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Luigi comes in with a polite smile, looking a little humble, and gives my father a polite nod. “Mr. Volkov. Thank you for inviting me tonight. It is an honor to escort Ana to the theater.”
Tori and I look at my father, surprised, as he says, “Your company won’t be needed. I’ve arranged for one of my men to escort my daughter. I think it’s best you go home.”
I clench my fists. “What the…”
“Don’t even,” my father’s glare silences me quickly. “The boy is to go home, or I’ll be phoning Alessandro to add insubordination to the list.”
“To the list?” Tori asks, looking between Luigi and her husband.
I can’t take it and snap, “Then I’m not going to the stupid theater show with you. You can rot in hell.”
My father is so fast I don’t even see where he gets the gun from. He cocks it and points it at Luigi’s head, and the room falls silent. “I know what you did last night when you thought you were being so sneaky. You need to stop acting like a Prima Donna,” my father hisses at me.
“Ivan!” Tori shouts. “That’s my brother!”
“Enough!” My father yells and looks directly at me. “I have spent a lifetime protecting you from people like him. You’re lucky I don’t shoot him now. Alessandro will deal with him, so off he fucks. I’ll deal with you.”
Luigi looks at us with wide eyes. His hands raised slightly in surrender.
The tears start rolling down my cheek, and I hang my head.
“You can’t be head of this family,” my father says in a dark, quiet tone, “if you’re going to cry over a boy.”
He turns to Luigi, lowering his gun. “Leave before I change my mind. You are never to see my daughter ever again.”
Luigi glances at me and turns, walking out of the house. There is no question that my father will kill him on the spot. I glare at my father with a hatred I’ve only ever known for my mother's killer.
“I forgave you when your position as the Phakan got my mother killed in front of me, but I will not forgive you for treating me like some puppet.”
My father puts his gun away and calmly explains, “If you’re not coming with us, a guard will remain here with you.”
“Don’t bother with a guard,” Tori snarls, “because Roman and I aren’t going either.” She walks to me and takes my hand, holding my brother on her hip. She pauses, then looks back at Ivan. “Don’t ever threaten my brother again, or I will get involved.”
She leads me back to my room, hands my brother to his nanny, and then shuts my door.
“Ana! You should know better than to do something so open. Discretion is the key to surviving families like us.” She’s lecturing me, and bitterness bubbles inside of me.
“You’re not my mother, don’t lecture me,” I mumble, sitting on the bed.
Tori sits next to me. She nods. “I know, but I have come to love you, if not like a daughter, at least like a friend. You have to accept you’re a princess in our world that needs to know Luigi Sorvino is just a playboy. He’s immature about everything except work.”
“We’re just friends,” I mutter, not meeting her eyes.
“Are you sure about that?” she asks me gently.
“I’m not open to dating.” Now I look into her eyes. “I want power, not love.”
I hate the sad smile that fixes itself on her face. “I was the same way before I met your father.” She stands, and halfway across the room, she pauses. “You’re welcome to hang out with us 'cause I’m not going out either.”
“I’d rather not,” I murmur.
She smiles at me sadly again and then leaves, shutting my door behind her. I wait for her footsteps to recede. I glance out my window—my father's car is gone, and I know he wouldn’t miss an event because of a family feud.
I take out my phone and furiously type a message to Luigi.
I’m sorry my father tried to kill you.
We are still on for tonight! Right?
