Page 93 of Hidden Empire
“Ignore it,” he says, rolling his eyes.
There’s no fucking way I’m ignoring it.
She’s close enough that I don’t need to stomp over to her, I can call her out from right here, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. She’s stupid enough to come to me.
“What the fuck did you just say about my brother?”
Clara Bell’s head snaps around to find me. It takes a lot to hold myself back from charging over and hitting her immediately. The way her face sours at the sight of me makes my blood boil.
“Trouble hearing?” she snarks, looking me up and down like prey.
I’m not fucking prey. Not for her.
Her and her little band of buddies slowly approach, leaving a girl behind. Likely the one who was speaking about Matteo in a positive way that led to Clara’s insult.
“Say it again,” I dare, ignoring her attitude.
Scoffing, she sets her drink down and shrugs. “Okay. I said, Matteo Moretti is a fucking loser option to set your sights on. A fucking ninth son? Talk about the bottom of the barrel.” Clara gives me a pitying look. “I’m just letting the girl know crushing on this one is a waste of time.”
Said poor girl is currently and swiftly leaving the party, likely humiliated by the scene.
“You wouldn’t understand, since you don’t know fuck all about this world.”
People start to pay attention, gravitating towards us. I can’t imagine mouthing off even more in her position, but here we are. There’s a thick air of unease as everyone assesses the situation, even Ares has his guard up, standing behind us.
“Is that what you think?” I challenge, fists clenching and jaw ticking. “I may not have been raised in the world, but I know enough.”
“Sure you do,” she agrees patronizingly.
Ooooh God, I want to smack that grin off her face.
“I know enough to say what a fucking hypocrite you are,” I counter, stepping closer. She’s smart enough to stiffen as I do. “Do you think your status is even comparable to Matteo’s? You’re a nobody. An heir to a gang of assassins who’s never killed anyone. You’re not just a nobody; you’re a joke.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“No?” I curve up an eyebrow before scanning the crowd. “Anybody disagree?”
No one says a word, and I give her a pitiful smile.
“Ouch, not even your friends, huh?”
“Fuck you,” she growls, getting flustered.
“No, fuck you,” I snap. “Matteo may be a ninth son, so he’ll never be Capo, sure. But I’m a daughter—a tenth child—without any position of power, and I’ve had more marriage offers in a few weeks than every single girl here has in their life. Why do you think that is?”
“Because—” she starts, but I know it won’t be an answer I deem acceptable.
“Because the Moretti Family isn’t an organization you fuck with,” I cut her off. “People pay millions for the opportunity to align themselves with us. First son or ninth son, Matteo is worth more than your entire fucking family.”
The crowd lets out a collective ooo and she bristles, face going red.
“Apologize to him and I’ll consider not telling my father that there’s a girl I really don’t like here. One that might benefit from never being seen again.”
I surprise myself with the boldness of the threat, but I don’t waiver from it. I hold her eyes, still so close to snapping and jumping on her before Matteo can pull me back.
“You can’t threaten me,” she blurts out, but her gusto is slowly melting away.
“I can threaten you all day long,” I disagree, clicking my tongue at her. “I can do so much worse than threats if you don’t apologize and quickly.”