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“I asked you why you referred to this as y’all’s house.”

“Because that’s what it is.”

Zelina grew so frustrated that she could have pulled out her hair. “How the fuck don’t you see anything wrong with this? Out of nowhere, you meet some random woman, cut things off with you and me, and move her in? What the fuck are you going to tell me next? That you’re marrying her?”

Cassius allowed his silence to speak for him.

As the realization dawned on her, Zelina’s eyes grew so wide that they nearly popped out of her head. “You’re getting married?”

“Z, it’s time for you to go. But know this is the last time we’ll ever have this conversation. I’m revoking your access, and if you pull some shit like this again, I won’t be so polite about it. I understand you’re in your feelings and have every right to be. I’ll never begrudge you that. But you’re not going to disrespect my home or my woman as a way of getting back at me.”

“Oh, you haven’t even seen the lengths I’m willing to go to get back at you. You’re going to regret the day you made an enemy out of me, Cassius,” she glared at him one final time before heading for the door.

Shaking his head, Cassius dropped onto the couch, pulling out his phone to ensure she left his home without attempting something stupid. Once she was gone, he closed the gate and then phoned Mars.

“Nigga, you’re being clingy as fuck. I just saw you a few hours ago when you called me in the middle of the night. You can’t possibly need⁠—”

“Zelina just left,” Cassius interrupted his best friend’s rant.

“Holy shit, did Elle kill her?”

“No, but she’s pissed at me, and I need your help. I have to figure out how to get her to hear me out.”

“How the hell did Zelina get in the house in the first place?”

“My stupid ass never deactivated her code to the gate, and she popped up after I left to grab breakfast for Elle.”

“You’re a fucking idiot.”

“I think we’ve established that already. Help me figure out how to get this stubborn ass woman of mine to listen to me.”

“I mean, from what I’ve seen, the only way to get a stubborn person to do anything is to force them. But Elle already proved she isn’t the type to⁠—”

Cassius sat up as a light bulb went off in his brain. “I figured it out. Thanks, bye.”

“What crime are you about to com⁠—”

Hanging up on Mars mid-sentence, Cassius leapt up, preparing to put his plans in motion. He’d give Aella as long as it took to bring his thoughts to life, but beyond that, time was up.

He was going to get his wife.

Fixing things with Aella was at the top of his priority list, but Cassius wanted to speak with her father first. He wanted to set some ground rules for when he and Aella ironed out their issues, and figured talking to Severo face-to-face would be the best option.

The drive to the Torrisi estate didn’t take him long, and Cassius found Severo in his office waiting after the housekeeper allowed him in.

“Cassius,” Severo stood as Cassius entered, closing the door behind him. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected meeting?”

“Your frustrating ass daughter,” he grumbled, plopping into a chair.

Severo laughed deeply, folding his hands as he sat back as well.

“I was wondering what has her moping around here lately. I take it you two had a falling out.”

“Nothing I can’t, and don’t plan to fix. I needed to talk to you about a few things first, though.”

Severo raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”

“I don’t know if Aella is involved with your organization, but if so, I want her out. You can pass everything to me. I don’t want anything negative from either of our lives tainting hers.”