Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 115400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Chiara nods, sadness brimming in her eyes. “I know.”
Getting up, I start making my way to the door when her soft tone cuts through the room. “Killian,” she murmurs, pausing a second as I turn back to meet her gaze, only the weariness in her stare has my brows furrowing. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but do you think there’s any chance you could just . . . let it go? I just want to heal and forget this ever happened.”
Trying to soften the blow, I offer a small smile. “No, Chiara. I cannot do that. However, if you wish to forget about it, I will keep my dealings private. You will not need to know what happens from here,” I tell her, watching as she nods with gratitude. “Now get some rest. I will check on you in the morning.”
She doesn’t respond, just watches me as I turn around and walk out of her room. I pull the door closed behind me, hoping that can offer her some peace to sleep. From the hallway, I hear demanding voices downstairs, and I make my way to meet with the senior members of my family.
Striding into the formal dining room, I find Sergiu and three of my other cousins—Phillip, Adrian, and Cristian—seated around the table in heated conversation, the blame already flying between them. Not bothering with niceties, I simply stride to the head of the table and brace my fists against the hard wood. “One of your wives betrayed me, and they will pay the ultimate price.”
“This is absurd,” Phillip roars, throwing himself to his feet. “You take the word of some woman you just met over our family. These are the mothers of our children, the very women who bore the future generation of our family.”
“I don’t care if they gave birth to the next fucking Pope. One of them is guilty, and I will get to the bottom of this no matter what.”
Sergiu slams his fist against the table. “What is that supposed to mean? You intend to interrogate my wife with your brutal tactics? She’s not some criminal mastermind like the men you’re used to dealing with. You know Monica would never lay a hand on your woman.”
Cristian scoffs at Sergiu. “Your wife is a loose cannon. If anything, she’s the one responsible for this. Everyone knows that woman is a snake in sheep’s clothing.”
Sergiu flies to his feet, his gun in his hand. “What did you say about my wife?”
I roll my eyes at Sergiu’s ridiculous display. “You look like a fool pretending you don’t know what type of woman you take to bed each night. Put the gun down, cousin.”
Adrian lets out a heavy sigh, not affected in the least considering his wife has crippling social anxiety and can’t even look someone new in the eyes. He’s got nothing to worry about. She wouldn’t hurt a fly, but having said that, if it comes down to questioning the wives, she’ll be the one to break first. “Has anybody even bothered to ask them what happened? There was another girl in the bathroom, was there not? How do we know it wasn’t her?”
“It wasn’t,” I say, remembering the exact moment the young woman barreled out of the ladies’ room. “I saw the look in her eyes when she ran out of there. She was terrified. She has nothing to do with this.”
“Well, it sure as hell wasn’t Evie,” Cristian says. “She knows better than to get involved in something like that. She’d never betray you.”
“All four of them betrayed me,” I roar. “The fact that not one of them came to me to let me know that my wife was passed out bleeding on the bathroom floor tells me more than I need to know. They’re all guilty, and they will all be punished.”
“Why does this matter?” Phillip demands. “So what if our women pushed your boundaries? If this was one of our daughters bringing home a man, challenging him would be expected. So why is it so terrible that our wives wished to test the woman you claim will stand at the head of our family with you? They have a right to know if she can hack it or if she will bend under the pressure. We all do, and clearly, she failed their test.”
I clench my jaw, my hands balling into fists, feeling my patience begin to snap.
“Do you even know anything about this girl?” he continues. “Or is she in your head because she has a golden pussy? You just met her and are already willing to risk the peace within our family. For fuck’s sake, Killian. You married her without consulting the rest of your family.”
Without a second of warning, my hand snaps behind my back, curling around the cool handle of my gun, and like a boom of thunder during a fierce storm, the gunshot rings out through my formal dining room. The bullet pierces straight through Phillip’s skull, and he falls behind the table as though he never existed.