Alpha Damon (Sienna) novel Chapter 157

Delilah:

The moment I stepped into the study, I knew something was wrong.

Actually, it was the moment that I walked inside the house, when I noticed the tension within the house and when I was told that he was waiting for me in his office.

The maids avoided eye contact. The air was heavier than usual, thick with something more than silence. Giovanni stood by the window, his back to me, glass in hand, but he wasn’t drinking. That was never a good sign.

“You called for me?” I said, carefully.

He turned slowly. His eyes, usually sharp and calculating, were darker today. Devoid of patience. Devoid of the charm he often wore like a second skin. I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest as I looked at him. I refused to allow him to see me as weak. I refused to allow him to think that he could take advantage of me.

“You thought I wouldn’t find out?” he said calmly.

My breath caught in my throat. “Find out what?”

He walked toward me slowly, measured steps like a predator stalking his prey.

“The little stunt you pulled, having the maids cover for Lysandra.” His voice was low, but lethal. “She’s been a wreck since the marking. She broke down her room. She had a bleeding in her hand, which you tended to, and you tried to hide that from me.”

“I was trying to help her. You didn’t necessarily need to find out about it, especially considering the fact that it was something that happened when you were not in the house. There are things that you don’t need to know about, especially when they are not going to end up bothering your peace or your presence.” I said, standing my ground. “ She needed someone. She…”

The sharp slap echoed through the room before I realized what had happened.

My cheek stung, head snapped to the side from the force of it. I frowned and put my hand on my cheek. I knew that it would leave a bruise, but when I looked at the blood that was on my palm, I let out a low growl before I could stop myself.

“You lied to me,” he said, voice calm again, too calm. “You dared to manipulate what I am owed. You had my staff lie to me. Do you think I built this empire by letting people deceive me? Do you really believe that this is something that I’m going to leave unpunished? Every one of them who tried to lie to me, he tried to hide. Do you really think that I’m just going to let them go? Do you know how many heads are you going to cost tonight?”

I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breathing. My jaw clenched as I lifted my eyes to meet his.

“Why?” I snapped. “So you can bring someone else in when you’re done with me too? When I’m not enough for your war, you’ll just toss me aside like you did her? The fact that you just dared to think that you can slap me makes it even more amusing.”

He narrowed his eyes.

“I needed someone,” I continued. “Someone who reminded me who the hell I am. I’ve been playing your game. I’ve been doing what you told me. But I’m not made of stone, Father. I needed…”

“You need me to remind you,” he barked. “You don’t get to choose how you break. You don’t get to define your pain.

I do. You don’t even have the right for pain unless I am the one to inflict it on you because I’m going to show you what it is to be in pain. Otherwise you are going to stand tall, your head high, because you are my daughter, whether or not you like it.”

The room spun slightly at those words.

He didn’t want a daughter.

He wanted a weapon.

And if I broke like Lysandra…

He’d lock me away too. Or worse.

“Show yourself out the door. Take care of that bruise on your cheek. You wouldn’t want your pretty face to lose its attraction. As you may know, I believe right now that it is the only thing that you have. And if anyone asks how you got your cut, just tell them you fell on glass. Wasn’t that what you wanted the maids to tell me about your sister?”

I turned on my heel, walking out without another word.

And as the door shut behind me, I finally understood:

To survive Giovanni…

I had to become something even he wouldn’t see coming.