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I hate that he knows it was them who told me. I have to give him something else to be mad about.
“I don’t want to get married.” At least, not like this. Not with his iron fist forcing me into it.
Dad sighs and glares at me. The blue of his eyes always makes me hate myself. Adalie might have Mom’s eyes, but I have Dad’s, and I hate seeing the reminder of him everyday. “You’ve had your fun. Now it’s time to abide by the family law. Everyone gets married and has children. It’s how we ensure the Astor line continues.”
It’s fucking archaic, but old money plays by old rules. The Astor line is full of wealth. Prestige.Tradition. Every Astor man needs a wife who will bear children.
“I’m not even dating.” I take a sip of the scotch, swallowing the malty sweet liquor. “Where is thiswifecoming from?”
“I gave you some time to pick, but seeing as you’re not even trying, I have a few contenders. The Whittings are more than willing, the fucking vultures, and Bethany is just as eager to match. Pretty little cunt, too.”
I clench my jaw. Bethany is a whiny, entitled brat. There’s no way she’ll be my wife. “Who else?”
Dad smirks. “Ellen Vorhess.”
Her favorite hobby is tearing people apart. I don’t want to be married to a woman like that.
“Next.”
Dad lists off a few other women I know from various parties and gatherings. I’m not interested in any of them. None of those women are even remotely appealing. Icy blue eyes and vibrant red hair flash through my mind. I quickly snuff that thought. Cassia hates me. There’s no way she’d consider marrying me, let alone having my children, but fuck, I bet she’d look gorgeous with my baby in her belly. Really, she’s the only one I’d even consider, and the more I say no to the women Dad suggests, the more his eyes narrow, and the more I hope he forgets it was my sisters who told me.
With a sudden burst of rage, he launches his tumbler into the open fire. The glass shatters on impact and the flameswhoosh. A wave of heat washes over me as thefire greedily devours the liquor. My heart slams against my rib cage, but I keep my breathing steady, refusing to give in to the adrenaline that wants me to answer his growing anger with my own.
Like Luca, Dad is a ticking time bomb, and the easiest way to manage him is to keep my emotions out of it.
“Anyone else?”
“No.” Dad pins me with a glare.
I shrug. “Guess we’ll have to keep looking.”
Something dark slithers to the surface, and any semblance of humanity bleeds out of my dad. “That, or I’ll take the Marinos up on their offer to breed the girls. Maybe it’s time to expand the family business.”
Dread sluices through my veins. The threat is an echo of what got me into the cage, only this time, he’s threatening to marry them to a mafioso. To throw them into a world they’re too soft for. A world they’ll never survive.
I shove out of my chair, towering over him. That’s never happening. “No.”
His lip twitches. He has me and he knows it. “You or them, Mace. Do your fucking job, or I’ll sell your sisters to the mafia.”
Red clouds my vision. I grab the collar of his shirt, twisting it in my fist. “You’re a fucking bastard,” I snarl.
Dad simply lifts an eyebrow. “I’ll give you a week to pick someone. She can be rich. She could be a nobody. I don’t fucking care, so long as she has a hole and can give you babies.” He rises, bumping into me, but I refuse to back away. We’re chest to chest, nose to nose. I should smash his fucking face into the mantel. A flash of lightning cuts through the sky, and a rumble of thunder chases after it as the sky opens and rain pounds the ground.
Dad searches my face. “You’re more like me than youknow. We’re predators, you and I, and the world is our prey.”
“I’m nothing like you,” I spit, letting go of his shirt and clenching my fists at my side.
He roughly pats my cheek. I slap his hand away on instinct, and he laughs. “Pick a wife, or your sisters will have to marry one of Marino’s men.”
He knows he has me. I’d do anything to keep my sisters safe.
Including finding a wife.
four
CASSIA
After I finished the wire transfer and Ian left, I spent three days worrying. Wondering if maybe he was dead somewhere in an alley. Finally, I received a text that everything was good, right on time for my night out with Rose. At least I could enjoy myself without anxiety tightening my chest.