Hundred and twelve

Hundred and twelve
RIVEN BLACKWOOD POV

"I told you not to kill him," Father got out gravely, his hands flexing against the windowsill. Letting out a sigh, he turned to face me. "What are you going to do when Victor finds out that you murdered his son huh? Do you think you'll be able to take him out like you did to Metz?"

I stared at him. From how passionate he had been the last time we spoke, I expected him to be more angry than he was right now. Not that I cared though.

I scoffed, then raked my fingers through my hair. "I wasn't thinking of doing anything that drastic, Father. Don't be so paranoid."

His shoulders tensed, his veins visible as he gritted his teeth. "This is not a joking matter, Riven!" He snapped, his hands balling up at his side. Yes, that was more like it. Nothing pleased me more than rilling up the old man.

I straightened, my gaze holding his. "I never said it was, you're the one who keeps blowing this out of proportion." I let out a rough breath, then stuffed my hand into my pocket. "As far as my knowledge serves me, Victor has no idea that I know Ksar, so how is he going to find out that I killed him? Do you perhaps plan to tell him that I killed his son?"

"I don't plan to tell him anything, but as long as there are witnesses, words are going to get back to him about what you did. Just how much do you think he would need to buy your men's loyalty, huh... are you so confident that none of them would betray you if they get the chance? You don't know Victor as I do, Riven, crossing him is like—"

"—No," I shouted and stepped in front of him. "It's more like you do not know me and what I am capable of," I said, then exhaled roughly. "And don't even think I forgot what you said about Hazel or how you referred to her as the enemy's daughter."

His eyes darted away from mine, his brows pinching tight. "I only said that because you refused to listen to me. I know she's your weakness and that's why I said those things about her, but I didn't mean them. If I hated her, I wouldn't have accepted for you two to be together."

I leaned close. "Did you really accept her if any chance you get, you use her to threaten me? Do you know what I feel each time you so much as mention her name?"I asked, hoping that he saw the murderous thoughts swirling in my head.

His fisted hand trembled, his eyes darting everywhere. "You have to understand that I only went so far to stop you from killing Ksar, to protect you and Hazel," He said, meeting my gaze. "I didn't want a war with Victor vex. You might not see it now, but I won't be the only one affected if he becomes an enemy. How do you plan to protect the woman you love from a lunatic like him?"

He was clever. Twisting everything to make it seem like he was doing it all for Hazel's sake, but I knew it was all for his beloved business that he loved so much.

"You don't have to worry about such trivial issues, Father; I already took care of everything." I glanced away from him. "Do you know what Victor thinks right now, he thinks Ksar is out of the country... Of course, he will find out he's dead soon enough when he doesn't hear from him, but his death will never be traced to me. I made sure of it"

"And when he gets his son's body—"

I grinned, my brows arching "What body?"

He watched me, his gaze hard, and then realizations dawned. "What did you do?"

"You don't have to know. Just rest assured that everything was taken care of."

He let out a sigh, his gaze severe "Fine. But make sure it stays that way. That is if you want to protect this family and the woman you plan to marry. Making enemies only leads to bloodshed."

"I already told you not to worry about the enemies, Father; I'll handle it," I said, then glanced at my watch. "Are we good, or do you have something else to say?"

His fist unclenched, the line on his forehead relaxing. "No," he uttered, defeated.

"Good, because I have to go now. Hazel must already be getting impatient waiting for me. We have cake tasting to do today," I said, barely able to suppress my grin.

Father scoffed and I met his gaze. He shook his head, his tongue clicking. "I can't believe you're so excited over that. You used to only get excited for bloodshed and now..." He shook his head, his face showing his confusion. "You really love this girl don't you?"

"You already know the answer to that, Father," I said, my eyes boring into his, my mind alert to every inflection in his tone.

He chuckled dryly. "You're right. How could I not when you would have killed me for her? Even now I can still see it in your eyes that you'll do it without a moment's hesitation if she orders it."

"You should be glad Hazel is such a pure soul then. She'll never let me kill you—" My jaw clenched, "—even though you put her in a casket and threatened to kill her,"

The corner of his mouth twitched, his beady eyes shaking in their socket. "I wouldn't have done that if I knew she was this important to you," he said, and I turned to leave. "Won't you ask me about your brother?"

"What do you want, old man? Haven't I already granted your wish to keep him alive, and now you want me to ask after his health, too?" I got out and then scoffed. "Are you trying to mess with me?"

"Ethan is—"

"I don't want to know anything about him," I bit out, my jaw clenching as the scar on Hazel's side flashed in my head. "If you keep bringing him up, I might visit him at the hospital, Father, and it won't be to say hello."

He knew it was a threat. His frown deepened. "Holding on to such anger against your blood is only going to destroy you Riven. Ethan is family, get over whatever happened—"

I met his gaze, my eyes fierce. "I'll never get over it. Tell him not to show his face to me even when he recovers, or you're really going to lose a son," I said, yanked open the door, and stepped out of his office.

"Wait," he shouted, then grabbed a beautifully wrapped box from beside his desk and gave it to me.

"Here, give it to my daughter-in-law. I would like to apologize in person for everything that happened, but I think this would be better, especially since you both are so busy preparing for the wedding."

I took it from him. It was heavy. "I'm sure she'll like whatever this is," I said, and he nodded, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"It's all gold bars and precious stones," he boasted, his eyes losing the evil energy that swirled in them. "I had the miner's mine and package only the best one."

I glanced at the box. "You'll need five more of this to make up for how badly you've treated your daughter-in-law all this time, Father."

He grimaced. "Then five more she'll get. She is the sole heiress of the Styles fortune, after all. Get her to partner with us, okay? If you do, I'll double the number of boxes you asked for."

I shook my head. Business was truly the only thing he cared about.

I slammed the door, then took a deep breath.

"Keep your word, Father," I said, my gaze boring through the door. "Because I really don't care how many people I have to kill to be with Hazel." My gaze dropped to the box, a grin playing on my lips.

Father was literally selling me off if he was willing to give her ten boxes of this when he was so stingy with his properties.

I couldn't wait to be tied to Hazel forever, and with the way things were going, I bet it was going to happen very soon.