Chapter 14

Mia’s POV

I wake up and get dressed, putting on my blazer as I fix my dark red button up shirt. I look at my phone to check the time and see I’m quite early. I couldn’t sleep so I just gave up and decided to get up. I text Anton and tell him to come pick me up.

I head out of the bedroom and find Kaitlyn sleeping on the couch. She had an arm under the pillow on her head as she slept so peacefully. Should I wake her up and tell her she can sleep on the bed? No, she looks comfortable enough as it is. She’ll be fine.

I leave the room and make my way down to the lobby. I’ll wait for Anton there, maybe grab something to eat. After a few minutes, Anton texts me to tell me he’s there. I make my way out and into the car.

“Feeling better?” He asks before I shut the door. “No, I just want to get this over with.” I put my seatbelt on and take a deep breath. He starts moving the car and we’re now on our way to my father. His texts tell me to meet him at the mansion before the meeting with Lyon.

“Have you talked to him yet?” I ask him as I focus my gaze on him. He had sunglasses on so I couldn’t see his eyes but I can tell his expression was not exactly the happiest one. “Last night he asked me where you were. When I told him you weren’t gonna be home for the night he was furious.”

Of course he’s furious, things didn’t go his way. He loves having control of things, especially people. He glances over to me and he can tell something’s on my mind. “Look, I’ll be there the whole time. If he even tries to lay a finger on you-”

“Thank you, but no. It’s better for you not to interfere.” I offer him a weak smile. “Remember what happened last time you tried to stop him? You ended up with a broken jaw, he beat you up instead.” He lets out a scoff, not even hesitating to say his next words. “Maybe it’s better that way, I can handle a few broken bones.”

“No! You-” My voice came out louder than I intended it to. I pinch the bridge of my nose and shake my head. “You have a wife now, a wife who you’re trying to start a family with. I’m not letting her become a widow. Just drop me off and leave.” My tone left no room for arguments. I know it’s his job to protect me but I’d rather die than have someone sacrifice themselves for me. I’m not worth dying for.

With that, he stayed silent and so did I. The car is filled with tension now. We finally arrived at my place. I brace myself for my father, I just know this isn’t gonna end well.

I enter the mansion and head to the living room area where my father was. He was smoking a cigar with what seems to be whiskey on the other hand. It’s barely 9am and he’s already drinking. I clear my throat which then brings his attention to me.

“Come sit.” He says as he exhales the smoke out of his mouth. I make my way over to the seat across from him. I lean back as I play with my rings and wait for him to speak.

“Update me on the incoming shipments this week.” I’m relieved because at least the first words out of his mouth weren’t anything criticizing me. Not yet, at least. I started updating him on the incoming shipments this week which would mainly be in New York. He seemed pleased, nodding along to what I’m saying.

“And then the drug shipments from Marcello should come in three days, the final-” I was cut off by my father’s words. “Hold on, three days?” His tone is more aggressive. Here it comes.

“Yeah, that’s the most they can do it’s-” Again, he cut me off. “Do you seriously think our clients can wait that long?” His expression was furious now, filled with rage.

“It was originally supposed to be two weeks before they could send a shipment, it’s a miracle I got them to cut it down to three days.” I try to explain myself, but of course he doesn’t even bother listening to my explanation. He clenches his jaw and takes a long sip of his whiskey.

“You’ll be the one to explain to them why the shipments took so long.” He puts the glass down with more force necessary. I press my lips into a thin line before speaking again. “I tried my best to convince them, three days is all they could do.”

He lets out a scoff before putting his hands together and resting his elbows on his knees. “You doing your best is useless if it doesn’t give us a good deal.” He looks at me with a serious expression, his voice dangerously low. “Fix yourself, Mia. All you’ve been doing recently is disappoint me.”

A dry laugh escapes my throat as I shake my head. “Disappoint you? I’ve done everything you’ve told me to. I’ve cut out like 10 deals in this week alone. I’ve hurt and killed everyone you told me to, and you’re calling me a disappointment over one small misstep?” My voice grows more and more aggressive.

Before I knew it he got up from his chair and grabbed me by my collar. He made me get up from the chair and pushed me against the wall, his grip still tight on my collar, our face inches away.

“Do you think we have any room in this business for missteps?” He says in a low tone, I stay silent. “The more missteps you make, the closer you get to becoming a failure.”

