by Penelope Sky
Gustavo had a much weaker resistance than my own mother, so he couldn’t say no even if he wanted to. “Alright. It can’t hurt to let you learn…especially now that you know the truth.” He grabbed a pile of paperwork off his desk. “I want you to cook these books. We’ll go over it later.”
“Cook the books?” I asked, perplexed.
“Change the numbers to fit our real revenue.”
Basically, hide all the blood money. “Got it…” I carried everything and headed into the hallway.
I had the worst luck in the world, so I ran into Hades, practically bumped into his chest and dropped all the documents in the process.
The look he gave me was terrifying. With wide-open eyes, he looked down into my face with the gaze of a killer. It was the same expression he’d given Lance in the alleyway, like he wanted to grab my throat and choke me to death. His shoulders stiffened in his gray suit, and his jaw clenched like he couldn’t digest just how livid he was. There was so much hatred boiling in his blood that he couldn’t handle it.
I froze in place, paralyzed by the spiteful energy coming from his body. He used to slide his hand into my hair and kiss me like I was the only thing that mattered to him. That stark contrast made this interaction even worse. Now I was witnessing the version his enemies experienced, the man everyone feared.
He was scary.
He didn’t bend down and help me with the papers I’d scattered across the floor. His brown eyes were dark with rage as he stepped around me, disgusted with my presence.
“We’re going to see each other often, so we should—”
“Don’t speak to me. Ever.” He moved closer to me, threatening me with his immense frame. He promised he would never hurt me, but he didn’t need to touch me to accomplish that. This potent rage was damaging enough. After holding my gaze for another second, he walked past me and entered Gustavo’s office.
I was left alone in the hallway, standing in a pile of papers…and my own isolation.
I was still shaken up about my interaction with Hades.
He was a scary man.
But I reminded myself that this was his doing. He’d put me in a position I didn’t want to be in, forced me into a corner with no escape. If I were the man and he were the woman, I never would have asked him to marry me. When a man didn’t want commitment, no one batted an eye over it.
But Hades ignored everything I said, as if he got to decide what I wanted.
I stood alone in the lobby because the other receptionist was taking her lunch. That left me to think about Hades…to think about my life. Now, I wished I’d never met him, wished we’d never had that kiss on the balcony. Getting involved with him was my biggest regret. I’d have to see him for work on a regular basis…and it would always be a painful interaction.
Maybe in time, things would get better, but I suspected they would get worse. I’d grown frustrated by his coldness, so I would turn resentful. I’d mirror his rage, fueling the fire of his own anger. The situation would escalate, the fire would rise.
And we would hate each other more.
When he tried to push me for something more, I should have walked away…and stayed away. It was everything I hated about relationships, when a man tried to control a woman. Hades never respected my wishes, and he pushed for his own agenda. It was controlling and inappropriate.
Why would I want to marry someone like that?
Let alone a fucking drug dealer.
Asshole.
One of the Barsetti models stepped into the lobby, gliding across the floor in her five-inch heels. She wore a dress with a slit high up her thigh, skintight and perfect on her lovely curves. She had shoulder-length brown hair, styled in light curls. A black clutch was in her hand. She smiled as she looked out the main double doors.
Hades stepped inside a second later, his hands in his pockets. He was dressed casually, dark jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt. His jaw was cleanly shaven, and he looked at her with an appreciative gaze, his eyes taking in the sight of her lovely figure.
She moved into him anxiously, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him right in the lobby. Hades tensed like he hadn’t been expecting that level of affection. She cupped his face and kissed him like she’d already fallen madly in love with him, like she understood how lucky she was to spend the evening with him.
I felt sick.
He had to pull away first because she wanted to keep kissing him.
It was like a car wreck. I couldn’t stop staring.
He hooked his arm around her waist and escorted her outside with him, opening the door for her and taking her out to his car. He didn’t give any indication that he knew I was standing at the counter. He could figure out when I was working when he wanted to, but maybe tonight he didn’t check. Maybe he didn’t care.
He put her in the black car that he’d driven me around in, the one where he’d held my hand as he drove me to his place. He started the car, the lights brightened, and he sped away, revving his powerful engine like he was showing off his new toy.
Then they were gone.
I hadn’t moved since the horror show started to play out. I wasn’t even sure if I’d taken a breath that entire time. It was just so sickening to look at, so damaging to my lungs, heart, and stomach.
I couldn’t understand my feelings, couldn’t understand the pain my blood was still trying to dissolve. Was I jealous? Was I hurt? Or did I just hate him? I said I didn’t want to marry him, and I stood by that decision. Now I was even more grateful I’d said no. Why would I want to marry an asshole like that? Someone who tried to hurt me by showing off the model he’d be fucking tonight.
I detested relationships more than I ever had.
The good ones ended like this…and the bad ones never ended.
21
Sofia
Two Years Later
It all happened suddenly.
Gustavo collapsed during dinner. The medics took him to the hospital. But he was dead before the doctor could even see him. The heart attack claimed his life two minutes after he gripped his chest and fell over.
