Page 52 of The Reluctant Wife

"Like I give a fuck what the old man thinks?" I sneer.

"Also, he’s, ah, holding a dinner tonight at his house in honor of the princess, and he insists the three of you attend."

"What bullshit," I snap.

Tyler shifts his weight from foot to foot. "You know Gramps. He’s…adamant that you attend."

"It’s not safe for her to leave here."

"He’s asked Quentin, Nathan, and all of our brothers to be in attendance, and to provide protection."

I scoff.

"In addition to your own team, of course."

Resentment floods my senses. Also, anger and a sense of disbelief. "If the old man thinks he’s going to call me, and I'll come running—" My phone buzzes. I ignore it. "I’m responsible for the princess’ protection, and I say it’s dangerous for her to leave this safe house."

"Now, look here—" her asshole fiancé sputters.

I give him a look so poisonous, he cowers.

"Ryot, please, give me a chance to explain—" Aura begins to speak at the same time.

I sneer, "Not interested," and she subsides. But not before she aims an angry look in my direction.Good. That makes two of us who’re pissed off.

My phone stops, then starts again, adding to the confusion.

"You should take that," Tyler murmurs.

"Oh, for fuck’s sake." I pull out the device to shut it off, then realize it’s my grandfather calling.Of course, it is."I’m tempted to ignore the call. Ishouldignore the call."

"Don’t," Tyler warns. "Better to face the old man now than later, when it’s only going to make things worse."

I hesitate. He has a point. Arthur is not the kind of man who can be ignored. In fact, he’ll only take it a sign of encouragement and double his efforts in trying to reach me. Likely, he’ll find a way to make my life miserable in the meantime, too. If that's possible. I walk away from the rest and answer the call, "What?"

There’s silence, then Arthur’s chuckle floats down the phone. "Is that anyway to talk to your ailing grandfather?"

"Last I heard, you were given a clean bill of health."

He was diagnosed with lung cancer six months ago, but they caught it in time. He’s now on targeted therapy, and the disease is in check. He’ll need to take pills for the rest of his life, but it hasn’t affected his lifestyle in any way. If anything, Arthur’s tried to pack even more into his life. He’s found himself a girlfriend—not that the Harley driving, shit-kickers-wearing Imelda would appreciate being described as that. He also took on the project of getting his as-yet unwedded youngest son and grandsons married off. I’m proud I’ve held out so far.

"At my age though, it’s like the lottery. You never know when the disease might rear its head again." He coughs.

"One can only hope," I mutter. "Wait, did the doctors say something?"

"Nope, but that doesn't mean I don’t have much time left." His voice sounds morose. I have a sneaking suspicion he’s playing me, but I find my mood softening anyway.

"You’ll likely outlive us all, old man." I drag my fingers through my hair.

When I glance up, it’s to find all three of them watching me—the princess with a mixture of anger and hope in her eyes, the fiancé with confusion and apprehension, and Tyler with an expression that says,I told you so.

I glance away and scowl into the phone. "If you’re calling me about this so-called dinner?—"

"I’m expecting you there with the princess and her fiancé," he says in an imperious voice that sets my teeth on edge. Clearly, the dominant part of us is something we inherited from Gramps, given how weak my father was in front of him. Also, I have no intention of obeying him.

"No," I snap.

"Thought you’d say that." The old man’s voice is filled with satisfaction. He anticipated my response, and he doesn’t seem upset. In fact, he almost seems to relish my defiance. The hair on the back of my neck rises.

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