Page 77 of Corrupted Heart

So I just nod, smiling politely at him.

“It won’t be shared,” I say evenly. “You have my word on that,” I add, turning to Davit.

He smiles and nods back. “Forgive my son’s zeal. He’s merely trying to protect me and the family. You’ll understand why my…condition has been kept quiet, especially while your family and I were engaged in a bidding war.”

“May I ask…”

“No,” Arian says flatly.

His father sighs. “A temporary issue with my liver, it would appear. Nothing serious.”

Says the man in a hospital bed, in his own home.

He smiles wryly. “I suppose now you see why I turned down your gracious invitation to the festivities today.”

I clear my throat. “Once again, I want to apologize for what happened involving your family’s heirloom?—”

Arian mutters something in Albanian. His father shoots him a warning look, responding in the same language, before he turns back to me.

“I’m told the responsible party was the Italians.”

I nod.

“Specifically, your fiancée,” Arian adds, smirking.

His father chuckles. “What did you do, Mr. Drakos? Fuck her friends?”

No, but I did chase her through an abandoned church, cut her panties off, and fuck her mouth afterward.

I smile quietly. “It was a very unfortunate misunderstanding. However, my family has prepared this as a token of our esteem, together with the hope that we can continue to build a mutually beneficial relationship and peace between our families.”

I slip the envelope containing a check out of my tuxedo pocket and walk over to hand it to Davit.

Arian barks a cold laugh. “Money? You destroy a priceless heirloom that’s been in my family for nearly a millennium, and you think your fucking money will fix the problem?!”

“Arian!” Davit snaps. “Be civil.”

“Babai—!”

“Enough!!”

Davit exhales slowly, his face pinched and tired. Then he composes himself.

“Arian,” he says, more quietly now. “Mr. Drakos is our guest. And what occurred was beyond his control.”

“Perhaps Mr. Drakos should have better control over his own fucking fiancée,” Arian hisses, shooting me a cold look.

I resist the urge to respond with “Way ahead of you”, and just smile as I dip my chin.

“I understand what was destroyed is beyond monetary value. And I can’t put a price on sentimentality. But I do hope the check for twenty million dollars in that envelope can ease at least a little of the suffering we’ve caused.”

I get that this thing was important to their family, and old as fuck. But let’s be real: it’s not gold, or bejeweled. It’s fucking old bones. We looked up similar pieces for appraisal comparisons, and the thing was maybe worth a tenth of twenty mil.

Davit eyes the envelope. Then he raises his head and smiles. “Mr. Drakos, I appreciate the gesture. Please, consider any issues between our families settled, and the matter closed.”

Arian’s face goes livid.

“Father—”

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