Page 52 of Take My Throne

Chapter Twenty

Isit opposite my father in a booth at Declan’s family’s restaurant, watching with disgust as he breaks apart a lobster, eating it with his bare hands. I really hate the man, but I plaster a bright smile on my face and pretend to be enjoying myself as I pick at my spaghetti.

“I must say, the Dauphin family chef has outdone himself this time.” My father slowly licks juice from his fingers. “This lobster is truly divine. I wonder if he’d be open to a change in position? I can do with a new chef. I’m becoming rather bored with our current cook’s efforts.”

“Can’t you just get a new chef without stealing someone else’s?” I suggest. “Do you really have to undermine the Dauphin restaurant because you fancy a change of menu?”

“But where would be the fun in that, Ivy?” My father smirks. “Food tastes much better when it comes at the expense of my enemies.”

“But the Dauphins don’t have to be your enemies,” I point out. “You could work with them, not against them. Think about how successful your business would be if you did that.”

My father bursts out into raucous laughter. “Oh, my dear sweet girl. So wonderfully naïve. So foolishly stupid. I couldn’t possibly work with the Dauphins. They are nowhere near my level. If you want your business to fail, collaborate with the Dauphins, my child.”

I bristle at the way he patronises me. His arrogance is outstanding. Every word he utters makes it easier for me to imagine pulling the trigger and permanently wiping that smile off his face.

“Would sir like to see the dessert menu?”

The waiter comes over to take away our plates, giving me a break from having to listen to my father blather on.

“No need. I’ll have the cheese plate with a coffee and my daughter will just have a coffee. She needs to watch her weight.”

Jeez. The man doesn’t know when to shut up.

“Very good.” The waiter gives a little bow as he collects our plates and disappears off to the kitchen.

I glare at my father, who laughs.

“What’s your problem? Just because you’re a married woman doesn’t mean you can let yourself go,” he says. “Lucas deserves an attractive wife. It’s important that you maintain appearances for his sake. He’ll need a beautiful woman to support him when he’s negotiating business deals.”

That is it. I almost regret not agreeing to let the Dauphins poison my father. It is like he is deliberately trying to annoy me. I swear that as soon as we finish with my father, I am going to get the boys to take me to the ice cream parlour, and I am going to stuff my face with every single flavour. I’ll be the one smiling then.

When the waiter brings over the cheese plate, my mouth starts to water. I struggled to eat my spaghetti because being around my father has a negative effect on my appetite, but I feel like grabbing a huge hunk of brie and stuffing it in my mouth, just to prove to him I can do whatever I wanted.

Instead, I pick up my coffee cup and make a big show of inhaling the aroma.

“Mmm. You’re right, dad. I needed this.” I take a sip and have to admit that the coffee is amazing. Rich and creamy, it perks me right up. I can imagine getting Declan to make me coffee every morning in bed with whatever blend his restaurant uses.

I can’t help the slow smile that spreads across my face at the thought, but, of course, my father picks up on it.

“What are you thinking about, Ivy?”

“Oh, just enjoying my coffee,” I reply lightly.

“Are you sure that’s all? Don’t think I haven’t noticed how distracted you’ve been over the past couple of weeks.”

“I’ve had a lot on my mind,” I tell him, being completely honest for once.

“If you weren’t so easily distracted by all the other House heirs, you might be able to think more clearly,” my father says. “I do wish you’d listen to me more. I know what it takes to run a House. I thought your time in foster care would toughen you up, but instead it seems to have made you weak. If I’d have known that would happen, I’d have taken you out long ago.”

“So, why didn’t you?” I ask. “All I’ve heard from you is complaints about how things would have been different if you’d been in my life sooner, but from where I’m sitting, I can’t see any good reason for you abandoning me for so long.”

“It’s like I told you,” my father says. “I live a dangerous life. I thought foster care was the safest place for you. I had faith that your Archaic nature would see you through. It would appear that I underestimated the impact your weak mother would have on you.”

“My mother wasn’t weak,” I say through gritted teeth. “She got away from you, didn’t she?”

“Only because I let her.” My father shrugs nonchalantly. “Believe me, if I hadn’t wanted her gone, she’d have spent the rest of her days with me. Nobody walks out on me without my permission.”

Oh, dear father. If only you knew what I have planned for you. You wouldn’t be anywhere near so cocky.

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