Page 50 of Endlessly Raphael
“Don’t you dare get smart with me, Haven.”
His harsh tone would ordinarily put me right back into that small place I’ve been in too many times, but this time nothing happens. So I jut my chin just a bit.
“Raphael is right. We don’t have to prove anything to you. In fact, our presence here is for my mother. I wanted to see her.” I turn to Rapha. “He doesn’t have to ask anyone for my hand. He asked me.” Then I shift my gaze back to my father, narrowing my eyes. “And quite frankly, it would be an insult to ask you for something that doesn’t belong to you.”
My father’s face turns red and my mother puts her palms flat on the table, bracing for the explosion about to erupt.
“If you think I will just sit back and let you take what I built, you are very sorely mistaken.” He stands, throwing his napkin down. “This is a farce and I know it. I’ll prove it.”
I stand too, drawing shocked expressions from my family. “You’re wasting your time, Salman,” I say, using his name. My uncle gasps. “There’s nothing in the will that prevents me from claiming my inheritance other than a legal, binding marriage. So do what you like. Follow us around, I don’t care. You’ll have plenty of free time once I assume control of the company.”
I barely recognize my own voice as the words tumble from my lips.
“You are out of line,” my father bellows, nearly shaking the windows. “You don’t even know how to run the company. You’ll destroy everything.”
“Oh dear,” my mother says, clearly unsure of how to intervene.
A part of me wants to back down, but Raphael’s hand on my back steadies me. “You never give me credit for anything, and that’s where you fucked up.”
“Oh!” My mother is so flustered I wonder if she might faint.
“Language,” Ali yells and I turn my anger on him.
“I am a grown man and I can use whatever language I damn well want to. None of you have a right to tell me anything about behavior or decorum or tradition. If you thought I would roll over and let you run me the way you have for most of my life, you’re the ones who are mistaken.”
“Our attorneys are working on finding a loophole,” my father says. “We will contest it.”
“Knock yourself out. You can’t. Gedo made sure of it.” I cross my arms, feeling courage flood me. “In fact, maybe I’ll sell the company. I bet your competitors would love our client list.”
My cousins and aunts simply get up from the table and leave the room, taking my mother with them. Now it’s just me, standing off with my uncle Ali, my uncle Joe who rarely speaks, and my father, whose face is so red he looks like a lobster.
Raphael stands up beside me, not speaking, but his presence is enough.
“We’ll take you to court and block everything you do,” Ali says. “You won’t get approval from the board.”
That’s when I smile. “Not the current board. You’re right about that.”
My father, realizing what I mean, pulls his head back. “No. No, Haven. It would be a mistake to remove us. We have history and understand everything.”
“I can hire consultants. I can hire advisers. I can headhunt your competitors. I’m not as clueless as you thought. You treated me like I was disposable. Now you’re about to experience karma, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“Do you really think we’re going to let you take all this away from us?” my father asks, his tone so cold I actually shiver. “Because you don’t know me at all if you think that.”
“The problem here is that I do know you. All I’ve done in the time since you put me out is study you. I know everything about you. But you don’t know anything about me. You don’t know how far I’m willing to go to do to you what you did to me.” My voice is starting to shake, so I pause, glancing at Raphael for strength. It works.
“You took everything away from me without a second glance. I was nothing to you, and in the process, you became a villain to me. I’m the hero of this story, Salman. When it’s all said and done, you’ll be sorry for what you did to me. You destroyed this family over money and power. Just remember that. You may not claim me as your son, but your blood runs in my veins, and if you think I’m not capable of being ruthless, you’re in for a surprise.”
“Get out of my house,” he seethes.
“Happily. Didn’t want to be here anyway.” I wrap my hand around Raphael’s. “Don’t come to the wedding. I’ll have you escorted out if you do. I’ll provide the necessary documents to the estate trustee to claim my inheritance. Then get ready, Daddy.”
He flinches at the word I haven’t uttered since I was a child.
Raphael glares, pausing before we leave. “Let me be clear. Haven’s safety and well-being are extremely important to me, and I will do what’s necessary to protect him.”
“Is that a threat?” Ali asks, his tone incredulous.
“Not if you don’t plan to harm him.” He flashes his teeth in the most menacing smile I’ve ever seen, and yeah, my dick twitches. Oof.