Volatile Love (The Gilded Sovereign 2)

“And you didn’t stop Tarian?” Isaac arches a brow at Ares, and I can’t help but chuckle at his question.

“Do you really think we let him walk out? Thane isn’t a man to fuck over; he has connections I’d rather not be on the wrong side of.”

Dad looks at me. “I know exactly what Thanatos Calvert has,” he informs me confidently. That’s one thing about my father: he believes the world should bow down to him, and I don’t.

“Well, then you should be able to sort this shit out because I want Tarian back here.” Rising from the chair, I pace beside the window, unsure of how to fix what this asshole has decided to break apart.

“I’ll get it sorted out, but what I need to know is how far you’re willing to go to get Thane out of Tynewood.” Dad’s voice chills me right down to the bone. I don’t doubt my father has some dangerous liaisons, and this time, I think he’s about to pull them all out of the hat in order to help us.

“As far as possible. Thane doesn’t deserve to be at the table.”

“And Dahlia does? Will you be adding your little girlfriend to the Sovereign as well?” Dad challenges me, turning my frustration into anger.

“You have no reason to question what we do. We’re the Tynewood faction, and if we decide on something, it rolls out to every other society, you know this. And we have decided that women should be able to sit at the table. There are four seats for the sons; there should be four for the daughters.”

He chuckles, shaking his head at my insistence, which only serves to frustrate me further. “This isn’t a joke. This is a decision that’s going to stand until I take my last breath. And Rukaiya should sit at that table. Thane Calvert is her father.”

“What?”

“Her mother had an affair with that asshole, but he couldn’t step up as a father. Sound familiar?” I arch a brow, the attack is clear when my father winces at my insinuation, but I don’t feel guilty. He walked out, just like Thane, and he needs to know that it’s fucked up.

“I did leave, but I always loved you.”

“Yeah? Did you love me when I was alone here with a mother who would rather drink herself into oblivion before midday? Or were you here when mother would prefer my best friends over spending time with me?”

“Is this meeting meant to be about the Sovereign, or about how you’re bitter about me being an absent father?” Isaac rises, closing the distance between us. “Because if that’s the problem, you should know I didn’t have a choice. I had to leave, or your mother would’ve taken you away.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Should I leave?” Ares questions, watching us both as old secrets come to light, and I know my father’s about to impart more about my mother than I ever knew.

“No,” Dad says. “Stay, listen to this, because you’re one of the boys my wife was so enamored with.” He glances between Ares and I for a moment before he sighs. “When I first met Hilary, we were friends with Abner, Thane, and Yasmine. It was a partnership that would always be there, or so we thought. In stepped Fergus who knew both Thane and Yasmine, and we welcomed him. Patrick, Dahlia’s father, was one of Abner’s original recruits because he grew up in Tynewood.”

There’s a pause, and I wonder if this is going to turn into some sordid, creepy family shit that only comes from rumors being spread about a small town.

“The problem is that Abner wanted the top spot, which he took without so much as a vote. When Patrick and Fergus stepped up to follow him, Thane got angry. I wanted to support whatever the Sovereign wanted, but your mother… I didn’t realize at the time… was working alongside Abner. More closely than I had ever imagined.”

“Are you saying that mother and Abner Lancaster were fucking?” My incredulous tone is evident as I regard my father. This is a fucking joke if that’s what he’s talking about. My mother may be many things, but someone who sleeps around, I don’t believe it.

“She had a very short, illicit affair with Abner.” Dad admits, and the pain in his voice makes my chest tighten in confusion and anger.

“That’s ridiculous. I would’ve known.”

He chuckles at my retort, and I realize that I would never have known. This was before I was born. “She wasn’t always the socialite you grew up knowing, Etienne,” he tells me. “When she had you, she believed you’d be just like her, a lover of many. Hence the reason she wanted to name you Eros, which I made her change.”

“So, I’m meant to be some sort of mini part of her?” I stop to stare at my father. “Do you know about Yasmine and me fucking?”