Shattered Heart (Red Queen)

Chapter Seventeen

•Cal POV•
     "Why did you propose to her?" Shade demands.
     "What do you mean?" I ask. Everyone else was ecstatic when they found out about our engagement. Shade looks like he wants to kill me and I have no idea where Mare ran off to.
    "Do you even love her? Or did you do this out of pity?" he asks. He won't even look at me.
    "What the hell are you talking about?! Of course I love Mare. Don't question my feeling for her," I warn.
    "Don't threaten her older brother," he fires back.
     "I asked her to marry me because she needed this. She needed a distraction from everything that happened," I say.
      "She doesn't need a distraction. She doesn't need you. She has her family. You only did this because you only care about yourself and you want to make sure Mare is yours," he argues.
     "You don't know me. I love Mare with all of my heart. Our relationship doesn't concern you," I say, trying to stay calm.
     "Yes it does. Mare is my sister and I'm going to protect her," he says.
     "So am I," I reply.
     "Besides, your proposal is terrible timing," he says.
     "And why is that?"
     "Because we're in the middle of a damn war!" he exclaims. "You couldn't have waited until all this is over?"
      "I don't think either of us will survive this war," I admit quietly.
      "Is going to make sure that you both do," he says.
     I give him a questioning look and ask, "Why the sudden change of heart?"
     He sighs and says, "You make her happy and I was just being an idiotic older brother. I'm a little protective of her."
     "You think? Mare can take care of herself, trust me. If anything, she protects me. She's one hell of fighter," I say with a laugh.
     "I second that," he says and claps me on the back. "If you break her heart I'll kill you."
     "I'll keep that in mind," I say and walk off to find my fiancée.