Chapter 36: God of Wrath: Chapter 36

There’s some lizard in front of my house.

One with a repulsive look in his eyes, an unwelcome presence, and presumptuous words coming out of his mouth. He has no business being here, so I’ll hastily get rid of him, throw him in the nearest ditch, then join my beautiful wife and daughter.

It’s only taken me a minute to grab my grandfather’s hunting shotgun, and when I storm back to the door, the lizard has let himself in and even locked the door behind him.

He stands by the entry table, tall, disgustingly well-built, and well-dressed in black trousers and a matching button-down. Some tattoos peek out from the collar of his shirt as if he’s some fucking gangster.

The late afternoon sun slips through the tall French windows, casting a shadow on his dark features, hair, and expression. He looks like a brutish version of my friend Aiden, which says something, considering he’s the epitome of savage fuckery among us.

I point the gun in his direction. “Get off my property before I paint the walls with your brains.”

He doesn’t even flinch, blink, or move. His expression remains the same—blank, unreadable, definitely what a bloody lizard would look like.

“I can’t leave without doing what I came here for, sir.” He speaks with ease, too comfortable in his own skin for someone who looks no older than twenty-five. Oh, and he’s definitely assertive.

That’s what the unchanging glance in his eyes translates to. He’s so assertive and confident that it can be seen from a mile away. That’s what pissed me off about him at first glance. The second the driver stopped the car in front of my gate, I found this guy waiting there like a serial killer with some creeper tendencies.

A rush of familiar footsteps reaches me, followed by distinctive gasps and my daughter’s soft voice. “Papa, what are you doing?”

“Stay back, Cecy. I’m going to drive this intruder out and come join you. Kim, call the police.”

A gentle hand wraps around my bicep, and I’m enveloped by my favorite type of warmth as my wife says calmly, “Put the shotgun down first, Xan. We can talk about this.”

“I’ll talk to the intruder’s corpse after I put it to rest.”

“Papa!”

To my horror, Cecily all but runs to the American’s side, grabs his hand in hers as if it’s an everyday occurrence, and meets my gaze carefully, shyly, and then she strokes the side of her nose.

Fuck me.

No.

I’ll pretend I didn’t see her being embarrassed for simply being in his company.

And why the bloody hell is the fucking bastard looking at her with those heated eyes as if he will devour her?

I’ll kill him first. That’s it. The solution for this situation can only be murder.

“This is Jeremy, and he’s…my boyfriend.”

“You’ll be boy dead if you don’t step away from my daughter. Now.”

“That museum-looking thing isn’t even loaded,” he comments dryly.

“Doesn’t need to be loaded if I hit you upside the head with it.” I storm in his direction to do just that, but Kim holds me back, and my traitor daughter has subtly stood in front of serial killer/gangster/lizard Jeremy.

The top of her head barely reaches his collarbone, so the fact that she thinks she can protect him is comical at best.

Or would’ve been if the wanker wasn’t in the process of stealing my only daughter. She’s never stood up to me before. The last time she brought a boyfriend home, that fucking Jonah, she merely smiled and shook her head when I threatened him with bodily harm.

I might have opened a bottle of champagne when she told us she broke up with the tool during her last year of secondary school.

What? No one deserves my baby daughter.

But even I knew there would be a day when she’d have another relationship. It did take longer than I thought. Almost two years—not that I’m complaining. Still, I thought perhaps Cecily had also realized that no one is good for her and would decide to spend the rest of her life with her mother and me.

Wishful thinking.

Because my worst nightmare has come true, and she has a boyfriend. No. I refuse to address him as such. I’ll make sure he’ll leave my house as her ex-boyfriend.

“Papa, can you please put the shotgun down?” she implores, and the fucker subtly moves in front of her so that he’s the one shielding her instead of the other way around.

“Depends. Can the slimy fucker stop touching you and leave?”

“With all due respect, that won’t be happening.” The more he talks, the deeper my hate grows for the cunt.

Not to mention, he’s still touching my fucking daughter.

