Page 80 of Making the King

My eyes trail to Gray, who’s slumping against the guy holding him up. His eyes are open, and I don’t like the look in them. He looks resigned, like he’s given up. Mateo, on the other hand, has a fire in his eyes I recognize from looking in the mirror. He hasn’t given up at all, he’s ready to fight.

Mom snaps her fingers in my face. “Here’s the thing,” she says when I finally look at her. “You deserve to be punished, mija. You’re an insolent, ungrateful, and hateful cunt. It’s like you’ve been raised by a pack of wolves and not a loving family.”

Shock reverberates through me, and my jaw becomes slack as I glare at her. Is she for fucking real? Ungrateful? Loving family? What world is she living in?

“You can’t be serious,” I snap.

Mom makes a tsking sound before she slaps me across the face. Despite the sound following, I know her hit wasn’t meant to hurt, but to silence and belittle me.

“Always with the interruptions,” she says. “Watch your temper, mija. I won’t let you spoil my fun again. Do you know how hard it’s been to establish myself without your dad?”

“You never cared about him, did you? Just like it wasn’t him that wanted this life. It’s always been you, hasn’t it?”

She shakes her head. “That’s the thing with you, Cara. You think you know the truth, but you never care to ask the right questions. So let me give you the answers you really want.”

What the hell does that even mean?

“Your dad bought me. Not as his wife, but as his entertainment for the weekend.”

I unthinkingly look at Mateo, who just nods. I guess this isn’t news to him.

“Do you know how hard it was to convince your dad to keep me around? To see me as anything more than his whore? In time, I succeeded, of course. He made me his wife, and I helped him expand his business.”

The woman in front of me is cold, completely void of all emotions. Her eyes are like an abyss, there’s nothing there.

“Your dad never could see the big picture, but I could. So I used my body to garner favors and influence with the right people. When Julietta was born, her future husband was the first to hold her. And—”

Unable to stop myself, I interrupt her. “And let me guess, it was the same for me?”

I already know that can’t be true. Not only is Rocco only three years older than me, but I also know that the Diamond Crew aren’t the kind of people who play the long game. They intercede as soon as possible, because they don’t want people to suffer unnecessarily.

Besides, I know in my heart that Rocco would never do anything that vile. To hold a baby, claiming it as your future wife, or cum dumpster, is a special kind of evil.

“What about the auction?” I ask, confused as to why there even was an auction for Julietta if she was already sold.

My mom waves her hand in the air. “Julietta’s auction was… necessary.”

“Necessary?” I ask, horrified.

She nods. “Yes, mija. Julietta’s intended died when she was twelve. At the time, it seemed like a stroke of luck really. And I convinced your dad that we should allow people to buy her for the night. It was a good way to have a steady income.”

“Why did she get married then?” I ask, not able to make sense of it at all.

Mom turns and looks at Mateo. “Your brother is soft,” she sneers before turning back to me. “He convinced your dad that it was best to find another husband for Julietta. My darling husband bought your twin’s reasoning, but I knew better. I knew he only came up with the idea to save her from having new men all the time.”

My stomach churns, and acidic bile creeps up the back of my throat.

“Since your sister wasn’t a virgin, we didn’t get much for her. It was laughable, really. At least we got it right with you. Even if your husband turned out to be a soft bastard unworthy of one of my kids, you still earned me a lot of money.”

Anger lances through me. “How the fuck can you even get those words across your lips? What the fuck’s the matter with you?” I scream as I pull against my restraints.

Mom taps a finger against her chin, narrowing her eyes as she studies me like I’m a fucking exotic animal at the zoo. “That husband of yours really doesn’t know how to handle you, does he? The mouth you have on you now shows how weak he is.”

Before I can stop myself, I throw up. I lean to the side, but I still throw up over myself. As I retch, mom barks orders to one guy, who’s quick to get a bucket of water that he throws at me.

“The fuck,” I shout as the ice-cold liquid hits me.

“Get her some clean clothes as well,” my mom snaps. Then she turns her icy-glare on me. “Disgusting.”

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