The Wedding Debt: Chapter 7

WHACK!

The strike of his hand against my face hits harder than any punch I’ve received from the fuckers I destroyed at school or wherever else.

“That’s for fighting at school,” my father says.

Another strike to the other side of my face makes my lip twitch in resentment.

But it’s nothing compared to the pain I’ve felt numerous times before … and not just by my father’s hand.

“You should know better than to draw attention to yourself and tarnish our family’s name.”

I didn’t even get a chance to explain that I was trying to …

Save Jill and Jasmine.

No, fuck that. I’m no knight in shining armor.

And my father probably wouldn’t even care.

He slaps me twice more just because he enjoys seeing the blood rush to my skin. I got my wicked cravings from somewhere, and it wasn’t my mother whose genes passed it on.

“And that’s for bringing girls into my fucking house,” my father seethes.

I don’t know how he found out.

Probably the cameras.

I should’ve covered them.

“How dare you? How fucking dare you disobey me?” he says, his voice filled with contempt. “I told you, you and your brother need to start taking your lives seriously.”

I don’t respond. Nothing I can say will make his rage go away. Mine never does. And I didn’t get it from a stranger.

“You’re a disgrace,” he says, and he spits on the floor in front of my feet. “Don’t ever fucking humiliate me again, Luca, or there will be hell to pay.” He points at the door. “Go to your room.”

He doesn’t have to say it twice. I’m already out the door.

Fuck him and fuck that high horse he rode in on.

I can do whatever the fuck I want. No one’s gonna stop me, not even his harsh rules or the hard hand he hits with.

It’s not the first time I got hurt, and it definitely won’t be the last.

I learned a long time ago my father uses violence to get what he wants, whether it’s with his competitors … or his own damn son.

Nothing is forbidden. Violence is normal when you’re a part of the mafia.

Mafia.

That one word we’re not allowed to use. As if denying its existence makes it easier to swallow what my family really is.

A bunch of mobsters who use violence to get rich and powerful. And to force their own damn family into the same fucking life, even if they end up hating you for it.

Fuck this.

I hurry up the stairs and stomp into my room, slamming the door shut … only to find Liam sitting on my fucking bed.

“Get out,” I bark.

“No, c’mon,” he says, leisurely lounging on his elbows. “I’m your brother. Let’s talk.”

“No,” I spit back, my palms turning into fists.

“You’ve made enough enemies,” Liam says. “Don’t turn me into one too.”

“What the fuck do you want?”

He sits up straight. “I just wanna know what happened.”

“I got in a fight at school. Big deal,” I reply.

“I thought you said you were done with that?” he says.

I cock my head. “Yeah, well, that was before those two Baas girls tried to walk all over the school grounds in those fucking glass slippers, wearing that red lipstick like they owned the fucking place.”

My brother’s brows rise in that annoying way they always do when his interest is piqued. “Sounds to me like you paid a little too much attention to them.”

“No fucking shit,” I respond. “It’s kinda hard not to notice when they’re making new ‘friends.’” I make quotation marks with my fingers.

“So you got into a fight for them?”

I pause. I almost want to say it out loud.

Not for them. For her.

But I don’t.

“They were being mobbed by three guys. What else was I supposed to do?” I yell. “It’s not like I had a choice.”

“You could’ve walked away,” Liam says.

“Oh, like you would have,” I scoff. “While your precious Jasmine is on the floor, begging for you to save her.”

“Hey, don’t make this about me now,” Liam says, pointing at me.

I sigh out loud as I pace around my room. Rain begins to pitter-patter down the windows, the sky growing as dark as my mood. “If I get expelled, Dad won’t accept that.”

“You’re right about that.” He rolls his eyes. “But you could’ve told him the truth.”

I stop and yell, “Told him what? That I was trying to play the knight in shining armor?” I laugh at how stupid I sound. “No, that’s dumb.”

“And unbelievable,” my brother adds. “But you did it for the right reasons.”

“Screw what’s right,” I say, and I point at Liam. “And fuck you for telling Dad about that girl in my room.”

He holds up his hands. “Hey now, that wasn’t me.”

“Who the fuck else could it have been?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know, but I wasn’t the only one inside the house that day.”

“And I’m supposed to believe your word? Give me one good reason.”

“I’m your brother,” he replies. “There’s your reason.”

“Yeah, no,” I scoff. “You’ve got to give me something better than that.”

He gets up from the bed and walks toward me, broadening his shoulders. “Don’t be stupid.” He places a hand on my shoulder. “I care about you. I want you to be okay.”

My nostrils flare as I look at him, but all I see is truthfulness, and it pisses me off.

Why is he still so fucking nice to me? Is this all just to prove he’s the better brother? The one who will take over the company while I’m lying in a ditch somewhere?

“Don’t,” Liam suddenly says. “Whatever you’re thinking, don’t.”

“You’re always so fucking nice, and I hate it.”

He plants his forehead against mine, forcing me to stay. “Don’t let Father get to you. Whatever he tells you, don’t let him get into your mind. Listen to me, Luca. We’re better than this. We’re brothers.”

“While you take over Dad’s business and stab me in the back.”

He grabs my neck. “I would never fucking do that. Never. Promise on our father’s life.”

I scoff, “You’d kill him to prove a point?”

“If that’s what it takes to prove my loyalty to you as a brother, I would.” He strengthens his grip. “Believe me, Luca. And don’t let them fucking pit us against each other. If we go down, we go down together.”

I nod a few times even though I don’t feel the same way.

“You got it?”

I nod again, letting it sink in slowly.

“I’m always going to be honest with you. Straight up,” Liam says. “And you know why? Because I love you.”

I snort.

“I mean it.”

“I know,” I reply.

He nods and then slowly releases me from his grip. But his hand is still on my shoulder, and he looks me deep in the eye as he says, “I know you have a thing for Jill, but you have to stop.”

I stare at him in confusion with my lips parted.

“I’m telling you this as a brother who loves you, okay?” Liam says.

My lip begins to twitch. “Why?”

“You just can’t,” he says. “Trust me on that.”

Can’t?

Trust him?

Rage becomes me, and I grab his shirt and shove him up against the wall. “What are you hiding?”

“I’m not supposed to tell you but—”

“Tell me,” I growl in his face.

He rips my hands off his shirt and shoves me away, showing off his bulky chest and muscular arms as he breathes out loud. And I realize then that he doesn’t love me. He’s just using my only weakness to try to stop me.

“TELL ME!”

Thunder strikes outside.

A menacing shadow looms behind my brother’s figure. The shadow of my ruined future.

His eyes lower to the floor like a sad coward. “Mom told me … Jill’s supposed to marry me.”

My eyes widen.

Thunder booms again, the sound as loud as the beating of my heart.

But I don’t wait until the lightning follows to force open the window and jump outside, running straight into the storm.