During my moment of glaring and plotting the best way to throw the fucker into a ditch and dispose of his corpse, the shotgun is sneakily removed from my hands.

I stare at my wife, who’s smiling victoriously while holding the gun at her side. She’s more beautiful than the world and everyone in it, and there’s nothing I want to do other than hug and kiss her. Maybe carry her to our bedroom and make her forget the world exists.

But that can wait until we get rid of the intruder.

Kim narrows her eyes at me, mouths, “Be good,” then walks…in their direction.

Maybe she decided to shoot him for me, after all.

Right. Kim also doesn’t think anyone deserves the miracle we were blessed with after so many struggles. In fact, she was opposed to that fucker Jonah more than I was.

She stops in front of them with a smile on her lips, soft, genuine, and so warm that the temperature in the room goes up a notch.

“Hi, Jeremy.”

His expression changes to that of complete politeness like a fucking psychopath. “Hello, Mrs. Knight.”

“Oh, there’s no need for formalities. Kimberly or just Kim is fine. It’s nice to meet you. Cecy was just telling me so much about you.”

He raises a brow, glides his attention to my daughter, then back to my wife. “She was?”

“Why yes. The way she talked about you made me look forward to meeting you.”

“Mum!” Cecily shakes her head.

“I’m curious about what she said.” The fucker sneakily strokes my daughter’s hand. “If it’s not too much of an intrusion, might I stay? I’ve always wanted to know about Cecily’s home.”

“It is an intrusion.” I barge into their circle and wrench my daughter to my side, forcing him to let her go. “And what’s with wanting to know about her home? You a stalker, boy?”

Cecily tugs on my arm and stares up at me with big, pleading eyes. I swear to fuck she got this expression from that film and decided it’s how she’s going to get everything she wants.

It doesn’t help that she inherited the color of her mother’s eyes. I’ve always been weak to my wife’s everything.

Kim places the shotgun back in its place on the wall and then grabs my free hand. “Jeremy, this is Xander, Cecy’s very overprotective father. Try to tolerate him. He’ll come around.”

“I will most certainly not. Unless he leaves the property and never shows his face near my daughter again.”

“Like I said. Overprotective.” Kim smiles at him and pinches my side. Hard.

Bloody fucking hell.

“Please join us for dinner.” My wife actually leaves my side to usher the arsehole into the dining room. I follow after, still holding on to Cecily because I don’t trust him in my house and can’t allow him to be in the company of the two most important women in my life.

“You can freshen up,” Kim speaks to him in her affectionate, motherly tone. “Did you just arrive?”

“I landed in London half an hour ago.”

“You must be tired then. You can rest upstairs until dinner if you prefer?”

“I’m not, actually. It wasn’t a long flight.” The bastard has the audacity to smile at my wife with straight white teeth that I’ll knock right out of his mouth. “I’d rather help if that’s okay.”

“Why, of course! Cecily wasn’t much of a help in cutting vegetables and sliced her finger instead.”

“Yeah, she does that sometimes.” He throws a knowing glance at my daughter, then promptly focuses on my wife after he briefly meets my gaze.

“You guys cook together?” Kim asks with a dreamy grin as if this is some happy occasion.

“Most of the time, we do, yeah.”

“That’s so sweet. Hear that, Xan?”

“I see nothing sweet about him exploiting my daughter to fill his stomach. That’s called free labor.”

“Oh, please. Is it free labor if I cook for you?”

“That’s different. You don’t have to.”

“I don’t have to either, Papa.” Cecily strokes my arm. “I just like cooking with him.”

“That’s called Stockholm syndrome.”

Cecily laughs as if I’m being ridiculous. “He didn’t kidnap me.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. He looks like the type. Also, there doesn’t need to be a kidnapping for the syndrome to happen.”

My daughter shakes her head, Kim rolls her eyes, and the fucker pretends like he didn’t hear a word I said.

I take a deep breath and try to remain calm when Kim fawns over him, shows him where he can wash up, and even gives him one of her green aprons that only Cecily and Kirian have had the honor to wear.

