Page 12 of The Vatican

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“Yes.”

The water bottle went flying across the room.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” I raged. I started pacing, my heart racing at the implications of what he just told him.

“Franc-”

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“No, Dad,” I snapped, one of the very few times in my life when I’ve treated him like my father only and not Luca Benetti. “First, I have to tell her she’s been betrothed to me since we were fucking kids, and now I have to tell her just as she’s seriously interested in someone else?” I shook my head, and my laugh was dark and hollow. “You guys fucked me, Dad. Well and truly fucked me.” Then I realized they hadn’t. “No. That’s not true,” I amended, shaking my head. “I fucked myself when I listened to you guys. Iknewbetter, Dad. I knew fucking better than to wait, and I let you guys decide for me anyway.”

“Francisco, I know this feels…challenging, but-”

I stopped in front of him. “Challenging?!” I thundered. “Saveria is going to hate me, Dad!” My rage must be taking over common sense for me to be yelling at my father this way, but everything I thought Saveria and I would have was being threatened right now. “She’s going to fucking hate me, Dad. Do you understand that? The girl I’m supposed to marry and the only girl I have ever fucking loved is going tohateme. What in the hell am I supposed to do with that?”

“Luca will be upset, undoubtedly, but once she calms down-”

I scoffed.

Oh, the fucking irony.

“Calms down, Dad?” I huffed out humorlessly. “Saveria is not Mom, Aunt Frankie, or Aunt Robbie. She’s not some girl who’s going to rant and rave and then be fucking placated by her love for me.” It was getting hard to breathe with reality’s foot firmly planted on my chest. “You’ve been grooming that girl to lead with me over the entire Benetti Family since the day she was fucking born,” I reminded him. “If she’d been born a Benetti, she would have become the Underboss and you well know it. Where Cira would never stand a chance, I know what Saveria is capable of, and I know if anyone has what it takes to take this family to the next level, it’s her. And you think someone that…willful, that intelligent, that strong is going to calm down?” I shook my head. “She’s going to hate me for taking away her choices, and you know it.”

My dad pierced me with his black eyes. “Are you backing out?”

I snarled but stepped back. I was crossing lines and I didn’t want to cross another one by coming to blows with my father.“Never,”I bit out. “Saveria is mine. I won’t let her go, even if she does end up hating me.” Dad gave me a sharp nod. I knew it was the answer he wanted. “But you guys have sentenced us to a miserable marriage with your faulty guidance.”

“Now, Fran-”

“No, Dad, don’t try to defend this away,” I said, cutting him off. “You guys might not have spoiled Saveria, but you guys rearranged whatever you could to make sure she was happy. By giving her all that unnecessary freedom, she’s going to spend the rest of her life miserable, making me miserable as well.”

He didn’t argue with any of it, but I suspected it was because he knew I wasn’t in a place to listen. Instead, he said, “You need to tell her first thing tomorrow.”

My entire body was vibrating with unspent anger. “And the guy?” I did my best to focus on what I could control. Saveria’s emotions couldn’t be controlled. Hell, no woman’s emotions could be controlled.

“Phoenix already sent Sal his information for a complete background check.”

Now I was getting pissed for another reason. “How in the fuck did he make it into her apartment without a background?”

“Mica did a preliminary, then another one the first time he’d visited.”