Page 21 of King

We’re walking up the stairs, towards our side of the house, and I’m lost in thought, trying to figure out the most effective way to stop this bullshit. Guido says, “Mom, they hate us. Why are you bothering to try? My father still doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

It breaks my heart. Every son deserves a father.

I slip my arm around his waist and pull him to my side. “Hey, I promise you, it’s going to get better. I’ll fix this. We aren’t leaving and we aren’t going to let those boys treat us like this either.”

He doesn’t reply and I realize he doesn’t believe me. I’m letting him down. He’s losing faith in me and I will not accept that. The anger inside me triples as the urge to protect my son fires uncontrollably.

Once Guido is settled and busy in his room, I wander through the estate looking for Giovanni. I’ve decided to inform him that I won’t tolerate any of this behavior and while he doesn’t have to do anything about it - he should know that I will be taking control of the situation.

Giovanni is sitting in his office in the West wing. He’s focused on his laptop with his brows knotted as he sifts through spreadsheets and emails.

“We need to talk.” I say, walking inside.

“Not now.” He says, without looking up.

“Yes,now.” I say, sitting down in the chair opposite him.

He huffs and rolls his eyes, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his broad chest.

“What is it?” he snaps.

“Why are you avoiding me, Gio?” I ask without hostility, because while everyone else has been rude - he has been absent. I might, for a moment, give him the benefit of the doubt that he’s been busy.

His eyes flare slightly. “I’m not.” He denies the obvious.

“You are. And your staff treat me like shit. And your sons are nothing but rude to Guido and me.”

He swallows hard and presses his lips together tightly. Watching his expression, all I see is discomfort. He hardly looks at me.

“Giovanni. Why can’t you even look at me? I’m sitting right in front of you.” I snap.

When his eyes meet mine, his pupils dilate and his eyes narrow. He clenches his jaw as his gaze drops to my lips. Tension sparks between us and my lips part as desire floods through me. Something in his eyes triggers memories of the past. My cheeks flush and I shift in my seat.

I didn’t come here with the intention of being distracted by him in this way. This feeling came out of nowhere, just from the way he was looking at me.

I stand up quickly, pressing my hands against his desk.

“You know what - I don’t expect you to doanythingabout it, Gio. But I’m letting you know that I’m not going to tolerate it. I demand respect, no matter what I have to do to get it.”

“Zina, just give them time.” He says softly, his voice a deep hum.

“No, they’ve had enough time. We’ve been here for a week and they treat us worse every day. I’m done being patient. I don’t expect them to gush over us like best friends - but I do expect manners. Basic polite manners.”

Gio sighs and brushes his hand through his shaggy dark hair. He shakes his head and closes his eyes for a second. My eyes trace over his chiseled features, his strong, square jaw.

He can try to shut me out as much he wants, but he also needs to learn that I’m not going anywhere.

“And you need to stop avoiding your son. Give him a chance, Gio. Take the time to get to know him.”

He nods, letting out a slow breath.

I’ve said what I had to say.

Turning away from him I hope that if he does anything,even one thing,it’s spending some time with Guido . He can keep avoiding me. But not Guido .

With satisfaction I turn towards our side of the mansion, but walking back upstairs I’m thinking about his eyes, how they filled with darkness when he looked at me - an intensity I found so familiar. With a fright I stop mid step and my eyes widen in surprise.

Idorecognize it.

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