I narrow my eyes at him. “Tell me the truth. Who told the president about me? It wasn’t Noah, was it?”
The smile that was on his face deepens, and it hurts so much that I spit at him.
“You bastard. It was you. You told him,” I say, and I jerk free to try to hit him.
He grabs my wrist before the hit lands. “You shouldn’t have told me about the scarf. You thought I would forget after our little talk in the library? Not a chance. This was all on you, Natalie. You played the wrong man.”
He cocks his head, and the men continue to drag me away.
“You’re despicable,” I hiss through my teeth as I glance at him over my shoulder, but he shrugs it off like it’s no big deal.
Asshole.
The last thing I see are her wistful eyes before the doors close in front of me.
And I wonder if I’ll ever be allowed to speak to her again.
Chapter 12
Noah
When morning comes, the guards finally leave their position next to the door to my room, and I immediately leave. It’s time for breakfast, which means all the patriarchs will be heading into the same direction. All of them … except for me.
Because I’m headed straight for Patrick’s room.
“Patrick!” I burst inside and glare around until I find him shaving himself in the bathroom mirror.
He peeks out the door and looks at me. “Ah, Noah. Glad to see you’ve returned.”
“Quit the bullshit. You told the president, didn’t you?” I growl as I march toward him. “Tell me the truth!”
He cocks his head while tightly holding his razor. “Calm down, brother.”
“Don’t tell me to fucking calm down!” I yell, pointing my finger at him. “It was you. You told him she was his daughter.”
He holds up his hands, but I can’t ignore the slight smile on his face. “Touché. You got me. Now what?”
“You mother—”
“No swearing, remember?” He winks. “It’s in the rules.”
I grab him by the shirt. “Fuck the rules. You did this on purpose.”
“Why would I do that?” he says, clutching my arm. “You sure you wanna go down this path, brother?”
“Stop calling me that,” I say through gritted teeth. “You want me dead, don’t you? You’re no brother of mine.”
“Maybe you should have thought of that before scheming and lying your way through this house.” He cocks his head. “Did you think no one would find out?”
My eyes twitch. I want nothing more than to sucker punch him right now, but if I do that, my head will surely roll. “You don’t know what you’ve done.”
“What? Told him that his rightful heir returned?” he muses. “Because I wonder how she managed to escape in the first place, you know, being so young.”
“Stop.” I shove him. “You don’t know anything, so shut your mouth before you say something you’ll regret.”
“I don’t regret anything. Not a single word. You should’ve told him yourself,” he says. “Could’ve prevented a lot of this trouble you’re in.” He eyes me down and looks behind me.
When I glance over my shoulder and see two guards peering at us, I grind my teeth. We’re being watched. Or rather, I am.
“Don’t move a muscle,” Patrick jokes as I release him from my grip.
“You don’t wanna mess with me,” I growl.
“Or what?” he retorts. “Don’t put this on me. Your wife couldn’t stop talking about that scarf of hers.”
What? She talked to Patrick while I wasn’t present? When? And what else did they discuss?
“You talked to my wife alone?” I growl.
He lifts a hand again. “Relax. Nothing happened.”
“I don’t fucking believe you,” I reply.
“There you go again with the swearing. Is that something you picked up during all your trips?”
I put my hands against my side and cock my head. “You’ve always had a thing for the girls the other patriarchs bring into this house. What is it? Their unavailability? Is that what turns you on?”
“Watch your mouth, Noah,” he growls back.
“Boys …” The president is in the doorway.
The moment our eyes lock, I immediately step away from Patrick.
“This is no way to treat your fellow patriarch,” he says. “Stop fighting. What’s done is done. History is history. Get over it.” He lowers his head and glares at me. “I will speak to you soon.”
He tucks his hands into his pockets and walks off, but that last statement made me gulp.
I know my reckoning has yet to come. I just hope I can convince him to believe my lies.
“See? Told you to cool it,” Patrick says.
“Zip it. If it wasn’t for you, neither me nor my wife would be in this shit,” I spit back.
“You got yourself in trouble. That’s not on me, brother,” he replies, and he waves me away. “Now shoo. I need to get dressed.”
I’m done with his ass.
I bolt out of his room and go downstairs, but when I try to enter the dining room, the doors are blocked by two guards.