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“Suddenly? You’re telling me we weren’t always friends?”
“I thought you two broke up anyway.”
“Fucking has nothing to do with anything.”
“You’re something else, Caius.” I exhale, exasperated, and turn away to look out the windows again. I wish he’d leave me alone. Wish they’d all leave me alone.
“I heard… You feel okay?” he asks in a tone that’s quieter and way less cocky than his usual.
“I’m fine. As if you’d care if I wasn’t. Thanks for telling Ana, by the way,” I tell him.
“If it makes any difference, if I’d known my mother was going to interfere like that, I’d have stopped her.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t make any difference, Caius. Excuse me.”
I make to walk away, but he stops me. “I mean it, Madelena. I can understand it’s not what you want.”
“You don’t know me, and we are not friends. Excuse me.” I walk away, setting my glass down on a tray and finding Val standing against the wall when I can’t find Santos. “Can you take me home?”
He searches the room, nods once. “Just a minute.” He takes his phone out, texts something. I assume he’s telling Santos or asking permission or whatever. I don’t really care. I just want to go. A moment later, he has a response. “All right,” he says, and gestures for me to go ahead.
I glance back once more because I guess I hoped Santos would come but I don’t see him, so I walk out alone with Val at my back and another soldier waiting for me at the front entrance, so used to them now that I barely notice.
31
SANTOS
“Your wife looks good,” my mother says when I reach her. Her gaze is on Madelena, who is on her way out with Val. I wonder what is going on in her head. “Pregnancy becomes her.”
I shift my gaze to my mom, take her elbow, and lead her to a quiet corner.
“This isn’t the time, Santos.” She smiles at someone over my shoulder and tries to walk past me. I don’t let her go.
“It’s the perfect time.”
She looks down at where I’m holding her then back up at me. “You’re more like the Commander every day, you know that?”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means you already left bruises on my neck. Are you going to give me fresh ones on my arm?” I loosen my hold on her, noticing the shadows hidden by makeup on her neck.
I meet her hard eyes. I don’t apologize. “Help me understand something, Mother.” I need to talk to her to try to make sense of why she’d do this, what there is to gain. Because I’m missing a piece of the puzzle.
“What don’t you understand, Santos? What part of your father’s plan have you forgotten?”
“Yeah, that’s the thing. We’ve accomplished what we set out to do. We own Avarice. Look at the people around you. They’ll take any crumb from your table just so long as you toss one in their direction. Marnix De Léon? We have him. We have control of the company. It’s all ours. Everything is ours.”
She raises her chin a little, smiling victoriously as her eyes turn to slits to study those crumb-seekers who make up the room of guests.
“What I don’t understand though, is the pregnancy. It doesn’t add any value.”
“You don’t value a child?”
I snort. “You’re not doing this to become a grandmother. I know you, Mom. What is it? What am I missing?”
“If your little wife decided to divorce you, what happens then?”
“What?”
