screen.
“Fedel, do I look like Martha fucking Stewart?”
“No, ma’am. I would never think you would be foolish enough to end up in jail.” He
cleared his throat, and I laughed. Stepping out from behind the screen, I let Adriana
drop the white heels at my feet.
“Then tell them to go fuck themselves.”
“That would not be wise, mio bambino dolce .” My father coughed as he was wheeled in by his nurse.
Walking over to him, I kissed him on the cheek.
“Why can’t I tell them to fuck themselves?” I asked him as Adriana handed me my bracelets.
“Because, to the rest of the world, you are the fiancée to one of the most powerful
men in this country—the prince of Chicago. You aren’t the Boss to them. They want
a Kate Middleton or a first lady, someone to kiss babies and write big checks on behalf
of your fiancé,” my father snapped at me, causing me to stop and just stare into his
dying eyes.
“Fedel. Adriana. Leave.” In seconds they, along with my father’s nurse, were gone.
“You’re still mad that I shot him.”
He frowned at me. “I do not have time to hold on to anger. And yet, here you are,
forcing me to waste time to discipline you.”
Shaking my head, I smiled. “You should be proud I didn’t kill him. He is a spoiled
brat who thinks he was born in the nineteen-twenties when women served their husbands
and bowed down to their will. I’m not now, nor shall I ever be, any man’s arm candy.”
“Melody.” He sighed, using my full name like when he was annoyed or pissed. “You are
as hard-headed as your mother.”
“Thank you. I will take that as a complement.” I turned away from him.
“It was not one,” he hissed. “Have you forgotten why you wear the white shoes?” My
whole body froze for a moment, and a chill ran up my spine.
“That was a low blow, Orlando.” I sneered at him and took off the damn white shoes
before walking into my closet. Most of my things had already been taken out and were
en route to Callahan Manor. I had left some of the things I would need in my closet
here. One never knows when I would need a personal moment away from the leprechaun.
My father wheeled in behind me. “I will not go to my grave knowing that this marriage
is condemned and that, yet again, two people who are made for each other will not
swallow their pride, lower their swords, and act as fucking equals! You, Melody Nicci
Giovanni, will not walk the same path your mother and I did. You will support your
husband, guide him when needed, and stand by his side and his side alone. You will
be a damn Callahan, and you will make sure both families, past and present, rise!”
he yelled, not once coughing or even so much as blinking for that matter. Had I closed
my eyes, he would have sounded like the Orlando I used to know.
“What happened with you and Mom is not the same,” I replied, slipping on the tan shoes,
while in the back of my mind a voice told me to change back.
“But the outcome will be if you do not take my advice. Make peace with him Melody.
Remember how long it took me to adjust to you as Boss? Prove it to him. Prove it to
them all, and do it without making your husband the fool so I can rest in peace.”
The tenseness in his voice dropped before he coughed again, returning to the sick
man that he was now.
I hated the thought of having to prove myself. I had done that for years—proving to
every man we interrogated, every boss I took down, every crackhead with a big mouth,
and even with my men. I thought I was done with that phase of my rule, and yet here
I was again.
“Don’t think too long about it, we’re not all still in our twenties.” Orlando smiled
at me, and even though he was only a shadow of the man I used to know, that smile
always made me smile.
Walking behind him, I pulled his wheelchair back before exiting my closet for the
last time.
“Fine, I will try, but if he treats me like a
“Fedel, do I look like Martha fucking Stewart?”
“No, ma’am. I would never think you would be foolish enough to end up in jail.” He
cleared his throat, and I laughed. Stepping out from behind the screen, I let Adriana
drop the white heels at my feet.
“Then tell them to go fuck themselves.”
“That would not be wise, mio bambino dolce .” My father coughed as he was wheeled in by his nurse.
Walking over to him, I kissed him on the cheek.
“Why can’t I tell them to fuck themselves?” I asked him as Adriana handed me my bracelets.
“Because, to the rest of the world, you are the fiancée to one of the most powerful
men in this country—the prince of Chicago. You aren’t the Boss to them. They want
a Kate Middleton or a first lady, someone to kiss babies and write big checks on behalf
of your fiancé,” my father snapped at me, causing me to stop and just stare into his
dying eyes.
“Fedel. Adriana. Leave.” In seconds they, along with my father’s nurse, were gone.
“You’re still mad that I shot him.”
He frowned at me. “I do not have time to hold on to anger. And yet, here you are,
forcing me to waste time to discipline you.”
Shaking my head, I smiled. “You should be proud I didn’t kill him. He is a spoiled
brat who thinks he was born in the nineteen-twenties when women served their husbands
and bowed down to their will. I’m not now, nor shall I ever be, any man’s arm candy.”
“Melody.” He sighed, using my full name like when he was annoyed or pissed. “You are
as hard-headed as your mother.”
“Thank you. I will take that as a complement.” I turned away from him.
“It was not one,” he hissed. “Have you forgotten why you wear the white shoes?” My
whole body froze for a moment, and a chill ran up my spine.
“That was a low blow, Orlando.” I sneered at him and took off the damn white shoes
before walking into my closet. Most of my things had already been taken out and were
en route to Callahan Manor. I had left some of the things I would need in my closet
here. One never knows when I would need a personal moment away from the leprechaun.
My father wheeled in behind me. “I will not go to my grave knowing that this marriage
is condemned and that, yet again, two people who are made for each other will not
swallow their pride, lower their swords, and act as fucking equals! You, Melody Nicci
Giovanni, will not walk the same path your mother and I did. You will support your
husband, guide him when needed, and stand by his side and his side alone. You will
be a damn Callahan, and you will make sure both families, past and present, rise!”
he yelled, not once coughing or even so much as blinking for that matter. Had I closed
my eyes, he would have sounded like the Orlando I used to know.
“What happened with you and Mom is not the same,” I replied, slipping on the tan shoes,
while in the back of my mind a voice told me to change back.
“But the outcome will be if you do not take my advice. Make peace with him Melody.
Remember how long it took me to adjust to you as Boss? Prove it to him. Prove it to
them all, and do it without making your husband the fool so I can rest in peace.”
The tenseness in his voice dropped before he coughed again, returning to the sick
man that he was now.
I hated the thought of having to prove myself. I had done that for years—proving to
every man we interrogated, every boss I took down, every crackhead with a big mouth,
and even with my men. I thought I was done with that phase of my rule, and yet here
I was again.
“Don’t think too long about it, we’re not all still in our twenties.” Orlando smiled
at me, and even though he was only a shadow of the man I used to know, that smile
always made me smile.
Walking behind him, I pulled his wheelchair back before exiting my closet for the
last time.
“Fine, I will try, but if he treats me like a
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