Page 82 of Dishonored

Caesar wasn’t really needed here today. He certainly hadn’t been wanted.

His presence had likely only been a painful reminder for his half-brother about the ways his wife had betrayed him—and with his own blood, no less. Still, to keep the peace and the Accardo reputation intact for their people, Angelo demanded Caesar be there, dressed appropriately for the funeral, and to keep his fucking mouth shut.

Well, I kept up my end of the bargain.

So far.

“We need to talk,” Angelo said as he settled his hefty form into the wicker chair beside Caesar’s.

“If it’s about Canada, save your breath.”

Because he was not going.

“It is, actually. You might want to shut up, and listen to what I have to say. It could be … beneficial, figlio.”

Caesar highly doubted that. “Unless it’s to call off the arrangement you have for the marriage, then—”

“It is, yes.”

He eyed his father from the side, but Angelo was otherwise distracted by staring up at the inky sky. It was one of the good things about the estate being outside the limits of the city and away from all the pollution and lights—one could actually see the stars.

“Go on,” Caesar urged.

“Oh, now you want to talk?”

“Can we not play games? I did what you wanted today—played along more than enough. I won’t be doing any of that after this moment, though. Especially not when it comes to Canada, or that bullshit arrangement you came up with.”

Angelo’s lips flattened into a grim line, and his gaze drifted from the sky to Caesar’s face. “You know that everything I do is for your best interests because I love—”

“Let’s not and say that we did.”

“Impossible.”

Caesar chuckled. “And yet, you’ve never asked me why.”

Not why he hated his father.

Not why he was the way he was.

Not why he did the things he did.

None of it.

No one ever cared to ask.

She did, his mind whispered.

Aria De Rose.

She had asked.

She had looked him right in the eyes and asked. Like she had any right to do so. Like she knew there was something the rest of the world didn’t know. Like she could see it, and all his effort to hide it was for nothing.

Why do you hate women?

Such a simple question.

It owned a far more complex answer.