Page 70 of Wanted
Aram was flustered, talking about his family. After all these years, my father was still haunted by his inferiority complex. He went on, “They thought his modern vision for Katantia would be the perfect step forward. So I took matters into my own hands. The Katantian public might have been drugged up sex addicts back then, but they wouldn’t let a childless man on the throne. I fucked a lot of women, taking my time to choose who would be the next Queen of Katantia.”
“I don’t want to hear this,” I interjected sharply.
“When I stumbled across your mother, Weston, I noticed what a fine slut she was. Perfect mouth. Fuckable body. Holes juicier than a Hole Store! I took her home, and I spent two weeks rutting into her. I let her go home to California…”
“Shut up,” I urged him. I knew the story. Mom had told me. She’d trusted me with her pain.
“I let her go under the illusion of safety. She thought she was safe, but I had planted my seed inside of her. I dragged her back home by the hair, didn’t I? After she gave birth to Kamila, a birth that I didn’t witness because why would I even bother. I never wanted a cunt. I wanted a son! Once Kamila was done with, I fucked her some more. Of course, she stopped wanting it. She never wanted it in the sixteen years of our relationship. How does that make you feel, son?”
Mandy’s hand was wrapped around my arm, holding me back. I’d never let go in front of my father. But he had never discussed my mother’s pain so openly. I needed an outlet. Somebody had to pay. I was ready to combust.
“Aris was born right after your pathetic grandfather was assassinated, and my fate was sealed. You know why? My grandpa and grandma knew how to appreciate me. They pushed me to marry your cunt of a mother and to fuck more sons into her. She was the ideal wife for a king, and I never let her go.”
“Katantians wanted a competition for the throne because the morons loved my father like they love Kamila, but my grandfather knew that I deserved the throne. I got the keys to the country, and Spencer left with his tail tucked between his legs, changing his name. Once upon a time, he was Taron Wraith. When he left, all images of him were destroyed. Homes were raided to accomplish this feat. Katantia mourned Taron Wraith, and he won’t have a resurrection on my watch.”
“I don’t appreciate that you wasted all that money on the new wing in the Queen I hospital. Mandy Rawlins isn’t worth it.” Mandy shot daggers at him with her eyes. “But I also acknowledge that we can now charge our citizens for these expensive treatments. In hindsight, we will be able to earn from it. Good thinking on your part, which is a rare occurrence in itself.”
Aram chuckled some more, amused with himself. Nobody else was laughing. Mandy shook, and I barely kept it together. “You think you’ve got balls, son? Do not threaten me. I told you that I would put you in a casket, and I won’t hesitate to do it. You’ll sleep peacefully right next to your grandparents and your mother. Only you’ll never wake up. Your pathetic girlfriend, whom you can once again fuck without the guilty conscience that your mom instilled upon you, is safe. But your sister isn’t. She’s still out there, and it’s only a matter of time until she returns.”
My father’s face was full of disgust as he glanced at us one last time before leaving the house.
“Mandy…”
“I’m going upstairs. I need space,” she announced.
♥♠♥
The sun was out, and the wind was loud enough to cause a headache, but that was just my exhaustion speaking. I could hear the waves crash on the beach.
The vacation home’s veranda was as long as the actual house. Under a wide beach umbrella, Valentina and Aris sat opposite me in their swimming trunks. They occupied the grey outdoor sofa that was almost as old as Valentina. You couldn’t see the furniture’s age; they had been under wraps until Aris and Valentina started coming over two weeks ago.
Aris leaned back, his arms wide open on the cushions behind him. Valentina’s legs were spread across his lap, a fine pedicure coating her nails. She gazed at the sky while hugging one of the red pillows from inside the house. There was a hint of her pregnancy, but her belly wasn’t that round yet.
“Do you think I should go tell her to join us?” Valentina asked.
“No, it’s fine. I don’t want to push her,” I assured my sister-in-law.
“She knows we’re here. If she wants to see us, she can come down. I hear women have a hard time readjusting after surgeries like that,” Aris said, his eyes fixed on his wife. Valentina tugged the pillow closer to her at the mention of Mandy’s surgery.
“I feel terrible for…” She sighed. “I don’t even know how to approach her right now. Every day, it’s the same thing. I don’t want her to think I’m bragging or anything. I’m not. I’m very sad that… I can’t wrap my head around the fact that she was healthy months ago, and now she can’t have kids.”
“Babe, that’s why we screen people here,” Aris explained. He moved one of his hands to his wife’s legs, massaging them. “We make sure that we detect illnesses like that early on.”
“Yeah, because you want babies that’ll pay for the future king to host parties of debauchery in the Main Hall,” Valentina uttered. Aris exhaled, amused. I sat there, baffled. The dynamic between them had shifted. “I can’t imagine what she feels like. I can’t sit here like this.”
She got up from the sofa, stretching. “I’ll go upstairs and ask her if she wants to take a swim with me.”
Neither Aris nor I objected.
I heard Valentina’s sandals as she left the veranda, reentering the vacation home.
“What did Aram say?” Aris immediately asked, leaning forward.
“The same thing he said two weeks ago. His narrative doesn’t change,” I revealed, feeling bloated. His kid hadn’t even been born yet, and I felt a deep sense of love for it. It had our blood. Therefore, it deserved our affection and protection. “It’s bad. They want our home, brother. What are we to do?”
“Spencer won’t have it,” Aris declared. “Aram… We shaped this country. He can’t take it from us.”
“Spencer has resources that we can’t even dream of. If he wants to, he can march mercenaries and tanks through our borders,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “Then there’s Kamila. I don’t trust the people she’s around. What if Spencer paid them? What if she’s walking into a trap?”
