Chapter 23

Chapter 23
Chapter 23

DARIO

My sweet girl had turned into a stubborn, defiant woman. But I knew exactly how to tame her—it was only a matter of time. The problem was, time felt like torture when all I wanted was to possess her in every way possible.

Especially when she was wearing that red dress. Sexy. Provocative. Making my cock ache with so much need.

“What do you want?” she said as soon as she opened her bedroom door. The insolence in her tone made me want to punish her.

“You’re beautiful.” I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

“Thank you. Is that all?”

“You have the face of an angel and the curves of a demon. And both God and the devil know I’d follow you to heaven or hell without hesitation.”

She almost smiled.

“What I meant was—what are you doing here?”

“I came to get you. We’re going down for dinner.”

“As you said earlier, I know the house well enough.”

“You don’t have to be hostile all the time, sweetheart. It doesn’t suit you.”

“If my hostility bothers you, we can skip dinner and you can just tell me what happened so I can leave.”

“Be patient. And more importantly, don’t provoke the wrath of a gentle man.”

She sighed.

“Where’s your grandfather?”

“He’ll be here any minute.”

“Great.”

She walked past me, leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

“Should I assume there’s a special reason for that dress?” I teased as I followed her.

“Yes. The reason is that all my other clothes are in my real house.”

“You moved all your things out?”

“Almost everything.”

“In any case, once you accept my proposal, you can choose a new house for us.”

She let out a short laugh as we walked down the hallway.

“Not a chance.”

“Soon,” I promised.

She glanced over her shoulder, smiling in disdain and shaking her head. God, I wanted to pin her against the wall just to remind her who she belonged to. And I knew she’d love it.

“Why are you so determined to resist me? Is it just because you think I’m hiding things, or are you angry with me?”

“I’m not angry. I just don’t know who you are, and I suspect you’re nothing like what I imagined—or what you try to appear to be.”

“Don’t act like you don’t have your own secrets, sweetheart.”

She stopped briefly, then kept walking.

“What are you talking about?”

“I know why Xavier was after you. Why didn’t you tell me about the investigation?”

“Because it’s none of your business. Hiding who you are isn’t the same as having confidential matters.”

“A secret is a secret.”

We reached the staircase, and I spotted my grandfather waiting in the living room below.

“I’m happy to see you two together!” he said as we descended.

“Come here, child.”

Sophia walked over to hug him.

“I’m sorry, Joseph, but there’s a mistake. I only came to discuss the divorce,” she said after pulling back.

My grandfather shot me a sharp look.

“We’re still discussing it,” I said.

“Are we?” She arched a brow at me.

“Yes.”

I gave her a hard stare, hoping she wouldn’t keep challenging me in front of him. She rolled her eyes before turning and heading to the dining room.

“I thought you’d have this settled by now, boy.”

“Don’t worry. I’m handling it.”

“Doesn’t look like it’s working.”

“And what do you suggest? Force her to stay married to me, keep her locked up, and make her bear my children?”

“Sometimes a bit of a firm hand is enough.”

“I appreciate the advice, but I don’t want my wife to hate me forever. Come on, let’s have dinner.”

I respected him, but I didn’t want him meddling in my business—even if he was the one who dragged me into all this.

Sophia barely waited for us to sit at the table before aiming her questions at my grandfather.

For the first time, she was close to making me lose my patience.

“Since I’m about to stop being part of this family, I think it’s past time I learned the truth. Dario told me you knew my parents. Actually, he said he only agreed to the marriage because he owed you a favor. So I’m not wrong to believe you know why my parents arranged this marriage.”

“My child, you shouldn’t trouble yourself with your parents’ reasons. They only wanted the best for you.”

Sophia shot me an arrogant look.

“So… you’re the best for me?”

I drew in a deep breath. She was getting under my skin with that attitude.

My grandfather cleared his throat before continuing.

“I don’t think this marriage was as hard as you’re making it seem. After all, you two spent the last three years trying to fool me—and you didn’t even live together in this house.”

Fuck.

How did he know? Maybe I was naive to think I could fool him.

“But don’t worry, dear. In a way, you were right that day. I know most of the fault for this marriage failing is on my grandson, for being negligent.”

“Enough,” I warned.

“I thought it was time Sophia met her husband,” he said, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

“Wait…”

Sophia looked just as surprised as I was.

“So the photos… that was you?” she asked, finally realizing. Of course my grandfather had his hand in this.

“You bribed my lawyer?” I asked, already considering if I needed to fire him.

“You know I have my own methods, boy.”

“You shouldn’t have gotten involved.”

“And you shouldn’t have tried to fool me. You just had to fulfill your duty.”

I stood, refusing to have this conversation in front of Sophia.

“I’ve lost my appetite. We’ll talk in the office.”

“I thought we were going to talk,” she said impatiently.

“Eat.”

“But—”

“Stay and eat. We’ll talk later.”

She didn’t look happy, but she stayed silent.

In the office, I sat on one of the sofas while my grandfather took the other, as impassive as ever.

“I know you’re trying to help in your own way. But I don’t want your help. I’ll handle this myself. She’s my wife, just like you wanted. I fulfilled my duty. Now I’ll deal with it as I see fit.”

“I always knew that the moment you laid eyes on her, this would happen.”

“Are you satisfied now? You know I only did what I did to try to keep her away from all this.”

“Yes, I know. That’s why I let you think you were fooling me. But it didn’t work, did it? Despite you hiding the truth and staying away, that girl has her own problems and is in danger you need to protect her from. That’s always been the point of this marriage.”

“I’ll do that, but I don’t need you involved. You’ve caused enough trouble already by telling her who I was.”

“Falling for your own wife… quite the twist fate played on you two. And you have to admit, you made a huge mistake by choosing not to know who she was.”

“You came here just to point out my mistakes? I’ll take care of her. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? Then this conversation is over.”

“I want her to be part of the family.”

“She already is. She’s my wife.”

“No. She needs to know who we are, and that she’s part of this now. No more secrets.”

“I won’t force her into anything. If she decides to stay, I’ll tell her.”

“I knew it. You’re in love with her. That’s why you’re being so soft and indulgent. How many times did I warn you about women? That’s not how we do things, boy. You know that. She’ll have her own duties as part of this family.”

“Enough. She’s none of your concern. I fulfilled my duty by marrying her. And I’ll protect her, even if she decides she doesn’t want to stay married. That’s all you need to know.”

“I raised you, boy. We both know you’re not going to let her go.”

“I—”

“Excuse me, sir.” One of my guards opened the door, interrupting.

“What?”

“The young lady just left.”

Fuck. I told her to wait.

Apparently, Miss Dempsey couldn’t follow a single order.

Was my grandfather right after all?

Was I being too soft with her?

Keeping her locked up was starting to sound like a very tempting idea.