The Mafia's Heir

Chapter 26

My mind wandered as I sat by the poolside. If I got a bad tan...who cares? It's not like I get enough sun anyway. I was only thinking about my brothers' behavior this morning. What was so bad about Daniel that I didn't know about? Would it make me mad at him?

Maybe I was just overreacting. Yeah, that's what it was. Everyone knew his family. You didn't really have to know them personally, but you may have heard of him. What if it was a slip up and he did something wrong that no one forgave him for? It couldn't possibly be that bad...right?

"What would it take to make a beautiful woman like you look at me the way you did last night?"

I sighed and looked over the rim of my sunglasses. Afan stood over me blocking my sun. I wanted to complain, but he'd have to move and the view was quite beautiful. Then again, I'm married and Afan would only be a fling to me. I didn't care if he was a handsome and rich king or not. Although, his accent was doing things to me.

"Why do you want to know?"

"...At dinner last night, that was really the most attention I've gotten from a woman," he said.

"You haven't been around many women, have you?" I questioned.

"I've been around plenty."

"Have you been around women who know what a sexy man looks like?"

Afan seem to think for a moment. Was he really a clueless man? He sat down on the lounger chair next to me. The sun blanketed my body in seconds.

"Not many," he admitted. "The women in my country have been ordered not to look at their king in any other way than respect. Only women born of a similar status as me can do such a thing, so no. There's no way women have stared at me like you did last night."

"Maybe that says something about me, Afan," I countered.

"That you're more rude than the last time I spoke with you?"

He had mental issues. The last time we spoke, I barely said anything.

"What's new? The last time I actually saw you was at a convention in America."

"I don't remember seeing you at all."

"...We didn't really speak to each other. We were introduced, then you were swept away by your father. He had said something about marriage. I can't quite remember."

"Afan, that was not my father."

"It wasn't?" he asked in disbelief. This man is surely naïve.

"No," I said. "That was my step-father. He was trying to convince me that year to look for a potential husband. I was only thirteen, so I told him to do it himself."

Darn. I really was a feisty kid back then. If I had known where that would lead me, I would have asked Zachary to be my boyfriend.

"How old are you, Afan?"

"Thirty-two."

Lies.

"How old are you?"

"...Twenty-four."

Afan whistled and I rolled my eyes. Did he really think I was young? I felt as old as dirt. I really wanted to enjoy the silence right now. Enjoy being away from people and their problems. Being away from the mafia and its downfalls. Being away from my kid at the moment, because he was driving me crazy earlier. Pure silence.

"You know," Afan started. I held in a groan. Just shut up, dude. "It's not easy being a king." I never asked. "People expect you to have your life in order. They expect you to be smart. Expect you to be better than their last ruler."