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Zay ate the lamb and gave our son mashed potatoes and carrots while I ate enough to admit the food was good as hell. I still couldn’t enjoy it the way I wanted because the tension around the table made it hard to focus on anything else.

Dessert was chocolate soufflé with powdered sugar and vanilla bean ice cream melting down the side. Nobody seemed interested except me and Lil Zay, so the two of us ate ours while everybody else continued whatever weird-ass family dinner this was turning into.

The conversation became harder to follow as the night went on because everybody seemed to know something I didn’t. I kept hearing words about arrangements, families, marriage, and some kind of merge.

Mr. Wells eventually looked at Azaria.

“I forgot to tell you that you look healthier, baby girl.”

“I am.”

“You embarrassed this family for years. I’m glad someone finally decided to correct it.”

He looked directly at Ares.

Ares didn’t seem bothered by any of it. He sat there drinking cognac with a smirk on his face as if everybody else being uncomfortable was entertaining him.

Mrs. Wells lifted her wine and looked toward Zay.

“So, the arrangements are moving forward with the merge? Marcel said a bunch of nothing at the meeting today.”

“It’s being handled,” Zay answered.

“What about the public proposal?” she asked Ares.

Zay answered before he could.

“It’ll happen when it needs to.”

Mrs. Wells looked at him. “Zacian, you’ve become very comfortable speaking like someone who has authority in this family.”

“You need to chill. Now ain’t the time for that shit. You came here to have dinner with your kids, not talk business.”

The way she looked at Zay made my skin crawl.

“Zacian,” she said, dragging his name out in that smooth voice of hers. “If you continue speaking to me with that tone, I’ll arrange a marriage for you as well. There’s a lot of money being missed while you play house.”

I looked directly at Zay. “Arrange a marriage?”

Mr. Wells chuckled into his glass. “The boy always liked his women not to be in the know.”

“I’m sitting right here.”

Mrs. Wells finally looked at me. “Yes, I’m aware you’re sitting somewhere you don’t belong.”

I looked at Zay, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was staring across the table at Mr. Wells.

“Get your wife,” Zay told him.

“Change the subject, Miss Lady,” Mr. Wells warned her.

Azaria kept looking down at her plate as if she wanted nothing to do with whatever was happening.

Mrs. Wells put down her glass before looking at me again. Her gaze moved from me to Lil Zay.

“I admire mothers who bring their children everywhere. I’m sure he’ll have fun here in France. It must take great effort traveling with a toddler considering your condition.”

My blood started boiling. All I could think about was slapping the shit out of her. “Don’t fucking talk about my condition. You don’t know what I⁠—”