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“It’s my business when it puts this family’s future on the line,” Father insists. “Your instance on defending some fling that will be unimportant by next month, further pissing the Greivans off by punching one of their sons in the face…it’s utterly idiotic.”

I growl. “Ethan isn’t some fling, Father. If you cared enough to talk to your fucking children, you’d know that,” I hiss.

“Dante, we all know you,” Barry says. “You’re not the type for long-term commitment.”

“Neither is Marco, but I don’t see you questioning every move he makes.” “Hey, don’t bring me into this! I defended you, dickweed,” Marco snaps at me.

“Alright, enough of this.” Tania puts her hands up and looks at my father. “This is about keeping our family safe, not judging anyone’s bedmates.”

“Thank God for that, huh, or else you’d be screwed,” I mumble under my breath.

“What was that?” Tania asks.

“I said, thank fucking God for that, or else you’d be screwed,” I say louder, looking her right in her eyes.

Her face flushes and she looks away from me.

“This is all ridiculous, if you ask me,” Yvette says.

“What do you suggest, Yvette?” Father asks. “As the newest member of our family, perhaps you should voice your opinion louder if you have one.”

I roll my eyes. I know what that means—the exact opposite of what he’s saying. He’s basically telling her to shut the fuck up if she doesn’t have any good ideas. And since I know Nicholas, I know he thinks he’s the only one with good ideas.

But Yvette steps into the middle of the group. “I think it comes down to this: what do you, Nicholas, need from Dante to prove he’s serious about this relationship and the grievances with the Greivans aren’t for nothing?”

My father blinks at her. He clearly didn’t expect her to actually say something that actually made sense.

Yvette doesn’t look away from him. Her body language is so much more confident and unwavering than Tessa’s.

“Ah, well.” My father clears his throat. “If you’re serious about the boy—young man—he needs to become a part of this family and pledge himself to us.”

“They’ve only been together a few days,” Marco says with a scoff. “Like that’s going to happen.”

“He will,” I say before anyone else can speak. “Ethan will pledge himself to me, to us.”

“How can you promise that?” Barry asks.

I bite my tongue before speaking so I won’t just curse him out. “Why are you even here?” I snap. “You only show up when there’s money in it for you, we all know that.”

“Your Uncle Barry is here to begin negotiations with the Greivans,” my father explains.

“Great, because that always goes well,” I mumble.

“You didn’t answer his question,” Tania reminds me.

I take a deep breath. “I care about Ethan. Whether you believe that or not, I couldn’t fucking care less. He will pledge himself to this family—maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week, but he will eventually.”

“Can you accept that, Nicholas?” Yvette asks. Her voice is calm, collected. I can tell that how unbothered she is gets on my father’s nerves.

He rolls his shoulders back, trying to seem casual and in control.

“I suppose, but this is not a game, son,” he tells me. “I will not let you put this family in danger over something that isn’t serious.”

“It’s serious,” I nearly growl at him. “Dead serious. I didn’t jump in front of a car bomb for a good fuck, as much as y’all might think so little of me.”

It’s silent just long enough for me to decide I don’t want to be here anymore.

“I’m done here.” I turn around and walk out of the room. No one stops me. I hear their voices behind me, but ignore them.