Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 88153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Too much and at the age when I’m going to have to start making sure the sharks are kept away from her. You’ll meet her at dinner. We’ll eat promptly at seven, so be there early so that Antonio can talk with you.”
I stand and Maxwell surprises me even more by hugging me. It’s so out of character that for a minute I can’t move. “I will take care of you, Niko,” he promises, and I doubt he knows what his words do to me. You would think at twenty-eight it would bother me when someone tries to look out for me. I stand on my own. I always have and I always will. I may do it breaking laws and making my own, but I still do it. I don’t want to be close to anyone. I have one friend who I grew up with and keep close with. That’s it. Everyone else in my life is expendable—with the exception of Maxwell Korslova. He’s the one man in the world I’d die for without a second thought.
Fuck, he’s probably the only man I would let hug me, so I stiffly let him, clear my throat, and turn the topic of discussion back to my meeting with the union president. I shove the emotion Maxwell pulled from me down and lock it away.
That’s where it belongs. In my world, you can’t allow yourself to be emotional.
Ever.
CHAPTER 2
Emilia
I brush my hair out for the millionth time. I’d rather wear it up, but I know it makes my father happy when it’s down. I frown as I look at the pale blue dress that I’m wearing. It’s one of my father’s favorites. It’s definitely not mine. It makes me look like a little kid. I’m not stupid. I know my father would love to keep me a child forever. I’m fourteen! I want to go out on dates, but he refuses to let me. If it wasn’t for my best friend Zoe, I’d be all alone inside this house that I like to think of as a prison. It’s too bad she’s not here tonight. I do better when Zoe is by my side. She makes everything better. If she didn’t go to the same school with me, I’d be miserable. I’m an introvert—a major introvert—with so much anxiety that I don’t even like myself. If I don’t like me, I don’t know why anyone else would.
Except for Zoe.
Zoe gets me. She doesn’t pressure me to be anything different than I am. She doesn’t make fun of me for my nervousness around people. She’s also one of the few people who have witnessed my panic attacks and not judged me. No one knows I have those except for my dad, Zoe, and Martha. Martha is my nanny. I know I’m a little old for a nanny, but my father kept her on the payroll—mostly for me. She’s the closest thing I have to a mother. My own mother passed away from cancer. It has just been me, my father, and the house staff since. I’ve never wanted for anything, but being the daughter to Maxwell Korslova has never been easy. My father never hid who or what he was from me. Yet, he takes great pains to keep me in the dark about the family business. However, being in the DeLuca fold means our doors are always open to the “family” and that means I know more than my father would like.
If I’m going to be completely honest, most of them creep me out. They’re like circling vultures, from my aunts and uncles to my cousins—and then there is Dante. He’s ten years older than I am, and yet, when he looks at me, I know what he’s thinking. He leers at me, undressing me with his eyes. I know my father doesn’t like Dante hanging around, but since his father is someone high up in the organization, there’s not much he can do about it without causing waves. That’s something you don’t want to do—or at least I would imagine.
Heck, I don’t even like drawing attention to myself under normal circumstances.
I push all my thoughts to the side and finish getting ready. I know tonight is an important meeting for my father. Mr. DeLuca himself is coming. It’s a great honor to host the head of the family. I can’t embarrass him tonight with my awkwardness. He told me there would only be four guests tonight and it helped that he told me Dante wouldn’t be here. I can survive—although I wish Zoe could be here. My father refused when I suggested it, though.
With one last glance in the mirror and my heart beating crazily, I take a breath and walk out of my room. My shoes tap against the white marbled tile. This house is beautiful, but I’ve never really liked it. The only time it doesn’t feel cold is when I’m near my father or Martha. It’s the complete opposite to the way Zoe’s home feels—not that I’ve got to go there often. My father doesn’t like me being there. He likes Zoe and her dad, but he doesn’t like the part of town their home lies in.