Mother and I stood together at his gravesite. The coffin was lowered into the ground, and the priest said the final words of the service. Gustavo had an older son who was there with his family. He didn’t shed a single tear, but there was so much emotion written across his face.
My mother didn’t cry…at least, not in front of me.
I’d cried a lot over the past week. The man was my stepfather, but he was a good man. He took care of my mother and loved me like a daughter. He had this innate kindness that spread to every person around him. Even if he had criminal tendencies, he was still a good person.
I was going to miss him.
I wiped away a few tears, hot in my black dress in the summer sun.
The service ended, and people started to dissipate. The reception would be held in the ballroom of the hotel, the most fitting place to remember this man.
My arm moved to my mother’s shoulder. “Would you like to stay a bit longer?”
“No.” She stared at his coffin for a few more seconds before she turned away. “I’ve said goodbye.”
As we walked across the grass away from the gravesite, Hades appeared on our left. In a black suit and tie, he approached us, tall and fit as he’d always been. His eyes never moved to me as he walked up to my mother and extended his hand. “I’m sorry for your loss, Maria.” He took her hand and kissed her on the cheek.
“Thank you,” she whispered. She was in a black dress with a black veil over part of her face. A black hat was on her head, protecting her scalp from the piercing rays of the sun. Her skin was pale like she didn’t have enough blood in her veins. She was thinner too, like she hadn’t taken a single bite since Gustavo died.
Hades ignored me—as always. The last time we spoke was years ago, when he told me never to speak to him again. His hostility never waned, and the longer it continued, the more I despised him.
&nbs
p; The intensity had escalated until we couldn’t even be in the same room together. We avoided each other like two magnets that had to be kept separated at all costs. If we came too close together, we’d collide in a harsh battle.
I expected him to be over it by now…but he wouldn’t let it go.
Even though it’d been two fucking years.
Asshole.
He continued to look at my mother. “He was a good man.”
“I know he was,” she whispered. “We miss him so much.”
Hades nodded. “I’m here if you need anything.” He turned around and walked off.
It was my stepfather’s funeral, and he couldn’t put aside his differences to say a damn word to me, to extend any sympathy whatsoever. What I did to him was so terrible that he didn’t think I even deserved that.
Biggest asshole on the planet.
I left my apartment and moved back in with my mother.
She hated to be alone, couldn’t stand it. She never formally asked me to return to the house, but she made a lot of pointed comments like, “It doesn’t make sense for a pretty girl to live all alone. Are you eating enough? Without a chef, how can you make sure you’re getting what you need?” I knew she didn’t mean any of them. She was just too proud to ask me to come back home.
So I made the sacrifice.
It’d been a month since Gustavo had passed away, and she was quiet most of the time. We had breakfast together on the balcony every morning, talking about the hotel and other nonsense.
Now that Gustavo was gone, I was in charge. I’d learned so much in the past two years that I knew how to keep things flowing smoothly. Maybe my mother would realize that and let it be…but I suspected she wouldn’t. I could tell people were treating me differently—and not in a good way. The board kept asking Hades for direction, and when Hades came by my office, he always communicated with the HR girl to get what he needed.
Cutting me out altogether.
I sat on the terrace with my mother that evening, dining on gnocchi in alfredo sauce while splitting a bottle of white wine. It was a warm day, but not nearly as humid as it’d been for the last couple weeks.
She’d started to eat again, to get back her faded vitality. “I don’t want to get remarried.” She made the statement with a sigh, like I’d provoked her with a question. “Gustavo wasn’t supposed to die so young.”
“Yeah…it’s terrible.” I was patient with my mother as she processed her loss. When she said rude things to me, I let them slide. She and I had our differences, but I loved her and I was there for her. But if I became a mother someday, I’d make sure to be nothing like her.
“I’m too old to start over again. Too old to find a husband.”
“You aren’t that old, Mother. But no, you don’t need to get married again. It’s fine to be on your own.” There was no reason to be scared of independence. Once she had a bit of it, she’d probably enjoy it.
“I’m glad you feel that way. I’ve paid my dues…”
That was a sick attitude to have about it. That it was a sacrifice, an involuntary duty.
She set down her fork and folded her hands under her chin, giving me a pointed stare like she was about to say something. “We can’t survive like this much longer. I’ve married two men I didn’t love for this family. I’ve made enough sacrifices that I’m exonerated from further responsibility. Now it’s your turn.”
“My turn to what?”
“Marry.”
My fork was stabbed into a gnocchi, but I didn’t bring it to my lips. My fingers gripped the metal with frozen stillness.
“We need a powerful man to protect us. At my age, I won’t be able to attract anyone of substance. I was lucky I found Gustavo after your father passed away. I won’t get so lucky a third time. But you…you could have any man you want.”
Why had I expected my mother to drop this? “I’m not marrying. I refuse.”
