I gripped the edge of the counter. This conversation wasn’t going the way I expected at all. It was an interrogation about my personal life, not an execution for my crimes. “It’s none of your business.”
“He’s my son—it is my business.”
“Then why don’t you ask him?” I snapped. “Oh, that’s right. You don’t have a relationship with him.”
His wide eyes stared at me without any reaction.
I took a drink.
Caspian didn’t press the question to me again. “My dislike for you is very clear. I didn’t like you before you crossed me, and now, I like you even less. But you need to understand what my son has done for you. He’s a very good man. Whatever his faults may be, they don’t compare to his good qualities.”
My eyes softened. It was the first time I’d heard Caspian say anything positive about his own son. It was the first time he’d talked about goodness and love…not hate and murder.
“Give my son another chance. His actions couldn’t have been that egregious because he’s incapable of being cruel. Not to mention, that man has done everything to keep you safe. He provides for you, protects you. He was willing to put a bullet in his brain to keep you alive. If you continue to focus on his one wrongdoing, then you’re a much dumber girl than I realized.”
I listened to every word he said, but my mind was also thinking so many things at once. “Let me get this straight… You’re here to tell me to forgive your son?”
He drank his scotch.
“You aren’t here to kill me. You’re here to play cupid.”
He lowered his glass, his eyes narrowed at the provocation.
“So, you do care about your son.”
He finished his drink and pushed the glass toward me. “My vendetta against you is on pause at the moment. Killing you in your bed while you sleep felt cheap. Too easy. You should be at home with your husband, not sleeping around with whatever pretty boy you find on the street. My son needs his wife.” He grabbed his gun from the counter and slipped it into the back of his slacks as he stood up. “But make no mistake, Arwen. When the right time comes, I will kill you. I will slaughter you like a pig and use your meat like a Christmas ham.” He rested his hand on the counter between us, his fingers balled into a fist. “Tonight, I’m doing the right thing for my son. But tomorrow, I’m doing the right thing for me.”
That was the strangest conversation I’d ever had—but I took it seriously.
Caspian didn’t kill me that evening, but tomorrow was a new day. The conditions would change, and we would be enemies once more. Knowing his son was upset that he’d lost his wife, Caspian had intervened because he wasn’t that heartless after all.
But then he turned back to being cold once he was done.
Very strange man.
The next day, I packed up all my things and stuffed them into my car and made the drive back to Tuscany. Caspian knew where I worked, where I slept, and proved he could kill me whenever he felt like it. Living on my own wasn’t safe. I needed a strong fence, a security team, and a man who could protect me.
I didn’t have another choice.
I drove across the countryside and left my former life behind. My apartment would be inhabited by some other poor person. My job at the bar was abandoned because I couldn’t work there anymore, not after watching Caspian’s men point guns at everyone’s heads. I hadn’t changed my mind about my relationship with Maverick, but I looked forward to returning to his estate.
It was home.
I checked in at the front gate, and the guys let me pass through. I knew Maverick would be notified of my return. The guys would tell him that my car was stuffed with my belongings, as if I intended to return permanently. Before I even made it to the front of the house, Maverick would know exactly what my intentions were.
I was a weak person who was unable to take care of herself. I didn’t have the strength or the training to fight off a man like Caspian and his crew. I didn’t have the cash to buy a powerful fortress that could keep all the assholes off my property. I was just a woman without means. I was crawling back on my knees to a man who cheated on me…because I didn’t have a choice.
But deep down inside…I was happy to be there.
As the house became more visible, I noticed a man step out of the large double doors and walk down the path to the enormous driveway. With square shoulders, tall height, and purpose in his gait, he headed down the path and approached the road. He was in a black blazer and dark jeans, and his face became more visible as I slowly approached. With dark brown hair and matching eyes, he was a beautiful man who could easily appear in a cologne commercial.