“She’s always been so irresponsible, and now with the . . .” He paused, even though Dante knew he’d been about to mention the pregnancy. Luc shook his head again before continuing. “Anyway, I just wanted to apologize about that. Her behavior was completely rash, as usual.”
Something about the way Luc was denigrating Cleo rubbed Dante the wrong way, especially since it was completely unfair.
“You shouldn’t be so harsh on her,” Dante said, and Luc did a double take.
“What?”
“You shouldn’t be so hard on her. She didn’t quit. I fired her.”
“You did?” Luc’s brow furrowed, as he tried to process this new information. “Why? What did she do?”
“Maybe you should give your sister the benefit of the doubt once in a while,” Dante said, and Luc’s eyes narrowed.
“Dante,” he said, his voice going dangerously quiet. “What’s this about?”
“This is what I’ve come here to discuss with you,” Dante replied, clearing his throat awkwardly.
“What? My sister?”
“Yes. And the baby.”
Luc pushed himself up out of his chair and braced his clenched fists on the desk in front of him as he leaned forward to pin Dante with his fierce glare. Dante remained seated, allowing the man the position of power in this instance because, really, Dante was in the wrong.
“How do you know about the baby?” Luc asked in an uneven voice, and Dante took a deep breath and met his friend’s gaze head-on before bidding one of his longest-standing friendships a reluctant farewell.
“I’m the child’s father.”
Luc moved so fast it took both of them by surprise. Dante was out of his chair and pinned against the thin prefab wall in seconds.
“You bastard,” Luc hissed, his hands fisted in Dante’s shirtfront. “I trusted you with my family!”
“Luc, take it easy.” Dante tried to remain calm and nonconfrontational, but Luc dragged him forward and slammed him back against the wall, shaking it violently.
“You’ll be marrying her.”
“No, I won’t,” Dante corrected. “Neither your sister nor I want that. I will, however, be taking care of her and of the baby.”
“We don’t need anything from you,” Luc said, the Knight pride once again coming to the surface. “Not one bloody thing. If you won’t do the right thing and marry her, then I’ll take care of her and the baby.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Lucius. The baby is my responsibility. Cleo-while she’s pregnant-is my responsibility. You have Blue and the house to take care of. Cleo will be moving in with me for the remainder of her pregnancy, and after that she’ll be moving into a house that I will purchase in our child’s name-as per her wishes.”
“Yeah, money buys you out of every undesirable situation, doesn’t it? Must be nice,” Luc said with a sneer, and the man’s contemptuous words stung more than they should have. Dante tried not to let them affect him, but it was hard when Luc’s opinion of him had just hit rock bottom. “My sister and her child are not for sale. You can take whatever the hell deals you have made with her and shove them up your ass. Get out of my office.”
“The arrangements that Cleo and I have made have nothing to do with you. I only came to tell you about our plans out of respect for you and for our friendship.”
“You have so much respect for me that you used my sister like one of your little sluts? And then tossed her aside like rubbish when she turned up pregnant? And worse than that, you fired her? Why? Because your mistake would be staring you in the face every day as she grew bigger and bigger with your little bast-“
“Don’t!” Dante finally pushed back, releasing Luc’s hold on him and preventing him from saying the horrible word he’d been about to utter. To his credit, the other man looked shamefaced for a few moments, before the anger took over again.
“Get the hell out of my office,” Luc seethed, and Dante, tempted though he was to leave, stood his ground.
“Luc, Cleo will be moving in with me, and she’s going to need you.”
“Don’t tell me what the hell my sister needs; I know her better than you do,” Luc retorted.
Dante nodded. “Just don’t abandon her because you’re pissed off with me,” he said.
Luc seemed to consider his words before drawing back and punching him in the jaw.
Dante reeled, his hand going up to his throbbing face. His instinctive reaction was to punch back, but he knew that he owed Luc a free one and let it go. He opened and closed his jaw to test if it was broken, but luckily it was just stiff.
“I deserved that,” he acknowledged, and the words seemed to infuriate Luc even more. When the man drew back for another punch, Dante felt the need to warn him, “But the second one won’t be free.”
The warning made Luc hesitate.
“I hope you will come to understand that I never meant to disrespect you or your family, Luc,” Dante explained. “But the solution to Cleo’s pregnancy isn’t marriage. We’d both be miserable, and as a consequence, the child would suffer too.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.