Page 78 of Obsessions of the Heart

I thought about Rin and frowned. This was going to make everything harder with her. The only saving grace was that he didn't know where the house was. That was the deal we came up with. If we proved ourselves to the head families in the first two years in the university, and put the Riccis' in their place, then we earned some freedom. Right now, we were still at his beck and call, as he was the interim head of the family, but at least we were out from under his thumb.

A shadow fell over Ravi and me. Roux appeared, dressed to the nines in a classic two-piece suit and blood red tie. This was the look our uncle considered appropriate for an Ambros family member, but to the three of us, it was old and stuffy.

Roux had two garments bags in hand, shoving one toward us. “Dress.”

Ravi rolled his eyes, snagging the bag so hard I thought the garment might come out wrinkled. “Ridiculousness,” he grumbled before going around the corner to change. Roux ignored him, handing me the last bag. Gingerly, I took the garment, draping it over my arm as I went in the opposite direction to the second bedroom that was downstairs.

I dressed quickly and met my brothers back in the foyer. Roux was already next to the hallway table, standing at attention. I moved to my place before him, making myself the first stop for any punishment should my uncle decide to dole it out, and Ravi came out a minute later, standing on his other side. This always reminded me of our training days when I purposely went first for a different reason.

The door clicked open, and I took a breath. “I don’t understand how someone could do something like that and think they could get away with it. Is there no good help these days?”

Our uncle's sharp, curt voice sounded before I looked up. He had the trademark Ambros blond hair that shined so brightly you thought it was sent from the heavens. Partner that with his sharp aristocratic features and his long, lean body, and you would think he was a model—always dressed to the nines in a fancy suit that only the elite knew the name brand of, showing off his pearly whites like he was constantly on camera. It was his eyes that gave away his true self.

That steely blue gaze could cut you down the second you stood in front of him. Even those taller than him had said they felt like he was looking down on them. His gaze revealed his disgust and disappointment in the world, where nothing and no one was ever satisfactory to him. He thought he was the perfect specimen, the peak of what humanity had to offer this world. He made my insides crawl, desperate to get away from him, but I bit the inside of my lip and stood tall.

We only have to put up with him for a month longer, then we’ll squash him like the bug he is.

He walked past, not acknowledging his good invisible soldiers. “Seriously, Cam, is it me, or is it unprofessional to take a personal call while driving? Very unsafe and unprofessional if you ask me. Boys?”

None of us said a word since he was already ten steps away from us. Plus, he didn't want a real opinion. He just wanted validation for whatever he’d said, and that wasn't my job. Thank fuck.

A stick-thin, curly mousy brown-haired man with thick black frames ran after him, clutching his padfolio like it held the secrets of the world. “You are completely correct, sir. Very unprofessional.”

Our uncle whirled around, his eyes lighting up with a deranged kind of excitement when he grabbed Cam’s shoulders. “Right?! He acted like the phone call from the hospital about his wife was more important than my safety.” He licked his lips before his eyes zeroed in on his wrists, his upper lip pulled up in a snarl. “Fuck. How annoying. Even shooting him from afar, I couldn't save this suit.”

His gaze narrowed on us like this whole thing was our fault. “I should’ve had you three clean up the mess, but Cam already called for a professional, so you're off the hook. Tell Cam thank you.”

Cam’s slimy smile turned our direction. Sick fuck was taking pleasure in having us, the Ambros heirs, bow down to him. I could sense my brothers’ rage without looking at them. Ravi was gearing up to explode, and the vibrations coming off Roux meant he was seconds away from violence. I needed to stop this. We didn't have time to get into it with our uncle. We needed to get back to Rin.

Saying Rin’s name over and over in my head, I bowed at the waist. “Thank you for taking such good care of our uncle. It will not be forgotten.” My brothers followed my lead, bowing and mumbling their thanks.

Steps sounded against the marble floor until two sets of shiny black shoes stopped in front of me. Fingers wrapped around my chin, yanking me up like I was a child, and I bit down on my tongue, letting the taste of my blood sedate my will to taste his.

My uncle’s nails dug into my skin, gripping me hard as he spat in my ear, “Always the fucking smart one. You must think highly of yourselves with the freedom you’ve earned.” He let go of my chin for a second, then, with lightning-quick reflexes, smacked both hands on either side of my head and squeezed, getting right into my face, his eyes filled with a desire to cause pain. “But to me, you will always be the three little boys I broke into submission. The half-blooded mongrels I had to beat over and over again just to get this subpar version of an Ambros.”

I made my eyes lose focus, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of paying attention to his little monologue. He must’ve noticed because his fingers slid between my strands before yanking my head back, looking down on me from a position of power. “You may have some freedom now, but soon I will tighten that leash I put around your necks, and when I do, we will need to go through some extensive re-training. I’ll bring back that pain I loved seeing in your eyes. It reminds me of your filthy outsider mother.”

My body violently shook, and blood surged through my veins, pushing against the boundaries of my skin to rush at this man. To bring him down and pummel him into the ground until his brain matter made a Jackson Pollock.

“We’re here to support you, Uncle. You’re the head of the Ambros family.”

He turned away from me, looking down at Ravi. He was on his knees, palms to the floor, his head bent in reverence. Roux quickly bent to the floor in the same position, the two of them showing their bellies to the man we’d hated for most of our lives.

Seeing my strong-willed brothers like that sobered me of my anger, helping me focus back on the goal at hand. We’re playing the long game. We need to make him think we’re weak.

“I might be smart,” I said, trying to make my voice helpless and small, “but I know our place.” Letting my eyes soften, I choked out my next words. “It's to prove that even with our mixed heritage, the Ambros blood is still superior to all others.”

His hands slipped from my head, and he smirked down at me with that all-knowing smugness on his face. A sliver of defeat sliced into my soul. We’d worked hard to get rid of those kids that feared the man before us. The kids that didn’t know when the next strike was going to come, when the next soul-wrenching kill was going to be required, when the hellish training would ever stop. I logically understood the need to bend to his will, to pretend that we were those weak boys again, but a small piece of myself shook its head at us in sadness.

Suddenly, my Foedus phone went off. Still playing the part, I looked up at my uncle. He smiled brightly, nodding his permission. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and answered it. “Ambros.”

“A test has been approved,” a computer voice sounded. “Do you accept?”

Knowing this was loud enough for my uncle to hear, I looked to him, still playing the role of servant.

“Why the hell not? Go show them what an Ambros is made of.” He cackled as he left, heading down the hallway into the main room. His brown-nosing minion followed him closely, noting down everything he said.

Steeling my insides, my brothers and I stood up straight. “I accept.”

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