Page 51 of Bound to Him

“And what if it angered him? What if he flipped and hit you? Huh?” Tony asked frantically.

“The most important thing is that she’s okay. Just make sure she isn’t alone with him again,” Huxley said, eyeing me as if to ask why I hadn’t told him about this the other night on the pier. “We need to focus on what we’re going to do about him.”

“What’s your plan?” Tony asked, controlling his anger.

Huxley looked at me, then back at Tony. He sighed. “Don Antonio isn’t very happy with your father right now. He fucked up when he let Christian into our lives and our business.” Tony still looked pissed, but he nodded in understanding. “He threatened to pull out of the treaty deal, cancel the wedding altogether.”

“What?” all three of us said simultaneously. Tony in astonishment, myself and Viola in excitement.

Huxley nodded. “Unless your father stops all business with the Colombian cartel.”

“Well of course!” Tony said, but Huxley wasn’t done and lifted a finger.

“But not yet.”

“What?”

“We can’t tip Christian off that we know anything. We need to get him close to us.”

Nodding, Tony agreed, “Alright.”

“Then there's the second condition, if your family wants to keep the treaty alive.”

I sunk in disappointment. It really sounded like Huxley found a way not to marry Viola, but I realized now he was still trying to keep the deal alive, for our families’ sake, no doubt. Tony raised his brows in question.

“Let's call it… a bride swap.” My and Viola’s ears perked up again, while Tony just looked confused. “Viola and I don't love each other.” He turned to her. “Do we?”

She scoffed. “Not in this lifetime.”

“But Olivia and I do.”

The room fell silent.

23

Huxley

Tony’s face fell. He was already in a pissed mood before, but now he looked on the edge of livid. “I'm sorry, what? Olivia, what’s he talking about?”

“Oh my God, yes!” Viola raised her hands into the air. “I knew something was up!”

“You did?” Olivia asked, looking terrified.

“Yeah!” her sister answered her. “You knew a little too much about love for someone who’s never felt it… I called bullshit. I knew something was up and then when you told me that Huxley isn’t anything like Papà…” She shrugged, smiling.

Well, at least we know she was fine with it.

“Someone tell me what the fuck is going on here?” Tony just about shouted. I stood up, hoping to calm Tony down and explain. But Olivia lifted a hand to stop me, looking for the words.

“Um… well,” she looked at me, then back at them, “I’ve been seeing Huxley for the past few weeks…”

“What?” Tony roared.

“But we ended it last week! It wasn’t going to carry on, I promise!” She was pleading with her sister, who literally shrugged a shoulder. Tony, on the other hand, came at me.

I thought this might happen, and I knew that I would take it. Olivia was worth dying over, so a brawl was nothing compared. He grabbed me by the shirt, just like he did to Al.

“Omigosh no!” Olivia shouted, jumping up, and holding onto his arm.

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