“You refuse?” she asked, her voice cold and calculating. “How long do you think it’ll be before the mafia runs us out of our own hotel? How long will it be before a powerful man squeezes us out and steals the ground beneath our feet?”
“If you’re so worried about that, you shouldn’t have done business with killers.”
“That was your father’s decision, not mine. Arguing about the past won’t change our present. We both need you to do this to survive.” She dropped her hands and maintained her cold stare. “There’s no other way.”
“I’ve been running the hotel just fine.”
“That’s not what I heard.”
“From whom?” I snapped.
“The board doesn’t respect you. And it won’t be long until the men walk all over you. You’re nothing but a pretty girl with a large inheritance. You’re so inconsequential that people don’t find you the least bit intimidating. I’m not saying this to hurt your feelings. I just want you to understand the situation.”
I let the fork fall onto my plate with a clatter. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“No, I’m not. I’ve lost two husbands, and I don’t want to lose my daughter too.”
“Then let’s sell the hotels. I’d rather lose my inheritance than be forced into marriage.”
“And then what?” she asked. “You think we’ll be safe? We’re still accomplices of the men who use our hotel. If their enemies see us as easy targets, they’ll punish us for sport. And I know you—you won’t walk away from the business. So, either you marry…or we run.”
I shook my head. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I wish I were.”
“How can you expect me to just marry some random guy?”
“I did it twice. It’s not so bad.”
“Being beaten isn’t so bad?” I asked incredulously.
“It wasn’t always bad. There were a lot of good times. And most of all…I had you. You’re the light of my life, Sofia. I know I don’t say it enough, but you’re everything to me. Never did I imagine I would have the most beautiful daughter in the world.”
It was hard to stay mad at her when she said something so sweet.
“I know this isn’t what you want. I know you deserve better. But this is the world we live in. You need to marry the right man to ensure a long and prosperous future for us. You can run the business under his protection, and no one will ever touch you. No one will touch me. And you can live a long and happy life.”
“How can I be happy if I’m married to a man I don’t love?”
“Maybe you’ll love him someday. I did love both of my husbands…just not in a romantic way. We became friends, allies. We became partners. That companionship is much better than a combustive and lustful relationship that runs off emotion rather than logic. I think you’ll like it more than you realize. And the two of you can always have your own arrangement. Make your relationship what you want it to be. Your father had his mistresses, and I was perfectly okay with it.”
That was gross.
“Gustavo didn’t. He didn’t have the same kind of sexual appetite…because all men are different.”
I didn’t want to fall in love and get married anyway, so this seemed like a decent alternative. But I also didn’t want to be the property of someone else, to be ordered around like a slave rather than a person.
“Sofia…you need to do this.”
I sighed quietly.
“Please.”
I wanted to run our family business more than anything, and I understood my mother’s unease about the lack of protection. I saw the way men dismissed me like I was stupid, and I could also envision the bad men who came to our hotel being difficult. One night, they waltzed into the hotel and took over the bar like they owned the place. What would they have done if I’d stood up to them?
They would have killed me.
“I don’t even know how we would do this. I mean, would we just send out a memo to rich dudes and tell them I’m looking for a husband? What would they get out of that?”
“For on
e, rich men all the want the same thing—a trophy wife. They want a beautiful woman who will give them beautiful children. You’re are stunning, Sofia. Even by model standards, you’re flawless.”
“Well…thanks.”
“Second, you don’t need to worry about finding a husband. I already have someone in mind.”
This just became real. “I won’t marry someone if they’re over ten years older than me. I’m not doing it.”
“He’s not. And he’s very handsome too.”
“Who is it?”
She smiled before she spoke, as if I would like the person she’d picked out. “Hades Lombardi.”
I almost laughed because she couldn’t possibly pick a worse guy. Yes, he was young, handsome, and rich, but he’d rather see me dead in a ditch than marry me. There was no one in the world who hated me more than him. “You’ll have to find someone else.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“He and I don’t get along.” I’d never told my mother about my relationship with him. If she knew he’d proposed to me and I said no, she would flip out.
“Really?”
“Yeah. There’s no way in hell he’d be interested. And I’m not interested in him either.”
“That’s strange.” She propped her chin on her fist as she looked at me. “Because when I spoke to him, he was extremely enthused.”
My blood turned ice-cold. “What…?”
“Yes. In fact, he told me not to ask anyone else. He’s in.”
This was bad…very bad. “I’m not marrying him.”
“Why not? He’s got everything, Sofia. He’s been smitten with you for years. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
“He’s an asshole.”
“Really?” she asked. “I don’t think an asshole would fight for you so hard.”
“He doesn’t like me. He just wants to marry me to torture me.”
“I highly doubt that,” she said. “He seemed genuine.”
This couldn’t be happening.
“Hades is, by far, the best match. He’s young, extremely powerful, handsome, and he’s got resources we can’t even dream of. No one will touch you as his wife. No one will dare cross you. You can run that hotel however you want. You’ll get everything you want.”