Page 45 of Ruthless Rival

“Quiet, Alessia. You can’t possibly stick up for her!” Giulia said, shaking her head at her sister.

Alberto waved his hand dismissively, trying to quiet his children down. “How did you know that Gabriela was a Castillo?” he asked Adriano.

Adriano glared at his father. “I hired a private investigator when you started acting strange. You were distracted and acting in a way I hadn’t ever seen before. Now, I can see you were thinking with your dick instead of your head.”

Alberto slammed his fist down on the table, making everyone tense up as they sat quietly at the table. “Don’t talk to me like that.” He seethed while staring his son down.

Marco placed his hand on Adriano’s shoulder to calm him down.

Adriano shoved him off. “I was worried about you. I thought you were in trouble. Turns out you were. You had a Castillo snake wrapped around your neck this entire time,” Adriano said as his eyes shifted over to me. “You really thought you could sneak your way into this family and destroy it from the inside.”

“I’m not a snake. I’m not here to hurt any of you,” I replied, putting my hands up innocently. I came here in peace. It was easy for me to see that Adriano was like his father in more ways than one. They were both deathly serious about protecting their family.

“Peace?” Lorenzo scoffed. “Your family tried to burn down our house and go after our sisters!” He crossed his arms over his chest. “That doesn’t sound like peace.”

“I’m not my family. Their actions do not reflect how I feel,” I protested, raising my voice more to be heard.

“You have Castillo blood running through your veins! You are every bit your family and your father!” Adriano shouted at me.

I shot up to my feet and looked down at Adriano, not fearing him. He could spout off lies and accusations, but he wasn’t going to claim that I was my father. “I hate my father! He did terrible things to me and to so many innocent people. He and his cartel deserve to be taken down, and I want to help you do that if you stop being so damn stubborn,” I told Adriano in a firm voice.

Adriano maintained his glare. “Castillos are snakes. I have no reason to believe you,” he gritted out.

“Adriano!” Alberto snapped at his son, beginning to jump to his feet.

I put my hand out to keep him from getting up. “Stop! Everyone here needs to actually listen to me and stop making assumptions about who you think I am!” I exclaimed, feeling the unrest at the table as everyone looked at each other like they had to pick a side. I wasn’t here to divide them. “I know you hate my family. They’re terrible for all the people they’ve killed, hurt, and betrayed, but I don’t want to be associated with them!”

“There are plenty of Castillos who follow Santiago,” Giulia spoke up with her arms crossed over her chest. She stared at me with a cold expression. “Why are you an outlier?”

“Because I know what it feels like to be hurt by my father,” I replied, silence following my words. I swallowed hard as the weight of their stares threatened to crush me. However, I stood tall. “He disowned me as a daughter and a Castillo, and I won’t just stand by and let him hurt more people when I can help stop him.”

Adriano clenched his jaw tightly, maintaining his narrowed eyes as he listened. He mirrored his father, who watched the situation unfold with a steely expression on his face. “Why approach us?” he questioned me.

“You’re the most powerful crime family in town,” I said matter-of-factly. “And my father’s number one enemy. The choice was obvious.”

“Is dating our father part of your plan?” Lorenzo spoke up. “Because if you want to play the good guy, that’s not an admirable way of going about it.”

I frowned slightly. I didn’t see myself as an overall hero or role model, but I was better than my father. “At first, I approached Alberto because I wanted to form an alliance with you all. I can’t take the cartel down alone,” I admitted. “But I fell in love with him. I didn’t expect it, but it happened. Now, I’m pregnant with his baby.”

“Pregnant?” Alessia gasped her hand flying over her mouth.

Giulia shook her head, as she looked disgusted.

I turned to Alberto with a soft smile. “I’d be honored to be married to your father and to raise a child with him. I don’t care that he’s a Mancini. He’s the only person who accepts me as I am,” I said, sharing a warm look with my now fiancé. I glanced back at the others. “I know that it’ll take time, but I hope you’ll come to see that I love your father. I just want him to be happy, and I’d never do anything to hurt him or any of you.”

Adriano shook his head silently, obviously not fully convinced. He stood from the table, knocking his chair back before stalking off.

Giulia pulled away from Alessia, who tried to keep her seated and followed Adriano.

“I’m sorry. I should go check on him,” Lorenzo said as he nodded to me and his father. He hurried off after his brother, leaving me, Alberto, Marco, and Alessia behind.

Alessia turned to me with an apologetic look on her face. “Just give them time. It’s… a lot of news to take in,” she said, offering me a small smile.

Marco lifted his wine glass slightly. “Congrats,” he said with a weak grin.

I let Alberto pull me into a firm hug, burying my face in his chest. That didn’t go as well as I hoped it would, but time was the ultimate healer. If I were patient, maybe things would work out.

Hopefully.

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