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“Lovely. Marco has requested an audience with us today, let’s hear him out.” My father made a gesture to sit beside Marco.
My father’s only wish was to take out rival clans who sought to overthrow us. So, I didn’t understand what was happening in front of me. They appeared almost civil, and I couldn’t imagine why. Although, I don’t imagine either of us saw Marco as a threat. He wasn’t enough of a mover and shaker to try to take over.
“And why are we graced with your presence today, Marco?” I asked, lifting my foot to rest over my knee in a casual gesture. I always gave off the appearance that nobody had an effect on me. My father taught that to me at a very young age. It had served me well. Watching Marco’s eyebrow rise at the subtle disrespect gave me a thrill.
“To propose his daughter’s hand in marriage in exchange for peace,” my father answered for him.
Shocked again, I wasn’t sure what the next revelation could be. This had been the last thing I was expecting to hear from my father. The worst part seemed to be that they had already agreed on something and I wasn’t going to like it. I relaxed my jaw instead of clenching it and gritting my teeth which would have been a more natural response. With no other siblings, especially not an eligible brother that she could marry, I already knew who would be expected to complete the arrangement without protest.
My hands clenched at my side, a movement I couldn’t control, although I fought hard to keep my face passive.
I didn’t want to marry a fucking Montrelli. They were all weak. How could she be anything but the same?
Look at her father and the way he’d come crawling to us to take his daughter after we’d killed his son while trying to send them a message. That had been how many years ago and they’d never tried to get revenge or anything else to hurt us? My father would’ve raised hell and invited the devil himself to exact his revenge if I were murdered.
How would this benefit us? We were the keepers of peace; we didn’t need this bargain.
“And what will that accomplish?” I asked. I felt that I already knew what was going on, but I had to be sure.
“Family means everything to us, as I’m sure Marco knows,” my father calmly stated. “If the two of you were to marry and she bore a child, it would be a Romano through and through, regardless of the mother’s maiden name. That would also make the Montrellis family and there would be a treaty of peace between our branches.”
Because they knew that we could destroy them if that was what we really wanted.The only reason we hadn’t done so yet was the simple fact that they had followed the rules we set for them to a T. They were whipped.
“This has already been decided?” I asked, keeping my tone even as my eyes scanned between the two men who had been doing this much longer than I had. Not an ounce of emotion flickered across their smooth poker faces.
“Yes,” my father answered, raising his chin at me. “Unless you have something that you’d like to say about the decision.”
I was silent for a moment. My father wouldn’t tolerate me arguing in front of a…guest, but if I wanted out, then this would be my only opportunity. I didn’t understand why my father was doing this or what we would gain from it, but the look in his eye made it obvious that he had a plan. This wasn’t a decision he’d made on a whim—he never made decisions from a whim—and because I trusted my father, I shook my head, no.
“Tell me, what’s stopping us from killing all of the Montrellis completely to provide total peace? Why merge together with a marriage?”
My question was simple enough, but I knew it was more than my father wanted me to voice aloud. However, I had to know why we were letting Marco think we couldn’t just level his entire family operation if we wanted no matter what kind of peace he was offering.
“Marco is looking to retire, and he would like protection for his family as he hands over the reins. So, I gave him the option of a marriage to make the transition easier, we will simply take over his business opportunities and offer protection in exchange.”
I finally understood what my father was saying, “It seems like a fine arrangement to me.”
Marco nodded his head. “Then I will bring her in the morning.”
“Good.” I offered a smile that couldn’t have been less genuine. “I’m very excited to meet my fiancée.”
He left us and Stefano arrived to find out what had happened.
“Well, you’re looking at a man who is about to be led to his doom. I’m to marry a fucking Montrelli.” I updated Stefano who simply raised his brows in surprise.
“You’ll enjoy being a family man.” He snickered and was joined by my father.
“I simply couldn’t imagine what you were thinking. I’m still not sure that this is the right idea, but it would be nice to move into the light instead of always being in the shadows,” I countered. Inside I cringed at the fact I would be getting married. What the fuck did I know about marriage?
“There are always reasons for the things I do. While you might not understand them, I do have your best interests in mind. He’s practically handing us his entire empire, and we didn’t have to fire a shot.” A smile slid onto my father’s face. “Or not recently anyway.”
“Isn’t that a bit crass? We did have a hand in hurting his family. He’s just using the only thing that he has that’s worth anything. Wouldn’t you do something of that nature if our family depended on it?” I wasn’t sure he’d thought about the sacrifice of giving us one of his daughters after we’d taken his only son.
“Yes, it might be, but I’m sure that we’ll benefit the most.”
“Never let it be said that we don’t pounce on something beneficial to all of us. We always win in the end,” I agreed.
Stefano accompanied me to my office as we discussed my impending marriage.
