Page 65 of Useless Love

“Done.”

He waves a hand to dismiss me, but I’m not done. “We haven’t addressed my concerns,” I say.

He starts looking over papers on his desk. “And what are those?”

“Arianna was sobbing on the balcony. Did something happen to her that I should know about?”

“Ari…” He pauses for a moment, then after thinking he says. “Right…your Ari. No. She’ll be fine.”

“No? She is going to be my wife. I have a right to know.”

He sighs. “It’s family business, which you are not yet privy to. She’s fine. Don’t concern yourself.”

I move closer to his desk, aware of his guards and how their hands are hovering over their holsters, sensing how coiled my muscles are. “Did you hit her?” I say in a low voice.

“What?” He jumps to his feet, booming. “I have never hit, Gaia!”

“But you’ve hit Arianna?”

He falters then, and it’s enough for me to do something reckless. I reach out and grab him by the collar. The guards advance, shouting at me and pulling their pistols. Bencivenga waves them back, remaining cool-headed.

“He’s just heated,” Bencivenga yells. “Put your weapons down.”

The guards comply, so I twist my fist further into his collar. “Did you fucking hit my princess?” I growl.

He smirks. “No. I have never hit your princess. Now, as your future father-in-law, I’m telling you that this is the one fucking time you get to handle me like this. You make one mistake. Do it again, and my guards shoot you.”

“Lay one hand on Arianna and my guards will do the same to you.”

He laughs, breaking the tension. “Seems I have a strong-willed son-in-law. Now get your hands off me.”

I release him and step back. I still don’t trust the bastard, so I say, “I’m going out of town for business. I want Arianna to come with me.”

After staring at me for a long time, he says, “Fine. She could use a break from her sister. But I trust you to maintain our agreement. It’s important that my daughter remains pure until your wedding night. If not, I’ll kill you.”

“I haven’t touched her.” Well, not in that way at least.

“Good. Now, get out of my fucking office. You’ve given me a headache.” He pulls some medicine from his desk drawer and swallows it with some whiskey.

I leave the office, needing to see my princess. Something is going on in this family, so the sooner I get her out, the better. And I know she’ll be happy we finally have a date set. Honestly, so am I. I actually care for her, and I’ve never felt that for any women I’ve slept with.

And fuck, I haven’t even slept with her.

Maybe this is happening a little fast. Could I really be caring for her this much? I had thought it was lust…but now I’m not even thinking about our wedding night. I’m only thinking about the wedding day. How beautiful she’ll look in her dress and…

What the hell is happening to me? She has me under some kind of spell.

I’m expecting to have to search the entire penthouse for her, but I bump into her as soon as I turn down a hallway.

“Princess?” I ask, just to be sure.

She nods. Glancing around, I pull her into an empty room that looks like a study, then I shut the door.

"Are you okay?" we both ask at the same time.

“I heard yelling,” she adds.

Waving away her question, I demand to know, "Why were you crying earlier?"

---