“Yeah,” Lex agrees. “She’s like a sister to us, asshole. Keep those nasty thoughts of yours off your fucking face.” He shudders and throws a glare my way.
“What the fuck is with all this abuse? For what? For thinking about my wife?”
“Ugh,” Xavier says. “My wife,” he mimics me, ridiculing me. “You sound like fucking Ares. Marriage ruined both of you. Fucking repulsive.”
I glance at Ares for support, but he just shrugs his shoulders, unfazed. “Leave them be,” he tells me. “Just wait until it’s their turn. Karma is a bitch.”
Lexington pulls a face. “I will never become a fool over a woman.”
Ares and I exchange a look before both smiling knowingly. “Right,” we both say, in unison. Lexington is our youngest brother, and out of all of us, he’s the most sensitive. He’ll fall the hardest, and it’ll be so fucking amusing to witness.
The door opens behind us, and Dion walks in, his expression filled with rage as he joins us at the table. He doesn’t say a word as he grabs my glass and empties it before slamming it down.
“Deal,” he tells Lex, tapping the table.
Much to my surprise, Lex does as he asks without a single complaint and deals the cards, his gaze filled with concern. Dion never loses his temper, so none of us know how to deal with him when he’s like this.
Even when we were kids, he was the one who would never argue over toys, and he’d never entertain our attempts to instigate fights. He’s always been extremely calm and level-headed, even more so than Ares. But ultimately, he’s a Windsor, and there’s only one thing that could possibly affect any of us this way.
“Did you see Faye today?” I ask, my voice soft, patient. He’s always pretended not to care about his fiancée, but I know he isn’t entirely unaffected when it comes to her. I saw the way he looked at her when he danced with her at Ares’s wedding. He looked at her the way Ares looked at Raven. With desire he seemed to feel guilty about.
Dion looks up sharply, surprised. “Did you know?” His tone is accusing, sharp.
I shake my head in confusion, and he turns toward Zane instead. “You must have known. Tell me you didn’t fucking hide this from me, Zane.”
Zane holds his hands up and shakes his head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he instantly denies. “What happened?”
Dion slumps in his seat and runs a hand through his hair. “I ran into her at one of your hotels today,” he tells Zane. “She was on her way up to one of the rooms… with her boyfriend.”
The room falls silent, none of us sure what to say. “Fuck,” I mutter. Despite being engaged, Faye and Dion aren’t even really on speaking terms. I’d understand it if either of them hooked up casually prior to getting married, but being in an actual relationship when their wedding is in a few months? The mere thought of Valentina being in love with someone else makes me sick. I can’t even imagine how Dion must be feeling.
“What are you going to do? Did she ask you to break off the engagement?” Lex asks.
“No,” he says, grimacing. “She begged me not to. Besides, it’s not like I could even if I wanted to. Do you really think I’d be marrying her if I could get out of it?”
I inhale deeply as I refill my glass. Even Ares looks like he’s at a loss for words. I always hoped Faye and Dion would make things work, but how can they, with so much standing between them?
Chapter Fifty-Six
Valentina
I smile when Jessica signs the contract, her eyes moving back and forth between the name plaque on my desk and the papers in front of her. Shortly after our meeting with her, Luca sent out a company memo announcing our marriage and retracting the no-fraternization rule, and much to my surprise, there was no backlash whatsoever. I was so certain that people would talk behind my back about how I’d slept my way up the corporate ladder, but I haven’t even heard whispers of the sort.
I’ve heard some complaints about Luca being taken now, and surprisingly, I’ve had quite a few heartbroken looks thrown my way too, but no one has spoken maliciously about us. There have been some jokes about the way Luca implemented the no-fraternization rule, and from what I understand, Theo is going around telling everyone that he knew about us all along, but there haven’t been any rude comments. If anything, in the weeks since, everyone has continued to congratulate and celebrate us. I never realized how many of our employees genuinely wanted to see us together. More than once, I’ve been told that we’re a cohesive unit that they feel they can truly put their trust in. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.
“I look forward to working together,” Jessica tells me, her expression grim. I have no doubt she didn’t want to sign this deal at all, but our offer was too good to pass up. She’s staying in her position as CEO, and all we’re really asking for is to use the intellectual property and technology they developed. In return, they’re getting additional investment funds and access to most of our resources, facilitating growth beyond what they can achieve by themselves.
“So do I,” I reply as I shake her hand.
Jessica’s gaze drops back to my name plaque, and then she huffs. “I’m surprised he’d marry someone like you. What is he trying to do? Is he trying to circumvent his grandmother’s terms by pretending he’s in love with you?”
The smile melts off my face, and I sigh. Our employees might be happy for us, but more than one person from Luca’s social circle has questioned our marriage. Many of them seem to think he couldn’t possibly love me. Perhaps it’s because they witnessed how cold and professional we’ve been throughout the years, even when I attended events with him. Or perhaps it’s simply that they think I’m not good enough for Luca. More than once, I’ve heard his acquaintances whisper about how they think it’s ridiculous to end an engagement with the Ivanovs over someone like me.
“Don’t be that woman,” I tell her, my expression neutral. “Don’t tear down another woman just because she has what wasn’t meant for you. You’ll find your own happiness, Jessica. I’m sure of it.”
She frowns at me and crosses her arms. “Don’t act so high and mighty around me,” she snaps. “I know him better than anyone else. I’m the only woman he’s actually truly loved, and that little public display of affection at dinner? It wasn’t love. It was simple lust, an act put on for me to see. He’s using you and having some fun while he’s at it, but when your time is up, he’ll walk away and never look back. The longer you’re together, the clearer it’ll become that you will never fit into our world, and the harder you try, the more you’ll get hurt.”
She takes a step back and smiles. “But there’s no point in telling you that, because time will do it for me. I hope you enjoy it while it lasts. I know how much fun being with Luca can be. He really does have this way of making you feel like you’re the one for him, like he’s never felt that way about anyone else. I guess it’s because he has such single-minded focus. Too bad he doesn’t have a great attention span, though. It’d be nice if that focus of his never shifted, huh?”