Harris knows what's good for him, he'll take a step back because my father will never surrender."

The desire to shut him out is strong, but his story is drawing me in. Since meeting him, my questions are finally being answered. No excuses. No beating around the bush. Only straight answers.

"Growing up, we were all forced to join the family business. We had no choice. Elijah was the muscle behind the family business. He was also the one who jumped at the opportunity to join once he was sixteen. It was undeniable he was born to be part of the business. Isabella, maybe not as excited, still welcomed the lifestyle with open arms. Behind Elijah's bronze, she shined through with her brains. Before every heist, she knew the ins and outs of every place. She did extensive research on every location. There were times she stepped in for our father and instructed our men on how to do their job. It wasn't until recently that our father found her less useful for instruction and more useful as a bargaining tool." At this point, Roman sounds almost angry. The idea of being used as a bargaining tool makes my own blood boil. Isabella's bad attitude makes so much more sense now. "My father wants to marry her off to tie our family with the Beaumonts. This will lead to a strong alliance that will cease others from attacking."