Content Note: This backstory takes place eight years prior to the start of Nick and Karina’s story. Some details were omitted due to future spoilers. This story contains swearing, alcohol use, and mentions of parental neglect, abuse, and abandonment.

Part Two: Promises Unbroken

Later That Night
The Coven’s Estate

Keep her. I don’t give a fuck.

As his father’s words echoed in his mind, replaying themselves like some broken record, Nick drained the rest of his bourbon and slammed the crystal glass down onto the desk. That motherfucker. That cold, cruel, heartless motherfucker didn’t give a damn about Aria. Not that he was surprised by his father’s lack of compassion towards his baby sister. His father didn’t care about anyone or anything—other than himself, his money, or his power—he’d proven that years ago. But that didn’t stop him from wanting to eviscerate the asshole for treating Aria like she was nothing more than property.

Nick dragged his gaze over to the massive fireplace and focused on the bright, flickering flames, commanding them to crackle and pop at his whim. He should’ve adopted Aria years ago, should’ve taken custody of her at the first sign of neglect. But he hadn’t. He’d succumbed to his hesitations, to his fears, believing that he’d be an unfit guardian. He hadn’t been ready to play full-time parent to his baby sister, who’d only been two at the time.

And hell, he still wasn’t ready to parent Aria. His whole life was about to get flipped on its proverbial head and he didn’t know how he was gonna make it all work. His schedule was chaotic, and some days his job was so damn suffocating that he couldn’t catch a breath. How the hell was he supposed to raise a six-year-old? Where was he gonna find the time?

He didn’t know the answers, but he knew he couldn’t leave Aria under his parents’ care for a second longer. She didn’t deserve to suffer through the same nightmares he and his siblings had. She deserved better.

“Yoo-hoo.” Tom snapped his fingers. “You gonna tell us what Dad said, or are you gonna scowl at the fire for the rest of the night?”

Nick glared at his younger brother, who was lounging in the leather armchair across from his desk. “Take a wild guess.”

“Hmm.” Tom tapped his finger on his stubbled chin, his expression turning thoughtful. “I’m gonna say—”

“Seriously?” Marissa huffed, stopping mid-stroll. She’d been doing laps around his office for the past half an hour. “Can we not play guessing games?”

“Dad doesn’t give a fuck,” Nick snapped, interrupting his siblings’ verbal tennis match. “He’ll be here on Friday to sign the agreement.”

“Fan-fucking-tastic.” Tom snagged the bottle of bourbon perched on Nick’s desk. “One parent down, one to go.” He refilled both their glasses and cocked a brow at Riss. “Drink?”

“Yes, please.” Riss plopped down into the chair next to Tom’s. “You know Mom’s never gonna sign away her rights, not with her preciously pristine reputation on the line. Giving up her youngest child will tarnish that perfect image she works so hard at maintaining.” Riss placed her palm over her heart. “I mean, what will people think?” She gasped, mocking their mother.

“Yeah.” Tom nodded. “Mom’s gonna be a fucking problem.”

“Stating the obvious.” Nick scrubbed a hand down his face. Tom and Riss were right. Their mother was a complication who was nothing more than a melodramatic pain in his fucking ass. Appearances were everything to her. If she gave up Aria, the spotlight of shame would shine down on those immaculately coiffed curls of hers. And gods forbid anyone view his mother in a negative light. She’d never sign away her rights, not unless it benefited her in some way.

“We’ll let Mom control the narrative, make it look like the whole thing was her idea.” Nick leaned forward. “She can spin some fantasy about how she gave up custody of her daughter for the better of her realm. She made the ultimate sacrifice to better her people’s lives. Or whatever bullshit fairytale she feels like weaving.”

“That could work,” Tom replied. “Mom keeps her rep. We keep Aria.”

“Maybe.” Riss shrugged. “Or we could just kill her. Hell, we could kill them both. Problem solved.”

“And how are you gonna ensure they stay dead?” Nick asked. “Last I checked, we didn’t have a weapon powerful enough to put those two down. At least not permanently.”

“Then we’ll turn them into living statues,” Riss retorted, like it was that easy to take his parents out. If that was the case, then those two assholes—who had countless enemies—would’ve been dead ages ago.

