Page 50 of For the Gods' Sake

There were two trays on the table, stuffed with clean, healthy looking cuts of raw fish meant to be placed over toast or eggs. “Criticize them, fine,” I said. “But don’t do so while reaping the benefits of their power.”

I collapsed slightly down into my chair with an exhale.

Damon openly scowled at me and I stared back with a blank expression. And then he just had to go ahead and push it. “Fiesty as always, babe.”

My mother let out a choked sound. I ignored it.

If Damon wanted me to be fiesty, I could give him fiesty. “Damon, get out of my house. I don’t care if my father invited you, I don’t want you here.”

Damon looked to my father for help. Thankfully, his paternal instincts seemed to kick in. “I’ll have to concede to my daughter’s request,” he said thinly.

With a loud snort, Damon rose from his chair, throwing down his napkin, and marched back through the house.

Renato got up a second later, the empty carafe in hishand and went inside in search of more alcohol. Leaving the four of us, the core family my father held so dearly, alone.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” I told my mother earnestly. “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind. And we realized we were both invited so we just—”

My mother cut me off with a calm hand on my own. “It’s alright, sweetie. My only request is that you bring him over for dinner so we can meet him in a more personal context.”

Of course they’d met him, but only as a god. “I’ll ask him,” I said with a smile. I laughed internally, realizing that I’d really be forcing him to come for dinner as a condition of our agreement.

“While your mother is being graceful as always,” my father cut in, forcing my attention back to his hard-set face. “It does not change the fact that your choices reflect poorly on this family.”

“Why?” I basically growled.

“Do you know what it does to our reputation?” His hands folded together over the table. “To have our legacy, ourhard work, overshadowed by the details of your personal life?”

In one context, he might have a point. The news and the media loved to sensationalize things. Our family name may always be tied to Jupiter in some respects. If I wasn’t poised to take over the family business, it might not be as big of an issue.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked quietly. Hoping it’d be this easy. But equally dreading the prospect that my side of our agreement would be satisfied so soon.

Yes, I’d promised Adrian three months for hisreputation’s sake. But it would be harder to remind myself that this was an arrangement—and just that—if I wasn’t working towards something.

My father studied me, like he caught some flash of emotion on my face. Whatever he thought he saw seemed to disappear quickly. Replaced by that hard stubbornness I’d grown used to. “I want you to understand that your actions affect this family. They affect meandyour mother. We do not need any more stress.”

I looked to my mother, who stayed quiet. As much as I loved her, this was always our issue. She agreed with my father. I was the one who had to oppose him, to be the odd one out.

The words fell with a heavy, oppressive weight on my shoulders. It wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard before. Thatmystubbornness was causing the family strife, rather than my father’s refusal to change his ideals or my mother’s quiet agreement or my brother’s passiveness.

And the thought made an old, familiar frustration build in my veins. I couldn’t do this, couldn’t weather this any longer. It reminded me too much of a time where I’d felt like a burden to my family, causing my parents pain because of my mind. Because of something I couldn’t control.

I stood, folding my napkin neatly and placing it to the side of my barely-touched food. “I do not mean to cause you stress,” I said, choosing my words with extreme care. “I’m happy to discuss what you’d like me to do to fix the damage you feel I’ve done another time.” I looked at my father while I said it, making sure he knew that this would be a longer discussion.

I walked over and placed a kiss on my father, my brother,and my mother’s cheeks, keeping the peace.

“Will I see you soon?” my mother asked as I rounded her side of the table.

Because I couldn’t help but push back slightly, I said, “Yes. Maybe I’ll bring Adrian over for dinner this week.”

My father’s expression tightened at the realization that the god of the skies was simplyAdrianto me. I ignored it, letting his frustration build silently. Enough that he’d eventually crack.

I walked briskly away from the table, rounding the side of the house and falling against the wall, releasing a heavy exhale. Hot, frustrated tears built at the corner of my eyes. A heavy weight descended on my chest, a mix of guilt and heartache.

I rubbed my hands together, pulling some sensation away from my chest. When I looked down at my hands, I saw the bracelet Adrian had given me fall over my wrist.

Without thinking twice about whether using it barely a day since he’d given it to me was too fast, I pressed down on the opal stone in the bracelet. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but what happened was nothing I could have ever dreamt up.

My surroundings melted away like splatters of wet, heavy, paint falling down a wall. The climbing ivy and limestone side of my parents' house was replaced with the rich swaths of color of Adrian’s.

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