Page 76 of Merciless

“If you so much as tell her I’m back,” I say, “I’ll cut your balls off and stuff them down your throat. Got it?”

He raises his hands with a chuckle. “My lips are sealed.”

“Come on, man,” Gabe says. “It can’t be that bad.”

“I’d like to have an uneventful visit.” I slip my hands into my pockets. “Anyway, I need to go. I’ll catch you guys later.”

Time to face the music.

I rap my knuckles on my father’s office door before entering. He raises his head and closes the book he was reading.

“Elijah,” he says with a smile. “How have you been, son?”

I shrug. “Never been better, Father. How’s your back holding up?”

He sighs and rolls his neck. “Cut the bullshit, Elijah. What are you in here for?”

Pursing my lips, I cross the room and sit on the leather seat across from him. “What? I can’t ask how my old man is?”

“You can, but it’s disingenuous.” He sets the book aside and folds his hands together. “What do you want?”

“Are the conditions the same?” I say, dropping the facade.

He glares at me. “I just wanted a weekend where we celebrate Ruby’s birthday and nothing else happens.”

“Nothing will happen. I can promise you that.” I relax into the seat and glance at the framed picture of Ruby sitting on his desk. “You must really love your daughter.”

“Daughters,” he says. “As well as my boys.”

My eye twitches. “Do you? Because it doesn’t feel like it.”

“We’re not having this conversation, Elijah.”

My molars grind together. “Of course.”

Father leans back in his seat and folds his arms across his chest. “I told you the conditions, and they won’t change.”

So much for not wanting to discuss this again.

“Don’t you think those conditions are a little too much for a 23-year-old? You want me married and to have a son. I’m still in college, Father.”

He rolls his eyes. “If you want to inherit the Astar estate, you’ll need a wife by your side, and she’ll need to be pregnant with your child. This family business must stay in the family.”

“What about Asher?”

His eyebrow twitching is enough to set my blood on fire. He doesn’t give a shit about my twin. He sees him as defective, unusable. He doesn’t want to risk passing his mental health to his children.

“He can have children,” I continue. “He’s just as fertile as I am. And yet, you seem to forget about him when discussing your lineage.”

“Again, I’ve made myself clear that it must be you.”

I stand and straighten to my full height. Fixing the cuff of my jacket, I glare at him from beneath my lashes. “Asher is just as suitable for the business and the inheritance.”

Father shakes his head. “It’s you that must take it. You’re older⁠—”

“By three minutes. But that doesn’t negate his capability to bear children. I hope you’ll think over your decision and change your terms. We’re just as capable of running the business without wives or children.”

“I stand by my decision, Elijah.” Father stands and places his palms on the desk as he leans forward, looking every bit as frustrated as I feel. “Marry and have children. The sooner, the better. Now, can we drop it?”