Chapter 230

“I’m sorry, Fay,” Alessi says again, leaning across to me and reaching out his hand to take mine, true sorrow on his face. “You are a lovely girl, I like you very much. I know this cannot be easy to hear, but it is...business.”

“I’m sorry,” Daniel says, putting his hand out to stop Alessi’s from reaching me. “What, precisely, are you trying to imply here by bringing Fay into it?”

Alessi blinks at Damoe; and then sits back in his chair, glaring at his nephew for being difficult when we all know precisely what he means. Alessi just doesn’t want to say it aloud – that if my father is dead the marriage to me will, of course, no longer be worth anything at all, strategically.

“This is ridiculous,” Kent snaps next to me, ripping his hand out from beneath Natalia’s, but Alessi and Daniel ignore him.

“Daniel,” Alessi says, lifting a hand in a plea for Daniel to understand, “we love Fay – she is a wonderful girl. But we will find you a new bride – one who will be a true wife to you –“

“Truly, Daniel,” Natalia says, looking at him with that simpering, motherly look I’ve come to hate. “It is clear that you and Fay are friends, but that you have no true intimacy between you,” she says, not able to stop the little smirk that lifts the corner of her mouth. “We will find you a bride who really lights a fire in you and benefits the family –“

Kent suddenly stands up next to me in a rage, knocking over his chair as he throws his napkin viciously at the table before leaning close to Natalia, starting to hiss something cold and furious at her in fluent, fast Italian. I know, instinctually, that ordering Kent to break ties with Alden is bold move on their part, but doing it this way? Making a demand of him, in front of Daniel and me, without any discussion?

It’s a checkmate.

And Kent, I know, will not respond well to that.

Before I make any move myself, though, Daniel gets to his feet as well, grabbing my left hand and pulling me with him.

“Fay,” he says, obliging me to look up at him, though I can feel Alessi’s eyes on us. He raises my left hand high so that it is poised between our faces, so that I can see my engagement ring – a Lippert ring – glittering there. “Do you want to end our engagement?”

“N-no,” I whisper, looking up at him, hoping it’s the right answer.

“Good,” he snaps, clenching his jaw and turning to stare hatefully at his uncle as Kent and Natalia begin to fight in earnest next to us, their Italian so blazingly fast that I don’t know how they even understand each other.

Alessi stands as well now, calmly reaching out to Daniel as if in a plea for him to understand. But Daniel just shakes his head at him and starts from the room, pulling with me as he goes.

Fall For My Ex's Mafia Father Chapter 0229 “Come on, Fay,” he snarls. “We’re out of here.”

And I set my own jaw as I follow Daniel down the short set of stairs, never letting go of his hand and not looking behind me for a moment as we storm towards the front door.

Out front a light rain starts to fall as Daniel speaks briskly with the valet, asking him to hail a cab, which the valet does with quick efficiency. I don’t say a word as the cab pulls up to the curb, my jaw clenched and my body starting to shake a little – I don’t know with what, anger? Betrayal? Cold?

Daniel – ever solicitous – slips off his jacket and sets it lightly around my shoulders.

I look up at Daniel with gratitude and see him looking down at me already, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Fay,” he says as the cab pulls up, moving forward to open the door for me. “I can’t believe that just happened – you know I’d never –“

“It’s okay,” I say, cutting him off as I climb into the car and move over so that Daniel can get in too, though I know the appropriate thing to do would be to let him close my door and move around to the other side to climb in himself. I don’t care about what’s appropriate, though – I just want to get out of here. Fast.