Page 37 of Volatile King (The Kings of Wayward Academy #6)

N ash

Okay, I found something worse than being called into Dean Henry’s office.

When breakfast ended, Edmundo looked at me and asked to speak in private, not with curiosity or warmth, but with fire in his eyes.

He was pissed. I just didn’t know why.

I shut the door behind us. The steady thump of his cane on the hardwood floor made the whole thing feel more like a judge’s gavel at the end of a verdict than a conversation.

He lowered himself into the chair behind his desk and motioned toward the seat across from him. I sat, trying to keep my hands still. No matter how many times we talked, Edmundo never raised his voice. It wasn’t necessary. The man made you sweat bullets with a single look.

I’d rather face my father. At least with Lawrence, I knew where the hits landed and what fist he used. Edmundo? He struck without lifting a finger.

He locked eyes with me. Never blinking.

“Tell me something, Nash. Have I ever come across as untruthful to you?”

What the hell? Where was this going?

“No, sir.”

“Have I ever made you feel like you couldn’t come to me?”

“No, sir.”

“Did I or did I not overlook your decision to seal the marriage contract with my daughter, before she had the freedom to choose for herself?”

My shoulders tensed. The weight of his gaze made me want to fidget.

“Yes, sir. You did.”

“So, in your estimation, I’m fair, honest, and approachable?”

“Yes, sir. You are.”

He nodded, poured a glass of water, and took a deliberate sip. The silence stretched. Every second was calculated…to let me stew.

Then he set his drink down and laced his ringed fingers together atop the desk.

“Then why, Nash…did you feel the need to go behind my back and investigate my personal life?”

My blood turned to ice. Oh fuck.

“Um…”

He held up a hand.

“Don’t bother explaining. I don’t care why you did it. I just want you to be aware that I know.” He leaned forward. “I always know.” The weight in the room shifted, pressing down on my lungs. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“If you want answers, you come to me. You don’t slink around in shadows like your father,” he said.

Fuck, that one landed hard.

He sat back, the leather groaning under his weight.

“I know what kind of man raised you. I know what that taught you. But you’re my son-in-law now. That means mutual trust. When you sneak around, it can be seen as a threat. And I don’t take kindly to threats.”

Bile rose in my throat. “That wasn’t my intention.”

“Have I made my position clear?”

“Yes. And it won’t happen again,” I said.

I didn’t know what rock Rory kicked to get his answers, but it led straight back to Edmundo. The fact that he was telling me and not holding on to it as ammunition for later spoke volumes. He was giving me another chance.

“Good.” He nodded once. “Then let me answer the question you were too afraid to ask.”

He took another sip of water.

“My wife hasn’t been around because we don’t have a real marriage. It’s a partnership in name only…for business and family optics. Patricia and I don’t share a bed. She’s free to do what she wants, so long as it doesn’t embarrass me publicly. That’s our agreement.”

“But…why?”

“I loved someone else,” he said. “Ana. I needed no other reason.”

“I don’t mean to sound crass, but…Yuliana ran off and didn’t seek you out even once she was safe. She hid Ren from you. Then she died. Don’t you feel…betrayed? Don’t you miss what you could’ve had?”

Edmundo let out a dry laugh, then gave me a look so heavy it pinned me in place.

“You know that feeling…when you’re underwater too long, lungs on fire, and brain screaming for air? You can’t break the surface and can’t take a breath because you’ll drown.”

I nodded, throat tight. I knew it well.

“That’s how it felt every day that I loved and still do love Ana.

That ache? That desperation for one breath?

I lived in it. She was everything, my everything.

Even when we were apart, even when she lied, that pain reminds me I’m still alive.

Still fighting. And I would rather feel that agony every day than settle for less.

I’m devoted to Ana and our love, forever. ”

Standing, I walked to the window and stared out, his words causing me to think about my own life.

Could I love Ren like that? Did I already?

I’d buried so much of myself under armor that I wasn’t sure what was still beating beneath it.

And if I loved Ren—truly loved her like Edmundo did Ana—was I strong enough to protect her?

Or would my father or someone else find a way to use her against me?

I’d failed already, and I couldn’t do it again.

“I have one more question. Personal,” I said, turning back to him.

Edmundo smirked. “You want to know if Victoria is my daughter?”

“How the hell do you do that?”

He chuckled. “Practice, son,” he said. “Lots and lots of practice.”

He stood and walked over to join me. “I’ve only ever been with one woman…Ana. I’ll never take another. And no, Victoria doesn’t know. She won’t until I decide it’s time. It could be today, tomorrow, or a month from now. It is a delicate situation, and one for me to handle. Are we clear?”