She even has the boldness to whisper, “Would you please stop with the long face and be a bit more understanding?” to me after I change my clothes and sit opposite their workspace in the kitchen, glaring the fucker down.

He doesn’t take the hint to piss off and takes his job as Kim’s sous-chef very seriously.

“Papa.” My daughter touches my arm, forcing me to slide my attention from the soon-to-be ex-boyfriend to her. She’s sitting beside me on the cozy kitchen bench, since I was deemed not helpful by her mother. Or maybe she sent her on a mission to keep an eye on me so I don’t start any funny business. “Don’t you watch the economic news at this time?”

“I can see a recap later.” I take her hand in mine so that we’re facing each other. “Honeybee, you know you can tell me if he hurt you, right? Is he blackmailing you? Forcing you to do anything? I know boys like him well. They’re little twats wrapped in sophisticated charm, and I’ll be damned if I let him play around with you.”

Her eyes slide to him, and they widen, brighten, and explode in a rainbow of fucking colors that burn in my chest. She looks at him like her mother looks at me sometimes, and I know, because I’ve been searching for this type of expression in her eyes for years. Whether when she was with Jonah or when I thought she had a crush on that tool Landon—thank fuck that was a false alarm. Captain, Levi, is my friend, but that son of his should’ve been in a mental institute along with Aiden’s son, Eli, the moment they were born.

Point is, this is the first time she’s looked at someone like this, with warmth and adoration. Respect, even.

Is it too late to execute my plan B which consists of murdering the fucker in his sleep, hiding his body, and pretending he left in the middle of the night?

“He’s not playing around with me, Papa.” Cecily finally looks at me, this time with a blush on her cheeks. “Also, you raised me better than that. I wouldn’t allow anyone to ridicule me or step on my pride.”

“That’s my girl.” Though I’m fucking gutted at the prospect that whatever shit she has with her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend is actually real and could be unstoppable. “You can still have someone better than him.”

Having no one at all would be much more preferable, but I can try to tolerate someone other than this insolent tool.

Who am I kidding? I won’t. But I can convince her and her mother that I would. Under certain circumstances.

“Jeremy makes me the best version of myself. He cares about my well-being, makes sure my comfort comes before his, built me a bookshelf in his house and filled it with my mangas, and even lets me sleep on his lap. So no, I don’t want someone better.”

“Wait. Go back. He lets you sleep on his lap, as in, you spend nights with him. As in, him?”

Her face turns a deep shape of red, and a sense of nausea mounts in my chest. The thought that my little girl has already grown up so much that she does that stuff is enough to give me a midlife crisis.

Yes, I’ve thought about this moment countless times since she was born, but reality is a very different beast.

That’s it. I’m going to kill the motherfucker.

Cecily opens her mouth, and I hold up a hand. “Don’t answer that question.”

My daughter wraps her arms around my waist and lays her chin on my shoulder, as if knowing the exact type of distress I’m going through.

“I know this is hard for you to accept, but it’d mean so much to me if you would.” She nuzzles her nose in my shoulder. “No matter what, you’ll always be my number one hero. No one will ever take your place, Papa.”

I groan when she bats her lashes at me. I swear she’s doing this on purpose, knowing exactly how I’d rather gut myself open than hurt her.

So despite my murder plans, I force myself to not glare at the bastard too much. At least not when Kim and Cecily are looking.

By the time we sit down for dinner, I’ve cooled down. But only a bit and just enough to change tactics about shaking the pest away and removing whatever rosy binoculars my wife is looking at him with.

I take a bite of my steak and stare at him. I made sure my wife and daughter are on my right while he’s all alone on my left.

“How old are you, Jeremy?”

“Twenty-four.”

“Aren’t you too old for university?”

“He’s finishing his master’s degree and getting his PhD, Papa,” Cecily answers on his behalf. “Like Eli.”

I don’t cut eye contact with him. “What do you study?”

“Business.”

“What do you plan to do after university?”

“Take over the family business.”

“Which is?”