“That spell will only hold them for one day, maybe two—if we’re lucky—tops.” Nick leaned forward, meeting his sister’s steel gaze. “And then what?”

“We can’t just give into their demands.” Riss threw her hands up. “We can’t let them control the narrative, not after everything they’ve done to us.”

“This is Aria we’re talking about.” Nick shoved to his feet, planting his palms on the polished mahogany. “Death, spells, curses—they’re all temporary. What the fuck do you think our parents are gonna do after they reanimate? You think they’re gonna have some epiphany? Realize the errors of their ways and let us ride off into the sunset with Aria? Out of the goodness of their hearts?”

“No.” Riss tipped her head back, blowing out a long-winded breath. “I’m just so fucking sick of them getting away with all this shit. They need to suffer. I want them to fucking suffer.”

“And they will.” Nick walked over to Riss and squeezed her shoulder. “I promise.”

“We’ll make them pay,” Tom agreed, his gaze bouncing between them both. “But we gotta make this as painless for Aria as we can.”

“Aria’s the priority here. We gotta play it smart.” Nick strode over to the window, glancing out at the moonlit backyard, which was buried under a thick blanket of snow. “Let’s save our revenge fantasies for another night.”

“What if Mom doesn’t agree to the terms?” Riss asked. “Then what?”

“Then we’ll go the nuclear route.” Nick turned, leaning against the wall. As much as he didn’t want to drag shit out, as much as he didn’t want to fight his parents in court, he would. And he’d win. He had plenty of secret aces, a fuckton of evidence he could use to take down his parents. “Mom’s reputation will be the least of her worries.”

“There’s nothing quite like psychological warfare.” Tom’s mouth curved up in a diabolical grin. “I’m in.”

“What the hell.” Riss lifted her glass in a toast. “Let’s do this.”

And hey, would you look at those stars aligning? They’d all landed on the same damn page, which was a small miracle given that Tom and Riss squabbled like it was some sort of competitive sport. Now, all they needed to do was come up with a solid game plan to take on their parents by Friday—which was only three days away, BTW. No pressure or anything.

“Nick?” Aria’s sleep-filled voice cut through the air. He snapped his gaze over to the doorway where she stood, clutching her stuffed Husky against her chest. She was still dressed in the same violet unicorn pj’s she’d worn to bed. Her dark brown strands were mussed, crystal blues were bleary, and her expression was absolutely and unequivocally haunted.

“Hey, kiddo.” Nick crossed the expansive space and squatted down in front of her. “What are you doing up so late?”

“It’s loud,” she mumbled.

“What’s loud?”

“Outside.” She nodded over to the window, where the wind whistled and howled away, whipping up the freshly fallen snow into a tizzy. “And I think there’s a ghost in my room.”

“Honey, I checked your room. There was nothing there.” Nick brushed her long locks back, knowing there was no ghost. The dead couldn’t haunt them, not with the protective warding surrounding the entire property. “Do you want me to check it again?”

“No.” She threw herself into his arms, burrowing her head into his shoulder. “I want to stay with you.”

Nick enveloped Aria in a tight hug. And frowned. She was shaking, her entire body trembling with fear. And while he wasn’t the biggest fan of co-sleeping—because no one enjoyed being kicked in the kidneys by a tiny acrobat—he wasn’t about to make Aria sleep alone. Not after everything she’d been through.

“All right.” Nick lifted Aria up, holding her against him. “You can crash with me tonight.” He turned towards his siblings. “It’s been a long day,” he said. “Let’s call it a night and reconvene later this afternoon.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Tom stretched as he got up from the chair and sauntered towards them. He pressed a kiss on the top of Aria’s head. “Good night, ladybug.”

“I’m not a bug,” Aria grumbled into his shoulder.

Riss followed suit, kissing Aria in the same spot Tom had. “Good night, sweet pea.” She gave Aria’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Sleep tight.” Riss lifted her gaze to his. “Good night, Nick.”

“Night,” he replied. “Get some rest.”

He closed his office up for the night and carried Aria up three flights of stairs, making his way inside his bedroom, which was in the private wing reserved just for him and his family. Nick strode over to the custom king-sized bed and tucked Aria in, pulling the navy-blue comforter up to her chin. “Get some sleep.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ll be out soon.”

