Page 54 of Christmas Mafia Prince
“As if I’ve never walked in on you and an escort,” Damen says bluntly.
“That was different—”
“Was it? Besides, the stable incident is entirely on me. Blown out of proportion too, since we were just kissing.”
A half-truth, since we were about to do much more than that, but no point in dwelling on such details.
Karl grunts, and I can imagine him shaking his head. “It’s irrelevant anyway. Fine, I get it. You’re gay. You made your point, but he is inappropriate in every way. I’m not telling you to create upheaval, keep him until New Year’s, but then get rid of him. You can take part in the hunt, since I’m guessing that’s what this whole ‘elopement’ was about. I need to know tonight if you agree to such a deal. No games, Damen. After tomorrow, there will be no turning back.”
I stare at the wall in front of me, and the questions I have about my role in the hunt suddenly don’t seem so important. Sure, I didn’t come here to be liked by Damen’s father. I fully expected to be the bane of his existence.
What I dread is Damen’s answer, because I’m about to find out the truth, not sweet words whispered to me in bed.
Chapter 20
Damen
Outrageous.
Disgusting.
How dare Father unleash this on me on Christmas Eve, questioning the most important choice I’ve made in a very long time? After complaining about my unwillingness to commit, he should be happy I’ve chosen someone at last.
Or just… be happy for me.
I suppose a man in my position should be grateful that my father is accepting of my sexuality in the first place, but that isn’t good enough. I understand why he might assume I chose a spouse only to finally make my debut at the Christmas hunt, but he is so, so wrong about Killian.
When I saved him from Happy, I couldn’t have imagined what a gem I held in my hand.
This office has been the scene of many talks like this one, and its wood-paneled walls used to intimidate me with their severity, but I’m a grown man now, and I will be choosing for myself, not others.
“Who are you to judge my husband?”
“I am your father, and the leader of the clan, if you’ve forgotten,” Father snaps back, staring me down like a giant hawk about to take a dive at me. “I’m more experienced than you, I’ve lived longer than you, and I know better what this family needs.”
I can’t hold back a laugh. “Funny that you chose a wife with whom you can’t even agree on water.”
His face explodes in a dark flush, but it’s obvious I’ve caught him off guard. Never before have I pointed out his failings this way, but I’m done playing nice when he refuses to approve of my partner.
“Damen, stop playing word games with me. You know I disagree with the whole special water bullshit—”
“But it’s important to her, and you can afford it. If you cared about her happiness, you would have made it happen. But you don’t care because the two of you don’t even like each other! With all due respect, I refuse to take your advice when it comes to marriage.”
“Well, I’ve been with your mother for over thirty-five years and we’re not divorcing any time soon, so I do think I have some experience in the matter!”
I’m done with this self-righteousness. “You both have lovers, and you live in different places. You are divorced in everything but name. I don’t want to live like that when I’ve found someone who understands and likes me for the way that I am, someone I want to spend my life with. I accept that you don’t understand my attraction to Killian, but with time you will see that he is more than enough for me. I couldn’t dream of a better match. He’s good enough to be a part of this family, and I will always be proud to have him at my side!”
Father stays silent for a long moment, the scowl permanently etching itself on his face. “So be it. Trial by fire. We will see how this perfect match of yours fares tomorrow, because I think he’ll crumble when—”
“Are we done here? We will see tomorrow indeed.”
“Why not? We’re done, Damen,” he says as if it wasn’t me who finished the conversation. I choose not to confront him about it, because there’s nothing I want more than to pull Killian against me. Blood thunders in my temples as I leave the office and enter the long corridor. I speed up on its curve only to stumble upon a short figure with green hair.
He steps back, already half-turned. His face is tomato-red. “Oh. Damen. I somehow forgot where the bathroom is…”
If he wants to be sneaky, he needs to do better than that.
My heart beats faster, because I know he must have overheard some of that conversation, so I grab his arm and lead him along. We can’t talk about it in public.
