(VALENTINO'S POV)
Papà is staring at me.
I'm staring right back.
We've been at it for so long that at this point, it might as well be a staring contest.
The study is so quiet that I can hear a clock ticking somewhere behind me, and neither of us has said anything since the others left.
Papà finally breaks the silence.
"Valentino," he says calmly. "Do you understand what you did last night?"
I don't bother answering.
"You fired a gun inside my house," he continues. "Not during a fight. Not against an enemy. But at a woman I personally invited to live under my roof."
"Maybe you shouldn't have invited her in the first place," I mutter.
Papà tilts his head. "So you want me to send her away?"
"Yes," I say without hesitation.
"No," he counters. "That's not happening."
This conversation has barely started but it's already grating on my nerves.
