Occupational hazard.
She had raised my mother with impossible standards no human could achieve. It was no surprise why my mother ran away. I hated Blair with a passion and avoided her at all costs.
“Founders take pride in their appearances,” Blair said with a sharpness in her tone. “You would be wise to remember that. We can’t have you embarrassing us in front of our peers.”
“I’d be more than happy to go back to Brooklyn,” I fired back.
“Leave the poor girl alone.” My grandfather yelled at her from a small sofa at the far end of the room. “She has enough to worry about without you jumping down her throat. Go entertain yourself until we serve lunch.”
He tipped the snifter in his hand to his mouth and winked at me.
“I’m going to freshen up,” Blair said.
She left the sitting room, heels clacking on the tiled floor as she stormed down the hallway. I didn’t need a lecture from my grandmonster. That mean ass bitch could save her advice for someone who cared. For someone she cared about.
Pops shook his head, annoyed. “Don’t listen to her. Blair is a snob.”
I crossed the room and hugged him. Carl Wellington III was a powerful man who sold me to the Salvatores, but he was the only family I had left, apart from Aiden. My parents were dead to me the day I became a Wellington.
He patted my back in a soothing, circular motion. “How are you holding up?”
I settled on the cushion beside him and shrugged. “Okay, I guess. I’ve been through worse than the Salvatores.”
Pops sipped his brandy, one eyebrow raised. “How are they treating you?”
Did he really care?Doubtful. My grandfather was very good at playing the game.
“Marcello took me shopping today.”
He nodded in approval. “Marcello’s a good man.”
“You think so?”
“I prefer Marcello over Luca. He’s more like his mother and will take good care of you.”
“He’s not much better than his brothers,” I pointed out.
“People like us don’t have as much say in our lives as others. Marriage is about power, not love. I know it’s hard for you to understand this concept, but I didn’t marry Blair for love.”
I snorted. “It shows.”
He smiled, then tipped the glass to his lips. “Blair’s family is more connected than the Wellingtons. My father forced me to marry her before I graduated from medical school.”
Most of the men in my family were doctors. My grandfather owned Wellington Pharmaceuticals, a company that had been in our family for over a hundred years. Pops had high hopes for Aiden, but he was an artist and would never change.
“The Salvatores are bullies and monsters. I think they enjoy torturing me.”
“Arlo is stepping down from Salvatore Global and must choose a successor. If you were to marry Damian or Bastian, that would complicate matters for Arlo.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why?”
“Because they’re not Salvatores by blood. Damian Townsend and Bastian Kincaid are direct descendants of the Founding Fathers. They can move up the ranks to The Founders Society without a marriage.”
“What would happen if I married Bastian?”
“He would become the new Grand Master of The Devil’s Knights,” Pops explained between sips of scotch. “Your children would become legacies. The same would apply to Damian.”
“What would happen to Luca and Marcello?”