Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 103124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
And Nico needs to find another queen to rule by his side.
43
Nico
Three weeks later.
“Good riddance,” I say as I pour whisky into the glass tumbler. It’s my second glass in the twenty minutes Massimo has been in my office busting my balls over everything.
Now he’s just brought up the topic he’s been dancing around. Bella. Just the sound of her name is enough to drive me to drink.
Her being gone is a good thing. I was insane to think this could work.
Now I can get back to doing what I do best without the distraction.
“You don’t mean that,” Massimo says.
“I’ve never meant anything more in my entire life.” I take a mouthful of scotch and swallow, savoring the burn searing a path through my chest. “I’ve moved on.”
“You don’t act like a man who’s moved on.”
“How so?”
“Avoiding social events and refusing to accept any invitations to things that would help alliances. Like locking yourself in this office with a case of scotch and not resurfacing for three days.” He crosses his legs and looks amused.
“So the fuck what? It had nothing to do with her and everything to do with me needing some time out. Even the king needs a break every now and again.”
“But I’ve never seen you take a break.”
“I thought now was a good time to start.”
“And now that this break is over, what are your plans?”
“I get back to ruling my fucking kingdom.”
He watches me drain the glass. “And you plan on ruling your kingdom drunk?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
“To what, forget about her?”
“To refocus and get shit done.”
Massimo sighs like a parent who is fed up arguing with their kid. “So you’re letting her go just like that?”
“Just like that.” I snap my fingers. “She was too much of a distraction. Too much hard work.”
“What did you expect when you force someone to marry you? You have to expect a little pushback.” He folds his arms. “But it wasn’t like that in the end, was it?”
I actively ignore him and pour a third scotch. I don’t need to think about how it was in the end.
“You still have eyes on her?” he asks.
“Of course. Until the fallout from Luca Bamcorda’s death is handled, she’s still a target.”
So far, the consequences of taking out my rival have been minimal. But when it comes to Bella’s safety, I’m not taking any chances.
“Does she know?” Massimo asks.
“They’re very discreet.”
“And they report back to you daily, no doubt.”
I know what he’s getting at. That I’m using the bodyguards to spy on her. But I’m not. I don’t need to know what she’s up to, or if she’s missing me, or if she’s as miserable as I am when the sun goes down and our bed is empty.
“You want to know what I think?” Massimo asks, his dark eyes watching my every move.
“Do I have a choice?”
He ignores me. “I think you love her, and that scares you.”
The mouthful of whisky I’ve just taken turns into razorblades going down my throat. “I thought I did, but I was wrong.”
“No, you weren’t wrong. You love her. I’d bet my balls on it, and you know I’m fond of my balls.”
“What I feel for her now is far from fucking love,” I mutter.
But Massimo is not convinced.
“That pain in your gut, that knot in your chest, that’s called longing, and longing is a byproduct of love. You’re drinking that scotch to anesthetize them, but it won’t work.”
I scoff. The pain in my gut and the knot in my chest is agitation from this conversation—not because I can’t stand her being so far away from me. Or because I hate waking up without her warm body lying next to me. Or because I’ve had to jerk off more times than I can count because her smell lingers in my sheets, and I wake up with a determined hard-on that won’t quit because of it.
“What happens when she starts dating other men?” He asks.
My eyes dart to him. “Why the fuck would you ask me that?”
“I’m curious.”
“I’m curious to see if you float, but I restrain myself from finding out.” I grip the tumbler in my hand a little too tight because my brother has the ability to push every single one of my buttons. But I compose myself. “That’s not my concern.”
“Good, because you’ve let her go, and now she’s free to do as she pleases. Surely you don’t expect her to remain single for the rest of her life.”
The glass in my hand shatters and sends shards of crystal into my fingers. Scotch mixes with blood. The sting is nothing compared to the frisson of agitation and anger in my gut. “Fuck.”
I grab a tea towel from the bar and wrap it around my hand. Blood seeps into the cotton fabric.
“You just let a beautiful woman go into the wild, and it won’t be long before someone else snatches her up.”