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Smirking, I shut the door.
My thumb swirls around the plain silver ring on my finger, my eyes on the band as I wait for my father to be ready for me.I hate the damn thing.I only wear it when I have to, like at events and meetings. Otherwise, it’s dropped in the cup holder of my SUV or shoved in my back pocket. Time has moved in slow motion since the wedding. One big,longnightmare. I’ve found myself grappling to find extra jobs, any extra task to keep me from having to go home. My home doesn’t even feel like home anymore, not with Viva there. She’s a constant reminder of what I had to give up.WhoI had to give up.
Every day is the same. Wake up, work, go home, sleep. The only reprieve I get are the stolen moments I have with Bev. Few and far between, those moments are the only reason I haven’t lost my sanity yet.
“Capo Famiglia will see you now.”
My eyes flick to one of my father’s lackeys and I rise from my seat. My knuckles lightly rap on the doorframe before I step into my father’s office, my teeth already chewing on the inside of my cheek as the door shuts behind me. Crossing my hands in front of my waist, I stand in front of his desk, my eyes wandering across the space instead of watching my father scribble notes. Once the sound of his pen pauses, I feel his eyes on me and meet his gaze.
“It’s been what, three months since the wedding?” I know he isn’t looking for an answer so I remain quiet, watching him set his pen down and lean back in his chair. “I think it’s time you’ve made an heir.”
My heart thumps hard, but I don’t give him a reaction, swallowing as I keep my face neutral. Despite what I’ve led my father and his men to believe,I don’t fuck Viva.I didn’t touch her on our wedding night and I still haven’t, despite her protesting and advances. The thought of touching her, of fucking her, let alone having achildwith her, makes bile coat the back of my throat.
“And if I don’t? I can’t control that kind of thing.”
He scoffs and my hands tighten where I’m holding them, my knuckles turning white. “Fuck your wife more often and make it happen. You’ve had time to adjust to your marriage, now it’s time to reproduce.”
His hand waves, signaling he’s done hearing from me, making sure my eyes are on his before he speaks again.
“I know how you feel about this marriage, you’ve made it perfectly clear, but this merger has generated over a million dollars in the last four weeks alone.” He pauses, probably for dramatic effect more than anything. My father had a knack for dramatic pauses. “Your mother and I were a contracted marriage, and as you can imagine, neither of us was happy about it. But it doesn’t matter, because with the marriage, the Famiglia gained Empire Airlines. You know what you would have gained marrying Beverly Esposito?”
Hearing her name on his tongue spikes my temperature with anger. He doesn’t deserve to say it. I don’t answer his question, remaining quiet, mostly because I don’t think he’s actually looking for one.
“Nothing but a strong heir. Now I’m not saying that couldn’t be enough, I obviously made the arrangement,” he adds, the leather of his chair squeaking as he shifts in his seat to get more comfortable. “But you can’t compare a strong heir to an income stream that will help the Famiglia for years to come.”
I swallow, doing my best to feign interest in the conversation despite the rage blurring my vision.
“You can thank your lucky stars that Viva is at least attractive and I’m not asking you to fuck abertuccia.I was equally as lucky with your mother.” He pauses, his fingers pinching around the top of his coffee mug, bringing it to his lips to take a sip before setting it back down. His dark eyes flick back up to mine. “You don’t have to love a woman to make an heir, you and your sister are a testament to that. I’m not asking you to love Viva, Remy, I’m asking you to fuck her. And once she’s pregnant, feel free to find another bitch to fuck, just make sure to wrap it up, or else you’ll end up in the same situation I had with Gavino.”
His sentence ends with a slight chuckle, like the conversation is amusing to him.
My jaw tics but I dip my head in a slight nod, acknowledging I’ve heard and understood him. “Is that all?” I want nothing but to get the hell out of this room before I lose my shit.
He waves his hand in my direction, dismissing me. “Go, fuck your wife and make an heir.” He pauses, catching my gaze before I turn and leave the room. “That’s an order.”
The door shuts quietly at my back despite me wanting to rip it off its hinges, the metallic tang of blood welling on my tongue as I chew on my lip, busting open the previous cut. The back of my hand swipes over my mouth in annoyance, wiping the blood away as I make my way back to my SUV.
Just as I’m about to get in my SUV, a vehicle pulls up beside me, the window rolling down. “You just getting here or are you leaving?”
Looking over at Julian, a large German-shepherd-looking dog shoves his head between the seats, snarling beneath the muzzle strapped around his snout.
“Leaving. What the hell is that?”
Julian looks at the dog with a smile, patting its head despite it trying its damnedest to tear his fingers off through the muzzle. “A dog. Andrea found him out at that dude’s house we took care of last week and he nearly ripped his pants off chasing him. The other guys wanted to kill him but I’ve never supported animal abuse so I caught him and now he’s riding around with me until I can figure out what to do with him.”
I hum, eyeing the mutt as he continues to growl. “Is he safe?”
Julian shrugs, watching slobber drip from the muzzle onto his center console. “Yeah? I mean, he’s just a dog. What can he do?”
He’s smiling, but I don’t return it.
The dog looks feral.
“Try not to let it kill you,” I say as my parting remark, opening up my door and climbing in. Julian snorts at my back and I give him a two-finger wave as I pull out. My momentary reprieve from my father’s current order is gone now that I’m back to myself.
My palm slaps the top of my steering wheel as I drive. “Fuck!”
chapter Five