Tears well up in my eyes as I blink rapidly to try and make them go away. “And you wouldn’t want to end up a failure like your brother, would you?” His breath fans over my face, it reeks of whiskey and smoke.

“I am nothing like him.” I say through gritted teeth. “Of course you’re not.” Something in his expression changes.

“Because at least your brother knew he was useless. He was a screwup, a coward, a waste of my time, but he never walked around pretending he was something special.” His tone is as cold as ice, his expression darkening with every word he says. My hands curl up into fists as I fight every part of my body to punch him.

“You know what your problem is? You think because you do the bare minimum, you’re worth something. Well, you’re not. You need to earn your worth and clearly you haven’t done shit to earn it.” He then pushes me back into the wall before letting go. He turns and brings a hand to his mouth. I let out a shaky breath as tears threatened to spill out of my eyes.

“Look at you,” He turns his attention back to me. “One criticism and you’re already brought to tears. How fucking weak.” He spits out. I shouldn’t be affected by my father’s words, but I am. No one’s words have ever affected me as much as my father’s.

I throw my head back on the wall as I close my eyes. “Make sure shit like this doesn’t happen again. Next time, I won’t be so forgiving.” I open my eyes slowly at his words. We both know what he means by that.

I look at him before saying “It won’t happen again, I promise.” His expression is still the same cold one. “Make sure of it.”

I push myself off the wall and make my way upstairs to my room before getting changed to something more athletic. I get into black leggings and a sports bra before heading to the lowest floor which is underneath our basement. That floor has a punching bag, a boxing ring and a few more workout equipment. As I got out of the elevator, I made my way to the punching bag. I’m not the best at dealing with my feelings, so I let it out physically. More specifically, beating shit up.

I don’t even bother putting on gloves as I start punching. I can’t believe my father, nothing is ever enough for him. All I’ve ever done is do what I’m told, what he tells me. He never focuses on what I’ve accomplished, but instead my failures. I’m not enough for him, not enough for anyone. I subconsciously hit the punching bag even harder and I feel the impact on my fist, but I don’t care. I keep going.

I have no idea how long I’ve been down here, I sit on the bench as I lean my head back on the wall and catch my breath. I look down on my fists and see the deep purple bruises already forming beneath the skin. My knuckles are swollen and stiff, throbbing with a sharp, heavy heat. I’ll probably have to put bandages on them again.

I decide I’ve had enough for the day and head up to the first floor. I look at the time and see it’s around 3pm. The elevator dings as the doors open and I make my way to the kitchen. I need water or alcohol, either or would work. I decided on water though. I open the fridge and grab a bottle of water before going to the elevator. The front door opens and reveals my father. Just looking at him pisses me off.

The elevator opens and I get in immediately. I head to my room and grab an overnight bag. I can’t stay in this house if my father’s staying here as well, I’ll actually go crazy. I pack a few clothes and put it into the bag, I pack my laptop as well and of course my toiletries. I have no idea how long I’ll stay there, maybe I’ll get another room.

Once I had everything packed, I decided to leave and go to the hotel. I didn’t bother calling Anton, I drove there myself. When I arrived, I gave the car to the valet and made my way into the lobby. I approached the receptionist before asking, “I would like to book another room please.”

A disappointed expression appeared on his face. “I’m sorry Ma’am but we do not have any vacant rooms anymore.” You gotta be shitting me. “I’ll take anything, cheapest room, most expensive, any room will do.”

He shook his head. “We are fully booked, Ma’am. I’m so sorry.” I clench my jaw and give him a tight smile. Just fucking perfect, isn’t it? “I’ll let you know the moment a room becomes available.” I left without another word and headed towards the elevator and pressed the level my room was in.

I put the bag inside the bedroom and made my way to the living room. Kaitlyn was nowhere to be found, thank god. I didn’t want her to see me in this state. I sat on the couch and threw my head back on the back of the couch. I stare at the ceiling and think about my father’s words. I am worth something, I am. I am worth something. I try to remind myself but it’s hard when you’re not convinced by your own words. I don’t know why I let his words get to me every time, or why I care about his opinion so much.

I stay on the couch, staring into the empty space as my mind violently deconstructs every single thing I thought I knew about myself.