Nick got ready for bed, even though he wasn’t all that tired. He needed to catch up on some emails, needed to catch up on the work he’d missed while plotting against his parents, but the shuteye was more important. He needed to bring his A-game, needed to be sharp and focused for Friday’s showdown—and he couldn’t do that while running on coffee and fumes alone. And with Aria on mid-winter break, he didn’t have to worry about dragging his ass out of bed and taking her to school in the morning. Talk about stellar timing.

Nick traded his designer duds for a pair of black pajama pants and matching t-shirt, and strode out of his walk-in. He flicked off the lights and slid under the covers, closing his eyes. And man, it felt good to relax.

“Nick?” Aria’s voice quivered as she jabbed his bicep.

“Hmm?” He willed the lights back on.

“I don’t want to go back to Mom and Dad’s. Don’t make me go back.” Her crystal blues welled up with unshed tears. “Please. I promise I’ll be super good and listen to everything you say, and I’ll never run away again. Ever.”

“Hey.” He shifted onto his side, meeting her tear-filled gaze. “I am gonna do everything in my power to keep you here with me.” He swiped a stray teardrop from her cheek. “I promise.”

“Forever?”

“Forever.” He tucked her against him. “It’s gonna be okay.” And as he held her, soothing her to sleep, he vowed to protect her from his parents. He was gonna make sure that she never stepped another foot inside their house again—even if it meant swallowing his pride and maintaining whatever little peace remained between him and his parents. And if that didn’t work, he’d go scorched earth.

Three Days Later

Nick stared at his signature; the black ink barely dried on the bold black line. It was a name he signed on the daily, scrawling the combo of letters on various documents with little thought of the weight they held. But today his signature held a different meaning. With a few quick swipes of a pen, he’d changed his entire life, awarding himself a new title and a brand-new set of responsibilities. He was Aria’s primary guardian.

He was officially responsible for his baby sister, this tiny innocent girl with a huge heart and fierce personality, who knew next to nothing about how cold and cruel the world could be. And it was his job to teach her, to protect her, to guide her, and do it all without fucking her up.

And it’d taken some negotiating to get it all done. As predicted, his father had signed the agreement without a fight, just signed his name, and strolled out without uttering a fucking word. Naturally, his mother had been more resistant. She’d cranked the melodrama meter up to a ten, playing her woe-is-me violin for the entire family, minus Aria, ofc.

His mother had gone into hysterics, sobbing about how challenging motherhood was, how she was doing her best, and how heart-wrenching it was to be hated by her own children. Blah-blah-blah. More theatrics. Blah-blah. Cue the full-blown meltdown. It would’ve been a solid performance—award-winning, really—if he hadn’t seen through her bullshit.

He’d shut her performance down, giving her two options. One, she could sign the agreement and save face by spinning her own story, or two, he’d destroy her in court. Wisely, she’d gone with the first option, solidifying their victory. And man, he couldn’t wait to see Aria’s face when he broke the news.

“Well, that was exciting.” Marissa propped her feet up on the dark mahogany coffee table. “Let’s never do that again.”

“Don’t plan on it.” Nick glanced out the window, where the sun’s fading rays gleamed off the mounds of snow covering the backyard. “How about we find Aria and celebrate?”

“I’m down for a party.” Tom grinned, tossing the rest of his beer back. “Where is our baby sister?”

“She’s with Ryan.” Nick shot his best friend a quick text and waited a few beats for a reply. “They’re playing mini-basketball in the game room.”

The three of them trekked down the hall, their footfalls echoing off the dove gray marble as they headed towards the game room. A vacuum whirred in the distance and the faint scent of citrus drifted through the air as the staff went about their daily duties. Everything was spic and fucking span, from the crystal pendant lights to the marble columns, and framed pics perched on the sandy walls. Not a single dust bunny had been left behind. Man, he needed to give his staff another raise.

They rounded the corner and veered inside the spacious rec room, where the entire coven was hanging out. Daniel and Luke were playing a game of darts, while Holly and Ash lounged on one of the leather sofas, watching Ryan and Aria shoot some hoops.

