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"It wasn't your place to ask; it was his place to tell you as soon as you turned eighteen. There is a lot at stake. Your future, mainly." He looks angry now. Not in the same way as when he was angry with me—he looksreallyangry, and it strikes me that his name fits him like a glove. I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side. He's not explosive. He's frighteningly cold, much worse than if he yelled.
"What do you mean my future is at stake?"
"You're a smart girl, Serenity. Think."
"I swear I don't understand."
"You're beautiful," he begins, and I get angry as I feel my stupid heart race, because he says it in a clinical way, not as a compliment. "But if that beauty comes in a nice million-dollar package, it becomes much more attractive."
"Oh!"
Ares
Jesus, I want to squeeze Van Lith's neck right now.
She looks at me in complete confusion, and more than ever, I feel like a creep for having ogled her like I would any woman who caught my interest.
Serenity is not just eighteen years old; she is a sweet angel in every way.
"How serious is your relationship with this Otis guy?"
"What?"
"Don't answer with another question. It won't work."
She gives a nervous laugh. "Otis's family has a lot more money than I will ever have. Did you say millions of dollars in my account? Think of his, but somewhere in the billions. Now, could you explain a little about this fortune you told me about?" she asks, as if she expects me to say at any moment that the claim is a big joke.
Half an hour later, when I finish explaining what her inheritance entails, as well as the way I intend to invest it, she is whiter than the tablecloth.
"Eat."
"I don't know if I can."
"Yes, you can. The performance combined with the tension that preceded it probably prevented you from eating properly before."
"Are you a father?"
"No."
"You're acting like one."
"My role is to take care of?—"
"So that I don't fall into the clutches of a scoundrel. I understand, Ares, but I'm not a baby."
“No, you're not,” I say, swallowing hard as I watch her bring a piece of peppered cheese to her mouth.
"I have a boyfriend. One who won't want to steal my fortune." She says it like she doesn't give a shit about money.
"Do you intend to marry him?"
"I never intend to get married. You'll have to put up with me for seven whole years, Mr. Kostanidis. But don't worry. I won't bother you. The only thing I need is to set up a dance studio at home. I meant to call you and ask for it, but now that I know I'm not on the brink of destitution, I don't think you'll deny me."
"You can have anything you want, Serenity."
"No one can have everything they want, Ares."
"What does that mean?"