Page 30 of Mafia King's Surprise Baby

“I was meeting Ardian tonight, don’t you remember?”

His face grows stern. “He says he dropped you off two hours ago at Mattia’s.”

I shrug. “Then why are you asking where I was?”

“Because you weren’t at your brother’s.”

He checked, then. I didn’t think to let Hana know to cover for me. I needed to go see Leo. Had Ardian dropped me here, I wouldn’t have been able to sneak out again. Mattia and Hana are at a dinner party tonight, so I knew their house would be empty.

Best defense sometimes is attack. So I throw my hands up and huff. “I went for food, okay? That ignoramus ruined a perfectly good sole meunière with a Burgundy red.”

“Careful with that mouth of yours,figlia.”

I glare at him. Mattia always cowers in front of our father. I’ve learned to stand my ground whenever possible—he’d railroadme otherwise.

He waves at me with the glass. “And it took you two hours to find food?”

“You know of any place in Central Manhattan not booked out in advance on a Saturday night?”

“It’s past midnight, Bianca. What will people say?”

I shrug. “That I have a life?”

The frustration of tonight—Ardian at first, then Leo with his proposal, my unsatisfied body still screaming at me that I denied it a perfect encounter with a skillful lover, and now my father on my case—it all comes rushing to me like a tsunami engulfing everything on its path. I’m beyond caring what comes out of my mouth at this point.

“You don’t have a life!” he barks at me, making me flinch. “Your only purpose is to bring peace between us and the Albanians.”

Leo said something similar tonight. I hate seeing the truth laid out so bare before me.

My father takes a few steps toward me. “Don’t fuck this up, Bianca. Too much is riding on this. The Abrashis want a pure bride. You can’t let anything mar your reputation.”

I’m seeing red now. I’m just a commodity to them all.

“So just because I come home a little late one night, I’m a slut now?”

I don’t see the slap coming—just feel the crash of his meaty hand on my cheek, the smarting his fingers leave on my skin growinghot from the blow.

My father’s never raised a hand on me before.

“Don’t dishonor me. Or your fiancé.”

Something else Leo said flashes in my mind.

“My fiancé?” I ask. “When two people get engaged, the man puts a ring on the woman’s finger.” I wave my left hand in his face, beyond caring now. What’s he going to do? Hit me? He’s already crossed this line. “Where’s my engagement ring,padre?”

His mouth curls into a snarl. “Stop behaving like a little girl, Bianca. You and Ardian are getting married. You don’t need a ring for that.”

I know how far to push with my father, and I’ve come to the end of the road today. His cold dismissal has shut the door on me already.

I turn my back and go upstairs, closing the door to my bedroom with a thud. At least this brings me some satisfaction. I grab a pillow and yell out my exasperation in it.

Why is my life turning into such a fuckup?

My gaze lands on my left hand as I fall into a lump on the bed. No one looking at my ring finger would know I’m engaged.

Our marriage will be an alliance, yes, but we’re adhering to all the conventions of being engaged. Except for the ring. Suddenly, I’m ravenously curious why Ardian, or even his family, haven’t thought of giving me an engagement ring to further highlight the tie between us.

I pause and wonder: what do I really know about my fiancé?

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