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They look just as I’d expect; cold and calculative. My father has a blank expression, while Simon is smirking smugly.
I glance at Lev, but he ushers me forward until we stop at a pair of empty seats.
“Ivanov,” my father says as Lev draws the chair out for me. My legs feel like they can’t hold me up anymore so I quickly sink into my seat.
“De Luca,” Lev responds as he sits beside me.
The two men stare at each other before my father gives Lev a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.
“Nice to see you again,” he says, and I freeze. I wonder if my father has been talking to Lev since the wedding.
“There was a mix-up,” Lev says.
“Of course. My daughter has a thing for mixing things up.” My father’s lip curls as his eyes land on me. I shift uncomfortably in my seat. “You might be too lenient with her. Maybe you should make her understand her place better,” he says with a pointed look in my direction. I fumble with the napkin at my place setting, pretending that I’m not hearing any of this.
“I know how to handle her. She is no longer your responsibility but mine,” Lev says, giving him a death glare.
“Are you sure she knows that? Perhaps she wouldn’t run off if she did,” my father presses. I can almost feel Lev’s anger soar. He clenches his fists and glares at my father. My mouth almost drops when I see fear flicker in my father’s eyes, but he quickly masks it before anyone can detect it.
Is my father is afraid of the man I have married?
Jesus, he’s more than afraid.
He’s freaking terrified!
The knowledge is almost enough to stifle the swirl I feel knowing that neither my father nor Simon acknowledges my presence. They didn’t even say hello to me. It’s clear that I’m not worthy of their “precious” time.
Just how fucked up is my family?
“Watch your tone, De Luca.” Lev’s voice is like ice. Somehow, my father must be railing against his unaccustomed fear because he goes on.
“With all due respect, Ivanov, you assumed I backed out of our deal when you thought she’d left you and came running to me,” my father scoffs.
Suddenly, I realize what’s going on here. Lev thought my father was responsible for my disappearance. The words he’d said this morning come back to me in a rush…
“You’re lucky that I was worried.”
Is that true?
Was he really worried about me?
I briefly glance at him but get nothing in return. Just a jaw like granite, and flinty eyes that run over my father like he’s looking at a snake. He’s not wrong. If anything, this exchange is making it painfully clear that I’m no longer welcome at my father’s home. Not that I was ever welcome.
There’s no place for me anywhere.
Except for the prison Lev has put me in.
Lev’s hand suddenly drops to cover mine and I blink as I stare down at it, then meet his eyes. Is he reading my freaking mind?
Shit. I really have to stop doing this to myself. Looking for signs from this man that might make me believe that he’s anything other than the bloodthirsty Devil that they call him to be.
“Let’s all relax, gentlemen?” Simon’s voice cuts through the tension. “We are here to gave a good time.”
Lev seems like he wants to say something else. Instinctively, I thread my fingers through his, gripping his hand more firmly. He spares me a glance, and my pleading eyes must reach him because he relaxes and shifts his eyes to the others at the table. It is now I realize that they had been watching the tussle between Lev and my father.
I fix my eyes firmly ahead as I try to ignore their stares. Jesus Christ, I feel so out of place here. I release my grip on Lev’s hand and feel myself sinking back into my seat, fighting an urge to just disappear.
The only family I have in the world is sitting at this table, and yet I may as well be a stranger to them. What did I ever do to deserve this?
