Page 69 of Wanted

“I met your father at a party. After we had consensual sex, he started raping me. He drugged me, and he raped me.”

“AND? YOU’RE A LIAR! Daddy says you’re delusional!”

“I didn’t want to raise you here, Kamila. You have to believe me. I’m sorry that I keep you inside all the time, but it’s for the best. You’re vulnerable out there. People want to abuse your power. You have to be protected!”

“I’m fucking glad I grew up on Katantia. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m the fucking princess. Everybody loves me! Now, tell me. Am I grounded in my villa, or are you going to throw me in the cellar for disobeying your sorry rules?”

WESTON

Aram took a seat on the sofa as if he had been here before, knowing all the tricks. Well, this was the first time he’d stepped foot in the vacation home my mother had built for my siblings and me.

Stunned, Mandy gawked at him. She didn’t move to sit, but her knees shook. Her fists were balled, and her skin was scarlet red after having been pale for so long.

“Make yourself comfortable,” Aram ordered, gesturing at the sofa. His gaze drifted over Mandy as if she wasn’t even there. Did that calm me? No, it was fucking rude.

Mandy muttered something under her breath as she moved to sit on the other end of the sofa, as far as possible from my father. I sat down in between them. I addressed my father. “Say what you need to say and leave. Mandy needs to rest.”

“Although I don’t care what this… thing does from now on…”

I interrupted him, “That’s Mandy. She’s not an object.”

“Isn’t she?” Aram smirked. “I see. You’ve already begun the search for a new object, a fertile one. You’ll be keeping her here as a secret, then? Clever. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. But… Wait. I had three kids, and I never surrounded myself with infertile… Things.”

I rolled my eyes.

“You don’t have to defend me,” Mandy muttered under her breath.

“Did I give you permission to talk?” He shook his head. “Therefore, shut up. You’re not my sibling’s daughter, so you can get off of your high horse.”

Alarm bells rang a sweet homecoming tune in my ears.

Aram chuckled. “But you know that already, don’t you? Spencer is my brother. Mandy Rawlins isn’t my niece by DNA. Spencer has recognized her as his daughter, but she’s not his kid.”

My father’s eyes scanned the room, landing on the framed pictures near the television. “Amalia had you with one of her bodyguards. She cheated on my big brother a lot, so we don’t know which bodyguard fucked her bare. When Spencer found out one of his employees started spending a lot of time with his daughter, he had him killed, of course. I believe she was, what, fifteen or sixteen? The foolish man made the mistake of asking Spencer to take the girl on trips across the country. He either wanted to fuck her, or he was her real father! He signed his death sentence right then and there.”

“You lie,” Mandy spat. I could feel her pulse without even touching her.

“I don’t, and I’m really glad. One less failure in the family,” Aram insisted.

Mandy swallowed, eyes wide.

The king revealed, “Spencer will be visiting Katantia soon, officially. I know he wants something he can’t have.”

“And what’s that?” I inquired.

“Our legacy, son. He wants what’s ours. He wants Katantia.”

Mandy commented, “That makes sense.”

“Would you shut up, or do I need to have you removed from the room?” Aram said, not giving a fuck. “You’re irrelevance in person. I get bored just looking at you.”

I moved, but Mandy grabbed my arm, holding me back.

Aram went on, “She’s lucky she’s infertile and sick. Or else I would’ve impregnated her, and she would’ve carried the kids of our future. She gets a free pass, the infertile whore. A silly girl that’s lost in limbo. With all of this…” He gestured at her body, judgment, and cruelty dripping from his eyelids. “She won’t go anywhere. She better enjoy her time as your sidepiece. I know you can do better. You’ve had such prime pussy in your life.”

Mandy scoffed.

Aram stood up. “You know, my father wanted Spencer for the throne. He was young, but my parents always admired him more than me. He performed great in school. Popularity came easy to him. He was a natural, presenting himself as a prince since his early teens. My younger brother was more beloved than me! He bewitched our parents to believe in him while I was left behind.”