Page 121 of The Kiss Of Death
“Are you embarrassed of me?” he demanded once more.
“No.” I dropped my gaze. “But you can’t control me or us. You should have asked me first.”
“You would have refused.”
I shook my head, taking a step away from him. “Not the point!”
“You can fight me on lots of things, Dalia. I’ll give you everything you ask for. I’ll always take your side, torture anyone for you. You asked me to stop interfering with your music, so I did. I may be yours, but I’m still me. All I need is for you to give me this. Your grandmother already knows about us, and youcalled me your boyfriend. You rejected me four years ago, so I made sure that wouldn’t happen again.”
A flash of anger flickered across his face, his lips pressing into a thin line, the corners downturned slightly. I had hit a nerve. So that was what all of this was about. Levi feared I’d be ashamed of him, so to prevent that, he struck first.
“If you’d have explained to me that it was important to you, maybe I’d have said yes. But you should have trusted me to pick you, to fight for you.” I paused, landing my eyes hard on him. “It wasn’t okay to go behind my back and—”
The jarring ring of my phone halted me in my tracks, and my eyes fixated on the caller ID displaying my father’s name. I’d been waiting for him to call for so long that now that he was doing it, I felt on the verge of having a heart attack.
“I have to pick up,” I muttered, pacing in the hallway. “Tell the teacher I’ll be late.”
“I’ll stay here if you need me.”
I picked up my phone, clenching my fist.
“Hi, Dad,” I managed to say, my words punctuated by the erratic thudding of my heart. “I’m about to go to fencing class, maybe—”
Before I could finish my sentence, my father’s voice sliced through the line, his words striking me like a physical blow. “I saw the picture on your account. I won’t state how disappointed I am. I got words from Sylas’s father about your ‘boyfriend.’ Out of all the men, it had to behim. Again.”
“I didn’t want to talk to you about him unless it got official,” I mumbled, turning in a circle across the hallway.
“I see.” He paused. “It looks like a very serious relationship indeed. I shouldn’t have trusted you. Partying. Kissing boys. Probably drinking and having sex? Dammit!” I closed my eyes as his roar echoed in my ears, and he slammed something on his desk. “I have problems at work, and you’re making everythingabout yourself again! I called the headmaster of his high school. He’s a bully—”
“You don’t know him like I do,” I pleaded, feeling my eyes watering.
“Right.” He chuckled. “We’ll talk about that boy problem when you’re back on Friday. I’ve been more than patient with you and your teenage crises! You’re nothing like your mom. You’re not the daughter we raised.”
He hung up, and I stared at my phone in defeat, my hands shaking.
“Well, it happened as expected,” I breathed.
I sensed Levi’s presence beside me without needing to turn around.
“I don’t even want to go back for Christmas. After Mom’s death, Grandma tried to keep the magic happening, but now it’s ruined.” I tugged at my sleeves, fighting to hold back the tears. “He’s going to stop loving me, but he can’t protect me forever from the world. I-I should have been honest. I should—”
“I’ll make him change his mind about me,” Levi declared, cold and unwavering.
This time, I spun around to face him, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. “You hate my father, Levi, and he hates you. He punched you and broke the Cigno Nero because of a single kiss. He looked into your past. He’ll never approve, and he never loses to anyone.”
“But I’m me.” Levi crossed his arms. “I’ll charm him.”
“You posted that picture without telling me because you’re selfish. You don’t care about my relationship with my father. What you want, you take, no matter the collateral damage!”
“I can fix this.” His tone, laced with threat, sent shivers down my spine as his dark eyes locked onto mine. “How about I promise he’ll change his mind and give you your freedom?”
I took a step forward, raising my chin. “And how are you going to do that?”
“I’ll come with you.”
I blinked. “This Christmas?”
“Only if you want me to.”
