Page 49 of The Casella King

I stare at the empty wall as the sun starts to set outside, waiting for Nico, thinking of every possible option I have, and my jaw clenches. My mind is made up. There’s a knock on my door, and I open it, letting Nico inside.

“What’s going on?” His eyes skate over me. “Are you hurt?”

“No, nothing like that.” I breathe, my heart thumping beneath my rib cage.

He pauses. “Why do you look like you’re about to ask me to do something I most likely will not agree with?” He leans his head to one side.

I bite my lip as I reconsider, watching him watch me, his eyes never leaving mine.

“Tell me everything, about your father’s death, about your enemies, everything.” I swallow, watching as he raises his eyebrows.

“Has Ezra not shared anything with you?” he asks.

“He has, but I know he’s keeping details from me, and I need to know.”

“Why?” He crosses his arms, and like I guessed, he isn’t going to make this easy for me.

I don’t dare tell him about my plan because like he said, he would not agree to it and would put me on house arrest, probably tell Ezra, and I’ll end up chained to the bed. No, I keep the finer details to myself, but I tell him about me gaining Ezra’s trust back, and how I want to earn my place as a Casella. He seems to buy it and begins explaining the history between the Casella family and the Brayford family, the way their father passed, and how they’ve been committing crimes since they were teenagers.

“Promise me that I didn’t just sign my death warrant.” He smiles, an uneasy smile as he looks for an answer in my eyes.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be our secret.” I force a smile as he nods and begins heading for the door.

“I know Ezra can seem like a lot, but the entire empire rests on his shoulders.” He looks back to me as he opens the front door. “Just don’t mistake his silence for absence.” He smiles, a warm smile now. “You two are quite similar, you know. I see so much of him in you.”

“So I’ve heard.” I let out a soft chuckle.

“We’re family now, Aries. If you need anything, we’ve got your back.” He nods and leaves, closing the door behind him, leaving me with a decision to make.

I need to start with Ray.

Hesitantly, I make my way into the basement, the stairs creaking beneath me. I knew for a while what I felt that day in the church when Ray never showed up, but I pushed it so deep within that I thought I had snuffed it out completely.

Until I met Ezra.

I hear Ray cough as he enters my vision. He’s been moved and now sits, bound to an iron chair. His head lifts, and his eyes make contact with mine. I thought I wanted to marry him all those years ago, and now I realise how much of a huge mistake that would have been…how much of a setback that would have been for me.

“Aries.” His voice croaks as he pleads. “Let me go.”

“I need to know, Ray.” I step closer to him, kneeling in front of him. “Did you ever love me?”

A smile creeps onto his face, and it has my stomach sinking. “Not as much as you loved me.”

I nod, expecting that answer from him, but what comes out of his mouth next takes me off guard.

“It was your father.” I grit my teeth at his words. “The reason why I never married you.”

“What?” I feel a sharp cut slice through my chest at his confession.

“He is a piece of shit.” He chuckles. “A pathetic one too.” The chains on his wrists rattle behind his back as he tries to move. “His weak attempt at forcing my hand to marry you was the last straw.”

“Forcing your hand?”

“He threatened me and my family that if I didn’t marry you, he would personally make me suffer.” He shrugs. “It was easier to leave you at the altar than become chained to you and your father forever.”

The flames alight within me, burning like a fucking inferno with no sign of slowing down. I close my eyes to focus on keepingmy cool, but this time, the control I feel I had before is slowly slipping through my fingers. I feel a fury overcome me as I stomp over to the lockbox on the wall, prying it open with the key already in the lock and grabbing the butcher knife resting on the bottom shelf.

Ray’s eyes widen as I make my way over to him. “Aries, wait.”

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