Beg All You Want, Don

Isabella reclined on a leather seat and waved her phone at Dante.

“See? Sienna won’t even answer my video call. She seriously can’t take a joke.”

Dante stood at the helm, one hand on the wheel. He frowned.

“The signal’s probably bad out there.”

“Oh, please.” She dropped the phone into her lap. “She’s pissed again. We’re twins, but she’s been like this our whole lives. One little joke, and suddenly everyone’s out to get her.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Always looking at everyone like they owe her something.”

I hovered above the freezing water, watching them.

Below me, my body sank between the rocks.

I could still feel the moment my gown had filled with water. The weight pulling at my hips. My nails scraping uselessly against the rock.

Dante had chosen that dress himself.

During the fitting, he’d stood behind me with his hands on my waist, watching the tiny diamonds catch the light.

“Wait until you see it at night,” he’d murmured. “You’ll look like you’re wearing stars.”

Now they glimmered faintly beneath the water.

Isabella continued.

“You remember that birthday party? She wouldn’t speak to me for three days because I put salt in her cake.”

My eighteenth birthday.

She’d replaced my cake with a prank one, then filmed me trying not to cry while everyone laughed.

Dante had been there.

He hadn’t laughed. Afterward, he’d taken me out for a slice of cheesecake and sat with me until the restaurant closed.

That was one of the reasons I’d fallen in love with him.

Mom looked toward Dante.

“Don’t let her ruin the night. She’ll calm down once the fireworks start.”

“Let her sulk,” Dad said, his tone leaving no room for argument. “We’re not turning this yacht around over a tantrum.”

Dante didn’t answer.

He turned toward the dark stretch of harbor behind them.

The outcrop had almost disappeared into the darkness. From where he stood, it would have been impossible to see whether anyone was still on it.

“Those rocks go underwater at high tide.”

His hand shifted on the wheel.

“I’m going back. She’s been out there long enough.”

See? He did care.

He always did—after one of Isabella’s pranks went too far.

Then he’d worry. Apologize. Promise he’d never let it happen again.

But the next time, it would happen all over again.

I’d believed things would get better once we were married and I moved out of my family’s house.

But I couldn’t wait for you anymore, Dante.

Then Isabella doubled over.

“Oh, God.” She pressed a hand to her stomach. “My stomach. It really hurts.”

Mom was beside her immediately.

“Her medication’s in my bag at the clubhouse.” Mom looked up. “Dante, take us back.”

He glanced toward the rocks.

“But Sienna’s still—”

“Dante, please.”

Isabella’s eyes filled.

“Sienna has the life ring. There’s plenty of room on those rocks.”

She drew her knees toward her chest.

“Please, just take me back so I can get my medication. Then you can go get her.”

Dante hesitated.

He’d seen me standing on the rocks. There was enough room, and even if I slipped, I had the life ring to keep me afloat.

Surely a few more minutes wouldn’t hurt.

“Take us in,” Dad said. “We’ll send someone back for Sienna.”

Dante faced forward.

“Hold on, Bella. We’re almost there.”

The engines roared.

I watched the yacht turn toward shore.

Then I looked back at the spot where I’d drowned. There had barely been room to stand on those rocks.

And the life ring had drifted away as the yacht pulled away.

But he hadn’t stayed long enough to notice.

Dante had promised I would always come first.

He’d said it when he proposed, kneeling in the garden behind his family’s estate while both our fathers watched from the terrace.

“This isn’t just about our families, Sienna. You know that, right?”

I’d believed him.

But whenever Isabella cried, he forgot about me.

Three years earlier, we’d taken a vacation in the Keys.

Isabella wanted to paddle-board. I wanted to stay on the beach.

She knew I hated deep water.

“Come on,” she’d said. “You don’t even have to stand up. I’ll stay right next to you.”

For a while, she did.

Then she grabbed the back of my board and gave it a hard shove.

“Race you!”

I fell.

The current carried the board beyond my reach before I could get my head above water.

I fell into the sea and scrambled back onto the beach. Dante wrapped me in a blanket and held me tight.

The man who could order a killing without blinking had tears in his eyes.

“Thank God you’re okay, baby.”

Then Isabella started sobbing.

“I didn’t know she’d fall! I was just playing!”

His arms loosened.

“It was a joke, Sienna. You’re okay. Let’s just let it go.”

He loved me.

But the moment Isabella cried, he took her side.

The yacht reached our family’s private marina.

Dante stepped onto the dock first and held out a hand to steady Isabella as she came down the gangway.

Two of Dad’s men appeared at the clubhouse entrance.

“Get her inside,” he ordered. “And turn the heat up.”

No one looked back toward the rocks where they’d left me.

Inside the clubhouse, warm air drifted from the vents.

Mom emptied her handbag onto a marble table until she found Isabella’s pills.

“Here, sweetheart.”

The color soon returned to Isabella’s cheeks after she took her medication.

Dante draped a blanket over her, his brow still furrowed.

He checked his watch and took out his phone.

“I’m going to check on Sienna.”