Page 32 of Brutal Heir

I am.

But I’m also bitter as fuck. Because no woman will ever look at me like they look at their partners.

I used to be the man all the women wanted—first pick, last call. Now I’m the tragedy they pretend not to see.

With bitterness coating my veins, I whirl toward my sister. She stands a few feet from the bar, eyeing the custom cocktails. The ones I would have loved to indulge in myself. “You don’t have to babysit me, Alessia. Go have fun.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, go.”

“You want me to walk you to the couch or something before?”

“No, I’m fine.”

She nods, lips in a tight line and heads straight for the bar. The party swells around me, more laughter, more champagne, more deals being struck in quiet corners while Frank croons about strangers and fleeting nights.

And yet the only stranger I’m thinking about is the one who isn’t here.

Rory.

For a moment, I swear I can smell her. It’s something sweet and sharp, like citrus and spice. But it’s just the perfume of some socialite drifting past.

My gaze snags on the door like she might still walk through it.

Only she doesn’t.

Dio, you’re astronzo.

When I realize she’s not going to, I turn straight for the bedrooms down the hall. I need to escape; I need to be alone with my own misery.

CHAPTER 14

NEED ME

Alessandro

The happy laughter, clinking glasses and soft music seeps through the walls, infiltrating the crevices of the closed door. I roll over on the massive guest bed, wincing, and bury my head beneath the pillow. Damn it. I never should have come to Serena and Antonio’s engagement party.

And to think, if Antonio had never kidnapped Serena for revenge, I would be the one about to get married. My entire traitorous family had negotiated a meeting in China to arrange my marriage to the daughter of a rival family, the Red Dragons. I nearly lost my shit when I found out, which was one of the reasons I’d gotten on that plane to rescue Serena in Milano. I’m not sure what would have been better, being forced to marry a stranger or dealing with this.

Footfalls and animated chatter echo out in the hallway, and I tense. For fuck’s sake, I just want to be left alone. The sound falls away a moment later, and I draw in a breath of relief.

I thought I could come today and be happy for my cousin, for all of them, but the sound of all that happiness only magnifies my misery. Even hidden in this room, the muddled voices and contented laughter surrounds me, each joyful sound only amplifying the bitterness in my heart.

How did I fall so fast? From heir to the Gemini throne with women throwing themselves at my feet to this shell of a man with gruesome scars across half my body, barely able to walk, to fuck, to do anything by myself…

The door whips open, slams against the wall, and I mutter a curse for forgetting to lock it when I staggered in. Serena stumbles backwards, Antonio glued to her mouth, his hand palming her ass.

Oh, hell, no, this is the last thing I need.

“Don’t you guys have your own room to do that in?” I hiss.

Antonio releases Serena and she whirls around, eyes glassy from champagne and lust as they meet mine. “What the hell are you doing hiding out in here?”

“I needed a minute.”

Her eyes widen, the glee from a moment ago, vanishing. “Are you okay? Are you in pain?” She rushes over to the bed, concern etched into her face.