It’s subtle, but I feel Cecily’s posture stiffen beside her mother before she beams at me. “Do you want wine?”

“I don’t drink, remember?”

“Oh, right. Sorry.”

I narrow my eyes on her, and she lowers her head. Something’s fishy. Cecily knows I stopped drinking way before she was born. I did sometimes in the past, on special occasions, and only when my wife was holding my hand, but I stopped drinking altogether years ago.

My attention falls on Jeremy, who’s wearing his blank expression like a second skin.

“What did you say your family business was?”

“I still didn’t say.”

“Go on then. Get on with it.”

“My father is one of the biggest shareholders in a corporation. We have countless subsidiaries in every field, including but not limited to imports and exports, electronics, medical research, cars, and investment.”

Cecily slowly relaxes, and Kim smiles. “That sounds huge.”

“It is. As my father’s heir, I’m expected to take over those responsibilities sooner rather than later.”

“But you’re still so young,” Kim says. “Don’t you want to live your life first?”

“Age is just a number. I’ve been ready to serve this role since I was a child.”

My wife strokes our daughter’s hand. “Cecy has also wanted to enter the field of psychology since she was a kid. She said she wanted to be able to listen properly to those who have no one who listens to them and to be able to give them the help they need but don’t know how to ask for. I guess being responsible is something both of you have in common.”

“I know.” He stares at my daughter, whose eyes glitter at her mother’s words. “She listened to me like no one else has.”

Cecily lifts her head and they maintain eye contact for a disgusting amount of time before I slam my glass of water on the table.

“You’re just shamelessly exploiting my daughter, aren’t you?”

“Papa!” Cecily chastises me with that pleading look in her eyes, and Kim strokes the back of my hand, asking me without words to stop being an arsehole.

The fact is, these two know all too well that I can’t say no to them.

Not even if they ask me for the impossible.

So I try to keep my scathing remarks to a minimum as I watch him effortlessly bewitch my girls.

I’m going to unmask this psychopath so they’ll see him for his true self, even if it’s the last thing I do.

After dinner, they show him around the house, play a board game. Not only does he subtly lose like some chivalrous bastard, but he also welcomes and answers any questions Kim has for him.

My wife is officially a lost cause when it comes to this Jeremy. Maybe he brought some mojo with him and put it in her drink.

That’s the only explanation for why she’s fawning over him when she’s never been a big fan of Cecily being in relationships.

She stays by his side until I nearly throw her over my shoulder and take her to our bedroom.

But first, I escort the wanker to his room because, despite my objections, he’s spending the night. Kim said it’s nonsense to send him to a hotel when we have plenty of space, and that traitor Cecily naturally agreed.

So I had the housekeeper put his backpack in the farthest room from Cecily.

He steps inside ahead of me, casting a fleeting glance at the place before he looks at me. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

“I’d rather you were on the streets, so let’s spare each other the bullshit.”

He physically forces his body to relax, and I know there’s forcing involved, because he’s always stood like an erect wall.

“I understand that you find it hard to accept me, considering your tight relationship with Cecily, but I mean her no harm, so for her sake, can we compromise?”

“I’ll compromise you to hell is what I’ll do.” I make an ‘I’m watching you’ motion. “If I see you near my daughter’s room, I’ll bring my shotgun, loaded this time.”

He nods, and I start to leave but then slide back in. “I’m watching you, boy. Any funny business and you’re out, got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

I finally leave but remain in the hallway to test the arsehole. I even sit on the classical sofa at the end, across from his room, to keep an eye on him.

In fact, I don’t mind sleeping here tonight.

Yes, they’re probably at that stage in their relationship, which I don’t want to think about, but nothing will be happening under my bloody roof.

After some time of glaring at his closed door, I retrieve my phone and text in the group chat I have with my friends.

Cecily brought some fucker home.

I told you this day would happen. I lost Glyn to some arsehole, and now, you’re losing Cecy.

I didn’t lose her. By the time he leaves my house, he’ll be her ex-boyfriend.

