Page 1 of Ruthless Mafia Daddy
CHAPTER 1
Arielle
“A toast to the soon-to-be couple. May their happiness be as endless as the supply of liquor tonight!” the redhead sitting next to Julia exclaimed, raising her glass to what would be the hundredth toast of the night.
“Cheers!” The rest of us chorused, clinking our glasses and downing the contents. The waiter arrived just in time for a refill. The supply was really endless.
“Oh! I have a special request!” Julia suddenly exclaimed, drawing my attention from the waiter to her.
“As the bride, I’d love to make a little pre-wedding request.” She said beaming.
“Oh, come on. He’s already perfect. One more quality added to him, and there’ll be nothing left in the universe's stash for the rest of us.” The redhead groaned, and I couldn’t help but laugh. She was fast becoming my favorite person for the night.
“This one is not about me. This is for Arielle.” Julia continued, her hazel eyes seeking me out in the low-lit lounge as all eyes turned to me.
The laughter was immediately wiped from my face. Nothing good ever comes out of making me the center of attention.
“To my dear friend Ari, that she finally lets go of the rod perpetually stuck up her ass, loosens up a bit, and lets herself be swept off her feet by a nice gentleman.” She announced, lifting her glass.
“You’ll have better luck with a flying pig or a unicorn than this one.” Raven snickered, earning her a smack in the head from me.
“What? In our five years in college, I never saw you speak to a man longer than five minutes.” She protested, clutching her head.
My reply was cut short by the buzzing sound in my purse. My phone only vibrates that way when a particular person is on the line.
“Sorry girls, I have to take this one.” I excused myself from the gathering, making my way to the powder room.
Once I made sure the locks were secured and the stalls were empty, I clicked on the receiver. “Good evening, Father.”
“Good evening, Cara. Fun night?” His eternally stoic voice filtered through the speaker, and I felt my back straighten.
Father had that effect on all of us. When we were kids, the sound of his walking stick on the floorboards had us tucked in our beds at nighttime, and his voice was all the persuasion you needed to eat your vegetables.
“It’s going fine,” I replied, waiting for him to get to the point. He wasn’t the type to call for chitchats and catch-up.
“I need you home. Do you think you can make it in the next forty-five minutes or less?”
“Is everything alright?”
“Everything is fine, Cara. Just be home in forty minutes, and we’ll be fine.” With that, the line went dead, and I stood in the bathroom staring at my phone, beads of sweat coating my forehead.
One thing I was very certain of, a summon home was never one of celebration. Either something was incredibly wrong, or you were about to be given a new shiny identity.
I thought of ways to break the news to Julia. We were roommates the whole of college and the duration of her relationship with Hayden. She made me promise to be present for the whole weekend, and now, I couldn’t even stay for the shower.
A tired sigh escaped my lips as I made my way back to the lounge. The sooner I ripped off the band-aid, the sooner I’d be on my way home.
“Hey, can I speak to you for a bit?” I whispered to Julia, who followed me without questions. “So, I’ve got to run. I just got a call from my father. There’s an emergency at home, and he really needs me there.”
Her face fell at my words, and I could feel a twinge in my heart. “You said you’d stay the weekend.”
“I know Julia. I planned to, but I can’t turn down a family emergency,” I replied, giving her my best puppy look.
I was almost bouncing on my feet. I wished I could stay, but Father is very particular about time, and as it was, I was already moving on borrowed time.
“Yeah, I understand, but if you sort this emergency before tomorrow, show up for the wedding okay?” she said, pulling me into a tight hug.
“I promise.” I lied through my teeth, returning her hug before bolting from the lounge.