Page 5 of Arranged & Unhinged
I loveMama, but she was over-dramatic, and pretty much pushedPapato do the disgusting shit he did. He would bring his mistresses home, parade them in front ofMama, and she would throw a crazy fit about it. This would end withPapaslapping the shit out of her, sometimes in front of all three of us kids, then walking away with his new slut of the night. I hatedmi papa. He disgusted me to no end. I seriously hoped my brothers would not turn out like him.
I knew they were scared of him. Or at least they used to be.
I remembered a particular moment when I was eight years old. I had been wrestling with my brothers, when we heard my father coming stomping down the hallway. My brothers had scrambled away from me frantically, and lined up next to each other, straight, shoulder to shoulder, heads bowed down. I had not seen that behavior before because usually I was not allowed around my brothers. I stood off to the side, my hair a bit of a mess, looking at my brothers, not understanding. My father came in and looked from my brothers to me, then back to them.
“What is this business here?” His voice had been lethal.
I should have been scared, but I was more frustrated than anything. I wanted to yell at myPapathat I was finally having fun with my brothers, but something about the way my brothers were acting stopped me.
“Nino, what business do you have with your sister here?”
His head still down, in a stern voice, my oldest brother, Nino, responded, “NothingPapa. She came in when Rico and I were practicing our moves for our tournament later.”
My father looked at me, and I was also looking at the ground. Not because I was scared, but because I thought it was a rule. Mama used to get on to me that sometimes you just had to follow the rules. She had once called me “stubborn by nature,” with exasperation.
“And what did you tell your sister, Nino?” His voice was filled with disgust. I was glad I was looking at the floor, because I was mad and knew I had a mad face.
“That women are only good in the kitchen and having babies.” Nino’s voice also took on a tone of disgust.
I wanted to punch Nino. I didn’t want to have babies. That was gross!
My father then addressed me. “Aria, you don’t get to be around the boys. You serve a different purpose. Like your mother.” He said mother with disgust. That is when I began to hatemi papa. I nodded ever so slightly, still looking at the ground, because that was the rules. You nodded when an adult spoke to you.Mamasaid.
Papahuffed and stomped away. I kept my head down a little longer, but then raised it slightly to look up at my brothers through my eye lashes. They wouldn’t look at me. I stomped away from them and knew ‘my place’ starting that day. It turned something inside of me.
Maximo cleared his throat, bringing me back to the present.
“It is part of our marriage to have a child, Aria. We will need to make plans for it.”
I smiled sweetly at him. “Well, if you can abstain from sex for about two to three months, then get an STD clearance, we could definitely make an effort for a baby.” His face hardened. “I would even be willing to take a break from my lovers,” heflinched, “and take an STD panel too. I am on birth control now, and I do use condoms with my lovers,” flinch, “but we could always figure out the logistics as we go.”
Maximo looked tense, but did not say anything.
I continued to smile sweetly at him, until he finally bolted from the seat and stormed out of the room. A few moments later, I heard the front door slam.
Baby talk over for now. I smirked.
Chapter 4
Maximo’s POV
My wife appeared to know more about my sex life than I had anticipated. Getting her into my bed was going to be a challenge. But it was a challenge I was open to exploring. But I guess an heir would not be on the table for some time. She didn’t exactly come right out and tell me no, so I took that as a maybe. I could work with a ‘maybe’.
We had to make our first official appearance as a married couple for the gala event. I would finally be able to meet up with Dom and see how his marriage was going as well as his plans to take over Don Sanchez’s clan. I was glad when he chose Sophie instead of Serena. I didn’t know too much about Sophie Sanchez, but what I did know was she was a quiet girl, the obedient type. But she was also clean, unlike Serena. Well, unlike a lot of women in our world. I was actually shocked Aria had only been with three men, although that was three men more than I was comfortable with. Unfortunately, she was right. I had been with a lot of women, but I wasn’t about to let her know that I agreed with it.
When I witnessed Dom enter the gala with Sophie, I had been upstairs, overlooking the open gallery. Sophie had a blank expression, even though I knew by Dom’s expression, people were talking about her. He looked a bit possessive. He had his hand on her waist, but it was his posturing that caught my attention. Interesting. I had slept with Serena, and it was whatit was. A release. But I didn’t want her hands anywhere near Dom. I considered him a friend, well as much of a friend as a person could have in my position. The only other ones I was close to were Aria’s brothers. I wasn’t even that close to Aria’s cousin, Alonzo, even though he would be my other Enforcer. Sophie seemed like the least complicated choice for an alliance, though now I was starting to wonder.
I watched the two move around the room, as well as Aria, who kept herself moving, smiling, but not really stopping to talk to anyone. In previous events, she would stand by her father and mother throughout the evening, quiet and reserved. Now, she looked like an entirely different woman. She moved with a grace and ease I had never seen, but she continued to wear that smile of hers. It was almost sickly sweet.
A couple hours in and Dom finally approached me. I asked him about the arrangement, and was quite surprised he was celibate. He had said it was to avoid rocking the boat with Don Sanchez, but the way he had eyes on Sophie all night, I doubted that was why. Apparently he hadn’t slept with her, but he was acting like he wanted to.
We both noticed my wife approaching his wife, and Dom became agitated. We watched as they interacted, but I was also surprised that Aria wasn’t making a scene. Or, she wasn’t until Serena approached her. And I’ll be damned if she didn’t call her out in front of everyone.
Aria, in a loud voice, said, “Listen here tramp. Just because you rode my husband’s dick like the skank you are, doesn’t give you the right to come up to me and act like you're a queen.”
I couldn’t help but mutter, “Fuck.”
“You’re not. I’m the fucking queen here. You get me?” Serena had stepped back by this point, her face pale, mouth hanging open, eyes darting around. “And do yourself a favor and don’tever speak to Sophie again.Capisce? Or I will have to deal with you myself.”
