21 | Choices

◆ MILES ◆

"Can't take any chances, Maxim."

Alright. Whatever. Mykaela's safety would be at risk if I didn't shove her out of my life.

It would confuse and hurt her, of course, but Ricchar's forethought and cautionary advice made a lot of sense. And I should understand that he was only looking out for me and Kel.

Out of all our cousins, he was the only one whose opinion I respected. The only one I actually liked to be around. The others only saw me as the problem child. "The prodigal son" and some other derogatory adjectives that bordered on absurdly judgmental.

"How do I even tell her about them? About the deal?" I muttered, still unsure of what to do next.

Ricchar scoffed at my question. "You can't. Are you serious right now?"

"Why not?" I frowned. "She'll listen. She'd understand."

"You just can't," Ricchar almost shouted. "What is wrong with you?"

"Charr, she's not dumb or stupid."

"She doesn't need to know anything. She shouldn't. You'll just put her in a very risky situation, b