That’s what I said, too, about Glyn’s tool of a boyfriend, but he’s more pasted to her side than superglue.

The fuck is wrong with you two? It’s time to stop treating your girls like they’re nine-year-olds.

No daughter. No opinion.

What Captain said, King.

I’m here with the popcorn for the double trouble both your daughters will bring you, Nash.

There will be no trouble if you keep Eli away from my Ava. One of these days, I’ll get something on him. I have people working on it.

Good luck trying, you poor cunt.

Hello? I’m telling you that I’m losing my daughter, and her mother, too, since she’s team arsehole, and you’re joking?

Wait a fucking minute. Cecy is really not going to be my daughter-in-law? Aw, I thought she was always meant to be with Remi.

No ‘one’ is meant to be with Remi. He needs a harem.

The Remi who fucks every girl in a skirt like his father once upon a time? No, thanks.

Don’t act high and mighty when you were the same, Xan.

He was not.

Yeah, Astor. Remember that human rights violation case? Oh, wait, you were the last to know.

Very funny. Not. I’m still revoking friendship rights for that.

My condolences, Xan. It’ll only get worse going forward.

Like fuck it will.

I’m about to reply back before the chat is buried in Ronan’s dramatics when I feel a soft, warming presence.

Kim sits beside me, a dark green sleeping robe tied around her middle and her hair falling to her shoulders. “You’re not going to sleep?”

“I’ll do it right here, so the little twat doesn’t try anything funny.”

“Oh, Xan.” She strokes my cheek. “You need to let her go. She’s not so little or under your protection anymore.”

“She’ll always be under my protection.”

“Okay, okay, she will. But you must let her fall in love and do what she wants. Our baby is a responsible adult, and we need to trust her choice.”

“That wasn’t what you said about Jonah. I don’t understand how you can change your mind like this.”

“Jonah was a fucker who’s locked up for it.” Her voice hardens before it lowers to her usual melodic tone. “Jeremy is the man who helped Cecily fight her demons.”

“What demons?”

“You’re well aware of how much she changed after secondary school. She hasn’t laughed this openly or smiled this freely in a long time. Our dads even suggested we take her to therapy due to her zoning out episodes, but she refused and waved us off. We should be glad that she found someone who can help her heal.”

“You and I could’ve done that just fine.”

“Sometimes, we’re not enough, and that’s okay, Xan. Letting her go is okay.”

I close my eyes and release a long sigh. “I don’t know how. It took so much in me to even let her study at a faraway university and now this. It’s like we’re losing her.”

“We’re not. We’re just letting her spread her wings and be her own person.” She kisses my cheeks. “Besides, we’ll always have each other.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure, considering how the bastard easily seduced you.”

“Aw, are you jealous of a twenty-four-year-old who happens to be your daughter’s boyfriend?”

I wrap my arm around her waist and she gasps as I slam her to my side. “You know I don’t like it when you’re close to any other man.”

“Aside from our dads and Kir.”

“Even they get on my nerves when they confiscate your time.”

“Xan!” She laughs, running her fingers over my stubbled chin. “You will never change, will you?”

“Not in this lifetime, Green.”

“Good. Because I love you just the way you are.”

I groan, each of her touches causing a zip of pleasure that ends in my cock.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re seducing me to distract me from the unwanted presence under our roof.”

She bites her lower lip and brushes a kiss against my mouth, then whispers, “Is it working?”

“You know it is.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” She leans over, her voice dropping to a seductive drawl. “Take me to our bedroom, husband.”

“You’re killing me, Green.”

I fall straight into her trap and carry her to bed. Not only will I never be able to resist this woman, but I’ll also never get enough of her.

Even though I still can’t come to terms with losing my daughter, Kim will eventually make me see reason.

She always does.

She’s been my home, my peace, and the love of my life ever since we were children.

Not everyone gets to call their childhood friend the love of their life, but I do, and I’ll spend the rest of my days showing her exactly how lucky I am that she’s my Green.

Once upon a time, she picked me as her knight, and I chose her as my queen.