Page 29 of Blue in the Deep Blue Sea

A single tear slid down my cheek, but I wasn’t crying for him.

I was crying for me.

I pitied myself because no matter how hard I tried to be a good friend, a good sister, a good daughter, a good person… In the end, everyone left.

I threw the bottle into the sea and wiped my cheek.

From that moment on, I stopped believing in promises made by anyone but myself.

8

SQUALO

Inever understood people who owned houses by the sea and still built pools. Then again, despite how privileged it sounds, I was one of them.Villa Sinclair didn’t have just one pool, but three. Much as I disliked having them and preferred the sea, I couldn’t deny that I enjoyed slipping into the water for a quick swim.

Today, though, I just sat in front of it.Lorenzo was probably lying out somewhere with his bare ass in the sun by now, and I’d decided to take the day for myself. The afternoon sun hung high overhead, baking my skin until it almost smelled scorched, but I didn’t mind. Even though British blood ran through my veins, growing up in Italy had made my skin resistant to the sun, so I never burned.

The perfect warmth disappeared beneath a sudden patch of shade. I opened my eyes and found my father standing over me, blocking the sun from my face. He wore his usual white linen shirt and matching trousers. As I pushed myself up to sit, I noticed he wasn’t wearing any shoes, which could only mean he’d just arrived home. He was one of those clean freaks whoalways took his shoes off at the front door, which meant the maids had to clean the floors three times a day.

“You’re blocking the sun,” I said, squinting up at him.

“Where were you last night?” he asked calmly. He crossed his arms over his chest, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows, exposing the goldRolexon his wrist. “We waited for you for hours, only for Sofia De Luca to show up on our doorstep, screaming that it was all your fault her son was missing.”

“I don’t know, Dad.” I chuckled, raising a brow. “You’re the one who fucked her, not me.”

His jaw clenched. His eyes widened as the color drained from his face.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Oh, she wasn’t the one you fucked in the library the day before Mom died?” I stood, draping a towel around my neck and gripping each end in my fists. “Or am I confusing her with someone else?”

“Watch your tongue, Oliver,” he said. “I’m still your father, even if you don’t see me as one.”

“Yeah.” I scoffed. “I heard you fired her. Was that your decision or your fiance’s?”

“It had to be done,” he said. “I did it for you. If people started talking, saying you were involved in the disappearances, they would drag your name through the mud.”

“So you figured lying about a stolen yacht would save both our reputations?” I laughed. “Gianni came to you to borrow a yacht, and suddenly every single person on it, including the crew, disappeared.”

“I said no to him, and you know it. It was his decision to take it without permission. That’s called theft in every country, as far as I know.”

“Yeah.” I chuckled. “Sure.”

“You also skipped a few important decisions last night,” he said. He sat down and finished the glass of whiskey that had been waiting on the table, the one I’d poured for myself but never touched.

“And that might be?”

“You’re no longer part of the company,” he said, setting the empty glass down. Then he stretched out on the sunbed as I turned to face him. “Since you have no respect for money or for the company I built from nothing for you, I’ll give it to someone who appreciates it instead of throwing it away on cheap prostitutes and alcohol.”

“Are you saying you’re finally letting me go?” I smiled.

His words didn’t touch me.

“Maybe.” He rolled a piece of ice around his mouth before biting down on it. “Or until you learn some respect.”

“Whatever.” I turned and walked away.

“You have until tonight to leave this house,” he shouted after me. “And don’t come back until you grow some balls, stop behaving like a teenager, and become a man.”