Page 3 of Obsession of the Egoist
Life is hilarious…He thought when the last spasms of laughter died in his chest. He wiped his face with his palm, staring up at the tiled ceiling.
Didn’t I want this?His icy fingers covered his eyes, bringing slight relief.Sowhy am I not happy? God, life is so fucking funny…
CHAPTER 1
SLAMMING THE CAR DOORshut, Yugo started the engine. Mio, sitting on the front passenger seat, bumped his fist against the glove box and fished out a cigarette pack. His thin fingers dove into the brown wrapping and pulled out a cigarette. Irritation arose in Yugo’s chest. Not caring if he hurt Mio, he slapped the pack out of his hands; flipping in the air, it disappeared under the seat.
“Ouch!” Mio’s head snapped to the side as he pierced Yugo with a sharp, unhappy stare. He shook his hands in the air with exaggeration and knitted his brows together.
“Don’t provoke me, Mio,” Yugo warned, driving the car out of the gates of the private hospital his organization had an agreement with. “You don’t want to upset me any more than you already have.”
“Upset you?” Grabbing the wheel, Mio jerked it to himself.
The tires screeched as Yugo hit the brakes, nearly crashing against the gates. Grinding his teeth, he turned to the younger man. Mio looked paler than usual, but that only emphasized the hardened line of his mouth and the glowing determination in his eyes.
“What about me? I wait and wait and wait until you fucking look at me. See me. Love me. But all you do is an occasional, half-assed blowjob. You don’t even let me touch you, but you let him sleep in your bed. I’m tired of waiting. You treat your fuck-toys better than me, and I was supposed to be your lover. That was the deal.”
“You are my nephew.” Mio flinched as if Yugo had slapped him with the words. “If you are this unhappy, maybe it’s time for you to stop waiting and move on.”
The dark, full lips trembled, biting back a painful grimace before Mio attacked again, “I only did what you taught me to do. You always said that I have to fight for what I want. I did!”
“You did. And it’s time you understand that every decision has consequences. Pick your enemies wisely, Mio. You challenged me. You plotted against me. You took from me. You disrespected me, insulted even. What did you think would happen next?” Yugo pushed the words through gritted teeth. His blood boiled, and he gripped the wheel tighter, hoping that it would stop his brewing outburst of aggression.
“I did it because I love you.” The ardor drained from Mio, and his ashen face whitened even more. “I just wanted you to look at me…”
“Well, you got what you wanted. You have my whole attention,” Yugo rasped, never looking away from the black mirrors of Mio’s pupils. “Pick your punishment.”
A light headshake sent small ripples down Mio’s bony frame. “N-no. You can’t do that. I’m not a kid anymore.”
“Pick. Your. Punishment. Or I will.” Yugo pressed, dropping his tone to an eerie whisper.
“No, Yugo, please… I only did…” Grabbing the man’s arm with his toothpick fingers, Mio trailed off, crashing against the cold, uncompromising glare Yugo granted him.
“One year with Tobias.” Yugo gave his verdict.
“A whole year?” Anger flushed Mio’s pale cheeks as his nails sunk into Yugo’s forearm. “Because of a fuck toy? You can’t do that to me…”
“Keep talking and I’ll make it two.” The dead, emotionless voice rolled out from Yugo’s chest. He smirked at the dread settling in Mio’s eyes. “You’re forbidden to go home. You aren’t allowed to use a car, credit cards, or to leave Tobias’ place without his permission. You aren’t allowed to visit me unless I call for you. If you disobey, I’ll send you away to a place you wouldn’t be able to escape. Maybe a year with him will make you smarter.”
“No. That’s too long…” Mio shook his head. Azure eyes welled up with tears. He blinked, and two shimmering drops, broke free from his long, colorless lashes, trailed down his cheeks. Yugo squinted, wondering if they were real.
“I’m in the middle of the war. I have enough on my shoulders without dealing with the spikes of your jealousy.” Yugo said, as cold as he could, watching the corners of Mio’s mouth drop. Unable to hold back, he said, adding a fair amount of sarcasm to his voice, “Maybe Tobias can teach you how to pick your enemies or, at least, how to look around for security cameras. Stupidity is unforgivable, but hopefully, curable. Next time you plot against a stronger opponent, make sure your plan succeeds, and don’t get caught, because your next opponent might not be as kind.” Yugo slammed his palm against the wheel; Mio jerked with the loud outburst. “What were you thinking? I didn’t raise you to be this stupid! I’m not even talking about you backstabbing me or nearly getting Kuon killed. You risked your own life, and for what?”
“The gun wasn’t loaded. I risked nothing.”
“Idiot, you risked everything. You risked my trust, your life, and the lives of the people who failed to protect you. Have you thought about what would have happened to them if your plan succeeded? Do you think I would have forgiven them for losing sight of you? For allowing someone to kidnap you from under their noses? What do you think I would have done to them, to Greg?”
“I didn’t care…”
“You didn’t care…” Yugo squeezed the wheel harder as the itch to hit Mio grew. “We’re only as strong as the people around us. If you think they will follow you because you’re a Santelli, you’re mistaken. There will be people like Gustavo, but friendship is a rare phenomenon in our kind of business. There will be some you can control with fear, but most of your followers will be like Tobias—powerful, resourceful, and smart. You can buy their loyalty with comfort and support. As long as they’re happy, they will go through a lot to stay by your side, but don’t expect them to go broke or die for you.
“There will be people like Rudolph. Do you think you’re lucky he is your uncle? Use your brain. What value do you offer him except another pretty face and ass he can sell? Although maybe I’m mistaken, you might hold some sentimental value; after all, he wanted to marry your mother. But unlike you, Milana wasn’t an idiot. She knew he would use her and chose your father instead. Since it was an arranged marriage, it didn’t matter which Scarsi brother she married as long as there was a merger. Listen to me, if you don’t learn how to control him, he will whore you out to old perverts to gain influence and wealth the moment I die.”
Mio swallowed.
“You think you’re smart because people let you manipulate them? They only allow it because you’re my nephew. Because they’re scared of what I could do to them if something happened to you. Do you think you can afford Tobias’ services? Do you have enough money for that? Do you have enough connections to keep Rudolph in check? What would you do if I die, Mio?”
“If you know all this, why do you keep them?”
