“Good to see you, Emmie. I hope our son has been treating you well.” His eyes hold mine, and a shiver of fear races through me.
This man locked my fucking mother in a cell, allowed her to almost kill herself, yet, he’s standing there in his fancy tuxedo as if it’s just another day.
“He has, thank you, Damien,” I say firmly, holding his stare, pretending that I’m not quaking on the inside.
“My pleasure. I hope you have a fantastic night. I’m sure you’ll fit right in with all our family and friends.”
“I’m sure I will. Is there anyone specific that I should meet?”
Selene looks between the two of us with a slight frown creasing her brow.
“I’ll introduce you to some people later on. Right now, I think we’re needed in the dining room.”
Heat burns my back a beat before an arm snakes around my middle, a possessive hand splaying on my belly.
“I’m sorry,” he breathes in my ear. “Alex and Seb stopped me from leaving.”
“I’m okay,” I assure him. “Just having a nice chat about family with your dad.”
I give Damien a sickly-sweet smile as I say the words, confusing Selene even more.
I think it might be time someone stops lying to his wife. I’m sure she’d be more than interested to learn that she’s recently acquired a daughter-in-law.
“Is that right?” Theo damn near growls at his father.
“Um… we should probably all start making a move,” Selene says, trying to recover the quickly stifling atmosphere.
“Yes, good idea,” Stella pipes up. “Have you seen Seb?”
“He’s with Alex and Nico out back.”
Stella rolls her eyes. “Great,” she mutters, taking off in search of her stoned boyfriend.
“Do you have a plus one tonight, Calli?” Selene asks her niece, sounding genuinely curious.
“You think Nico would have approved of anyone?” I don’t need to look at her expression to know she’s had more than one argument about this.
“Well, who knows. Maybe you will find an eligible bachelor to keep you company tonight,” Selene says hopefully.
“Yeah, maybe.”
“Come on, babe.” Theo’s hand slips into mine and he pulls me away from his parents, siblings and Calli. “I’m sorry about them.”
“They’re fine. It’s your father I have an issue with.”
“He’ll be on his best behaviour tonight.”
“So I see.”
“These events are all about the show. He’s the boss, the most respected and feared man in the entire building. He won’t have anything or anybody threaten that.”
My stomach knots painfully at his words, but I push my concern aside. It’s too late now. Things are already set in motion.
“So I guess that means you’re the second most respected?”
He chuckles as we follow a mass of people toward a huge set of doors.
“Not even close, babe. I might be heir to all this, but right now, there are plenty of men above me. Charon, Toby’s uh… Jonas’s father is my father’s advisor, and Evan, Calli’s dad, are next in line.”