Page 3 of Prized Possession

Airing our dirty laundry in public, or causing a spectacle the way Jacob has lately, has always been strictly prohibited. I’m actually a little surprised his father hasn’t tried to stop him before now.

“I didn’t know about that. Look, it’s our monthly poker night on Saturday, so I’ll talk to him about it then,” I reply, cringing as my father’s nose wrinkles in disgust once more.It really is a wonder he doesn’t have more frown lines.

“You two still do that?”

He sounds like I just told him we take turns shitting on the table while the other watches, as opposed to the innocent gambling night it actually is.

When Jacob and I started taking more responsibilities from our fathers, and our roles as rulers grew, we knew we needed to find a way to work together, whilst still holding on to our friendship.

Although I see Jake as more like my brother, and we bonded over the commonalities we have in life, when it comes to our personalities, we couldn’t be more different.

While he’s funny, out-going, a relentless flirt, and a genuinely nice guy, I’m almost the opposite. I’m quiet, broody, and I have a ‘stay the fuck away from me’ aura that I give off at all times.

I’m the one who looks like I’ll kill you in your sleep if you piss me off, when in actuality, Jacob’s the hothead with the bad temper. I’m more likely to bide my time, plotting my revenge out thoroughly, before striking when you least expect it, and when I know I’ll make the biggest impact.

Because of how different we are, we don’t always agree on how to handle things. So to stop arguments from escalating, we created our monthly poker night.

During the event, we bring up any issues we have disagreed over, and we play for them. The winner gets to deal with the issue however they choose. Then when all the problems are sorted, we play for fun.

Our fathers hate the idea, but it's the best thing we could come up with todeal with our differences, without risking our friendship. And so far, it’s been working well, but if Jake continues on like this, it won’t be long before I can’t protect him anymore, and his father will step in.

“You know we do,” I reply, trying not to sound sarcastic.

“Well, clearly it’s no longer working,” he snaps, glaring at me.

Oops, guess he picked up on the sarcasm.

“I’ve told you, I’ll sort it out this weekend,” I respond through gritted teeth.

Father lets out a huff followed by a long sigh. “It might be too late for that. It brings us to the reason I called the meeting in the first place. I think Caleb might be putting things in place to replace Jacob as his heir.”

My eyes snap open wide when I hear that, shock rippling through me like ice in my veins. “How?”

There are only a couple of ways that Jacob could be replaced, and I’d hate any of them. My heart races as my father sits there for a moment, looking like he’s trying to find the right words.

“Caleb made the announcement earlier. In six weeks, Chloe will marry Scott Caprillo, uniting their two families together. I’m guessing he will be looking for Scott to take over from Jacob, if he doesn’t get his shit together,” my father growls.

My stomach flips and my heart sinks as he confirms my worst case scenario. I try to focus on my work, pushing all thoughts ofherfrom my mind, the way I’ve been doing my whole life.

Chloe Santoro is the very definition of forbidden. She’s my best friend's little sister, the girl I’ve been picking on since she was in pigtails, the daughter of our rival family. She’s also the bane of my fucking existence—temptation at its finest—which is why I hate her so much.

“What the fuck is Caleb thinking? The Caprillos have been vying for power for years. If Scott and Chloe unite the two families, and that fucking prick, Scott, is made leader, it’s only a matter of time before he tries to overthrow us,” I grumble, trying to focus my anger on the business implications of this stupid fucking decision. Nothing more.

“I don’t know what Caleb is thinking, but you need to sort this before it goes too far. Jacob has to remain as leader or our peace treaty will fly out of the window. It’s on tentative ground as is,” he replies, far more calmly than I feel.

“How the fuck do you expect me to sort this? If their marriage has been arranged and announced…it’s final.”

The words feel like ash on my tongue, but I know it’s true. Very rarely in our world are the contracts of an arranged marriage nullified. Once you give your word and commit…there’s no going back.

“I don’t give a shit what you do, but you need to do something. I don’t thinkthere’s much to be done about the arranged marriage. Like you said, usually when these things are announced, they’re final. You’re gonna have to work on fixing Jacob.

“Caleb would only ever hand over the reins to someone else if he was sure Jacob couldn’t fulfil the role. He wants him to be his heir, so I suggest you focus on making Jacob aware of what he’s going to lose.”

As the words echo on repeat in my head, I know how tough this task will be. I may hate the pressure of being in the role I’m in, but I actually love my job, whereas Jacob has always hated it. The threat of him losing his status won’t bother him one bit, but I need it to.

A million plans, all more elaborate than the last, run through my head. I have no idea what I’m going to do, but as I make my promise to my father, I know I mean it.

“I promise you, I’ll sort this. The Caprillos will not get a single strand of power, if I have a say in it. No matter what I have to do, I’ll ensure our peace treaty remains intact, and our family continues to reign with as much power and influence as we do now.”

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