“Yes, sir. I won’t say a word.”

I felt like a fucking cliché. I’d lashed out at the world by sleeping with more girls than I could remember. Eddie had suffered and remained as strong as ever. I’d been immature, reckless, and…shit, the truth swung at me like a sledgehammer to the face.

“Don’t worry,” Edmundo said. “I’m not here to judge your choices, and yes, I know what they have been. But if you ever cheat on my daughter…” His voice dropped. “You won’t have to worry about what she’ll do to you. I’ll castrate you myself.”

Then he smiled, like he hadn’t just threatened to mutilate me, and clapped a hand on my shoulder. “But I don’t think I’ll need to worry about that.”

Before I could reply, the shriek of a banshee cut through the silence. Vicky.

We both turned toward the sound.

“Oh no…” Edmundo sighed. “What’s the date today?”

“The Monday before Thanksgiving.”

“Dio mio,” he muttered. “I forgot to mention you were all here.”

I smirked. This was going to be epic.

We stepped into the living room to find an already nuclear Vicky.

Her heels clicked like gunshots across the marble as she spun toward us, eyes wild, breath shallow.

“What the hell do you mean you’re staying here?” She snapped. “This is my home. I don’t want any of you in it.” She pointed toward the front door. “Leave. Now,” she ordered, her voice cracking on the last word, rage barely holding together the fraying edge of panic.

“We’re not leaving,” Liam replied evenly.

Vicky’s nostrils flared. She yanked her phone from her bag, waving it like a threat.

“I’m calling the cops. I want you all dragged out of here.”

“Victoria,” Edmundo’s voice cut in commandingly.

She froze mid-dial and her head jerked in his direction. Vicky’s eyes bounced between Edmundo, Ren, and me.

“Papa, what the hell is happening here?” She jabbed her finger at Ren. “I told you I hate her, and now she’s here in my home…at Thanksgiving!”

Her glare snapped to me so fast I thought she might give herself whiplash.

“And you. You broke my heart. Now you and my papa are sneaking around having secret meetings, while you play house with her under my roof?”

“They’re guests in my home,” Edmundo said, tone cool but pointed.

Vicky’s jaw dropped. “It’s my home!”

Edmundo raised an eyebrow. “Oh? You took over the mortgage? I must have missed the transfer of ownership.”

She stomped her high heel like she was trying to bust the marble. Her fists were clenched at her sides. She reminded me of a bull in fighting ring looking for a target to charge.

“You know what I mean! Mama and I have practically lived here for years. This is where I come to breathe. And now it’s full of…snakes.”

Vicky marched a tight circle in the middle of the room, eyes flicking around like she was searching for a weapon that would hurt worse than her words.

“I wanted one peaceful Thanksgiving…just us…it’s so rare. And instead, I get ambushed by a parade of liars, thieves, and a whore.”

“Victoria, that is enough. Name-calling makes you look small.” She crossed her arms but kept quiet. “Yes, I should’ve warned you,” Edmundo said quietly.

“Damn right you should’ve.” Her eyes were glossy now. “What else haven’t you told me?”

Edmundo sighed and gestured to a chair. “Please. Sit. There’s something you need to hear. Something that you should’ve known a long time ago. Can all of you but Ren and Nash please give us a moment?”

Vicky snarled as the guys left like she was one of those decorative Halloween cats. She watched them before her viper’s gaze turned back to Edmundo. Her lower lip twitched, and she gave a sharp, disbelieving laugh.

“This ought to be good,” she breathed out viciously, but it sounded more like cover for her nervousness. She flounced into the seat and crossed her legs, staring him down like she was daring him to speak.

Edmundo glanced at Ren, who gave the smallest shrug. Ren didn’t say it, but I knew she’d told Edmundo that she didn’t care if Vicky knew the truth.

He turned back to Vicky.

“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll say it simply. Lilya…or as you call her, Ren?—”

Vicky burst from her chair and pointed at Ren, interrupting Edmundo.

“Don’t you dare say you’re sleeping with her. I swear to God! What is five not enough for you? Now you go after my father. Papa, I will vomit if that is what you’re going to say.”

Edmundo pinched the bridge of his nose, swearing in Italian softly.

“Sit down, Victoria.” Vicky looked as if she were getting ready to douse the room in fire. She crossed her arms and silently refused to sit. Edmundo sighed. “I’m not sleeping with Lilya. She is my daughter.”

Vicky blinked. Then blinked again. Then slowly smiled.

“You’re joking.”

“No, Victoria. I am not.”

Vicky’s jaw worked, a stunned laugh bubbling up. “Okay. You got me. That was a good one, Papa.”