Page 69 of Delirium
That I couldn’t argue with.
She’d been mad at me, but she already stabbed me once, so what was the point? But Nico, he definitely wasn’t safe.
“She’s not going to stab you.” I hoped. “She’s pissed off, but we found a solution, didn’t we? And we both want the same thing—for our kids to be happy. It’ll have to be their choice. They might need to go on a few dates, but they won’t be forced.”
“No, no,” he said. “They won’t be forced. I wouldn’t force your daughter to do anything she didn’t want to do. Ophelia Aster is her mother, I’m not even sure if my son would be able to survive the mix of you and Ophelia.”
I wasn’t sure either.
I drank the water the waiter placed on the bar for me and looked toward the exit, praying that I would be able to get him out of here soon. My guys were around us, laughing at the state he was in, but they still had no idea who he was, so there was that.
Thankfully, he ditched his usual outfit of whatever branded suit he wore, and came casually dressed. Members of the Club listened to me, but it was well known that the Italians and us didn’t really play along. Apart from my close circuit of friends, the rest of them had no idea that we were working with the Italians now.
Not yet at least.
“Nico,” I tried again. “We really, really have to go.”
“She doesn’t love me anymore!” he bellowed, slamming the glass down on the bar. “And it’s all my fault.”
“I’m pretty sure she still loves you. If she didn’t love you, she would have left by now. But she’s at home, waiting for you. We just need to get you sobered up.” And we needed to get him the hell out of here. I just didn’t want to ask for help unless I really needed to. “Here.” I pushed my water toward him. “Drink this.”
“What’s this?”
“Vodka,” I blurted out.
“Vodka?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Vodka. Drink up.”
He took the bottle from me, eyeing it, but I knew he couldn’t really read the label. Not after one bottle of whiskey that he finished in a record time. He pressed the lid to his lips, chugging it down, but movement from the entrance pulled my attention, and I didn’t notice him falling off of the stool until it was too late.
“Fuck!” I cursed, jumping down, and picking him off the floor.
“Oh, look.” He chuckled, barely standing up. “It’s Ophelia.” And it really was Ophelia, looking at the two of us with wide eyes, while Zoe stood next to her, laughing along with the other men surrounding them.
“Oh, shit,” Nico said, stumbling backward. “Ophelia, I didn’t mean it. I swear. Don’t kill me.”
She cocked her head, her eyes shining, amused, even though her face kept the same blank expression.
“What the fuck did he drink?”
“A distillery, apparently,” Zoe said, taking a seat at the bar.
“Hey, it isn’t my fault,” I said, keeping Nico upright. “He kept saying that Alessia hated him, that it was all his fault, but,” I grinned, “we made an agreement.”
“You did?” my Sunshine asked, coming closer to us.
“No, nope. Please, Ophelia,” Nico begged. “I still want to live.”
“I’m not going to kill you, you moron.” She chuckled. “I’m here to help you.”
She pulled out her phone and dialed a number I couldn’t see, pressing the phone to her ear.
“Babe,” she started. “He’s in a terrible state.” Her eyes were plastered to Nico, and damn, I fucking wanted to go home and to tell her what we discussed. I wanted her to look at me. “Yeah, I’m giving him the phone.”
She stepped in front of Nico, taking his hand and placing the phone in it.
“Talk to her,” she murmured. “It’s Alessia.”
