Forever Mine

CHAPTER THREE

ANGELO

I glared at my uncle who fidgeted in a chair opposite from mine. As always, he insisted on conducting a conversation in my office for the fear of being humiliated in front of the staff. In the past few months I was getting tired of his antics, and what he'd just revealed made me beyond furious.

"So let me get this straight," I said calmly, tapping my fingers against the solid wood desk. "You brought these people into my home under the pretense that it's yours. You let them believe I'm some kind of a bump you've taken under your wing. Then you proceeded to propose to this woman you've barely even met, and now you intend to take her on a cruise you can't afford and leave her nuisance of a daughter in my fucking care."

My uncle expelled a shaky breath. "Angelo, I know how this looks, but if you just let me explain..."

"Ma vaffanculo!" I raised my voice, unleashing the full extent of my anger. "What is there to explain, stronzo? You said they were coming for a short visit. I don't know what kind of game you think you're playing, but I assure you I'm going to put a fucking stop to it."

The coward of my uncle shivered in his chair. He knew I wasn't making empty threats. If he made one more transgression, I'd put a fucking bullet in his head.

"Angelo, please," he implored. "I know I messed up, but I wasn't thinking clearly. I fell for Monique like a ton of bricks in Indianapolis and I wanted to impress her. Things got out of hand..."

I arched my eyebrows and gasped an incredulous smile. "Things got out of hand? Is that all you have to say to me?"

"What do you want me to say?" He shrugged, his face grimacing with discomfort. "I fucked up. I'm sorry. Okay?"

I sneered and shook my head, contemplating whether or not I should just reach for my gun and shut him up forever. If it weren't for the fact this lowlife had once saved my life, that was exactly what I would have done. To his great fortune, I still felt a certain amount of loyalty and gratitude toward him, but my patience was wearing thin, and he could feel it.

"Fine. You fucked up, so now you're going to clean up your mess," I delivered in a cold tone. "I want them out of my house. You figure out how you're going to deal with it."

He paled and panic settled into his expression. "Angelo, but they left everything behind to come here. They have nowhere to go."

I shrugged. "That's not my problem, is it? You should have checked with me first."

He looked away in shame. "I should have, but I knew you'd refuse."

"You're damn right I'd fucking refuse," I bit out. "Do you know what goes on around here? What the hell did you expect? I'm not going to jeopardize my business because you decided to become a sugar daddy to that gold-digging puttana."

"Watch your tongue, Angelo." He attempted to sound reprimanding. "I won't let you talk like this about Monique."

"And what are you going to do about it?" I taunted, and received no reply. "I'll talk however the hell I want. This is my home...and you filled it with intruders."

Giovanni's features settled into a confused expression. "You said it was okay."

"For a week...not fucking permanent!" I shouted, expelling a long exasperated breath.

"Angelo, I understand you're angry, but you're making it bigger than it is," he reasoned in a conversational tone. "We're leaving tomorrow, and we'll be gone for two months. I'll figure something out by then...I'll find us a place."

I shook my head. "I don't want to burst your little delusional bubble, but that woman thinks you're a millionaire. The last time I checked, you couldn't even afford to rent an apartment."