“Remember, it’s all in the wrist.” Ryan handed Aria the mini basketball and took a step back. “Give it another shot.”

Aria threw the ball, and it sailed through the air, bouncing off the backboard and into the hoop with a soft swoosh. “I won!” She jumped up and down.

“You did.” Ryan grinned, giving her a high-five. “Told you, you could do it.”

“I won!” Aria danced, twirling around and around. She spun to a stop the second she spotted the three of them, the excitement falling from her face. She wrapped her arms around herself as a tense silence permeated the airy space.

“Impressive.” Nick’s lips curved up with pride as he strode across the hardwood. “I’ve got some good news, honey.” He crouched down in front of Aria.

“I get to stay with you?” Aria’s eyes widened. “Forever?”

“Yeah honey, you do.” He smiled.

“Yay!” She launched herself into his arms. “Can I have a party?” Aria stepped back, her crystal blues dancing with anticipation.

“Mm-hmm.” He nodded.

“With pizza and cake and brownies and popcorn?”

“Mm-hmm,” he replied, knowing damn-well she was gonna crash out from all that sugar. But hey, she was free from their asshole parents, and if she wanted to ride a sugar high, then so be it. This was a special occasion, and he wasn’t about to be a buzzkill by shitting all over her party.

“And we can play games and watch movies all night long?” Aria bounced on her feet, her entire body vibrating with excitement.

“Not all night,” Nick replied. “But you can stay up past your bedtime.”

“Yay!” She danced around the room, high-fiving and hugging everyone along her way—including one of the maids. “I get to stay!”

And man, it felt good to see her happy, genuinely happy, like she didn’t have a single fucking care in the world. All that stress, all that heavy weight had finally lifted off her tiny shoulders, and he knew he’d made the right decision. He didn’t have a single regret, and he was gonna savor the fuck out of this moment.

Nick stretched out on Aria’s bed and leaned against the headboard as he waited for Aria to pick a book off the shelf. She’d somehow made it through another game of hoops, a round of mini golf, and two entire movies, before the sugar coma set it. He’d carried her up to her room, and sure as shit, the second he eased her down onto the queen-sized mattress, she’d woken up, insisting on a bedtime story. Her final hurrah for the night.

“I got it.” Aria flopped down onto the bed and crawled over to him.

“What are we reading tonight?” he asked.

“The Little Mermaid.” Aria handed him the storybook and tucked herself against his side, pillowing her head on his chest.

And he couldn’t say he was surprised by her choice. She was obsessed with The Little Mermaid. Out of all the books she had—and she had a fuckton of them—it was the only story she ever wanted to read, other than Aladdin on rare occasions.

“You sure you don’t want to read something else?” he asked.

“Uh-uh.” She shook her head, stifling a yawn. “I like Ariel, and I like her hair. Can I make mine red just like hers?”

“No. Your hair’s perfect the way it is.” Nick flipped the book open to the first page. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” she murmured.

Nick started reading, and by the third page, Aria’s lids fluttered closed. By the fifth page, her breathing evened out as all that sugar and excitement finally caught up to her. She was out like a light, and even though she was fast asleep, he kept on reading until he hit the end. And sure, he could’ve checked out the second she’d crashed, but he didn’t. He never did, because he knew how much she loved story time, and how much these small moments meant to her. 

Nick extracted himself from Aria’s hold with practiced finesse. He pulled the lilac comforter up to her chin and placed her stuffed puppy by her side.

He flipped on the unicorn nightlight and then swept the room, searching for any ghosts and monsters that might be hiding out. As usual, it was all clear—just like it always was, just like he knew it would be—but he always checked anyway, because it was one of the few things that brought her comfort. 

As Nick closed the door, he realized that this was his life now. It was bedtime stories, and tuck-ins, and room-checks. It was morning wake-ups, and school drop-offs and pick-ups. It was helping with homework and tending to her needs. It was nursing bellyaches and fevers. It was mending cuts and scrapes and other injuries, which would eventually include a broken heart—and he did not want to think about that part.

But Aria would grow up. That was life. And even as she grew into an adult, he’d still be there for her whenever she needed, and whenever she didn’t. In this lifetime and in the next.