CH-19

VIN’S POV

“So… this is how you run the company now?” I barked, my voice slicing through the room like a blade.

Waldo flinched slightly, though he tried to hide it behind his usual careless expression.

“No, dude. It just happened.”

A lie.

A very weak one.

And I had spent my entire life surrounded by liars.

I could read deception like an open book.

My eyes narrowed.

“You have no shame, do you?”

My tone dropped lower, colder.

“We are not in college anymore, Waldo. This is not some cheap dorm room where you can do whatever the hell you want.”

I stepped closer, my gaze hard.

“The reputation of this company is in your hands. Hundreds of employees depend on the decisions made in this building. And what are you doing?” I gestured toward the door where the girl had just left.

“Playing games in your office.”

My jaw tightened.

“What happens when she opens her mouth and tells the rest of the staff? What happens when rumours start spreading through the company?”

My voice grew darker.

“And let’s not forget something else.”

I leaned forward slightly.

“You were just telling me two weeks ago that you love some girl.”

A bitter laugh escaped me.

“Yet here you are… entertaining another woman on your desk.”

I shook my head slowly.

“Wow.”

My lips curled with cold disgust.

“If that’s what love looks like…”

I clenched my jaw.

“Then thank God I’ve never loved anyone.”

“And trust me,” I added coldly, “I never will.”

“Gosh, Vincenzo, don’t act like you’re some kind of priest.” Waldo rolled his eyes dramatically.

“I’m not a priest,” I replied sharply.

“But at least I’ve never cheated on someone.”

My gaze hardened.

“And I never will.”

I paused before adding,

“And more importantly, I’ve never put a company’s reputation on the line for five minutes of pleasure.”

Silence fell between us.

Waldo sighed loudly before throwing his hands in the air.

“Alright, alright. I am sorry. It will not happen again.”

Then, as if nothing serious had happened, he walked forward and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.

“Now come here, you dramatic bastard.”

I tolerated the hug for a few seconds before pushing him away.

“What will you have?” he asked, walking toward the couch.

“Gin and tonic.”

He raised his eyebrows slightly, clearly surprised.

But he said nothing.

Probably smart of him.

I dropped onto the couch, leaning back while rubbing my temples.

My mind was still trapped in the events of the past hour.

The engagement.

The room full of elders.

Gia.

The word itself tasted bitter in my mouth.

Damn it.

I did not know whether to laugh… or break something.

It felt like destiny had decided to play some twisted joke on me.

“I thought you’d come tomorrow morning,” Waldo said while fixing the drinks.

“Seeing you in the evening was a pleasant surprise.”

“Hm.”

That was all I responded.

My brain was too busy searching for some loophole in the nightmare I had walked into.

“There’s something wrong with you,” Waldo said, studying my face.

“You look like you’re about to murder someone.”

He leaned forward.

“Is everything alright?”

His voice felt distant.

Almost like it was coming from somewhere far away.

“I got engaged.”

The words left my mouth quietly.

For a moment…

There was complete silence.

“Okay…”

Waldo nodded slowly.

Then his eyes widened.

“Wait.”

His head snapped toward me.

“What?”

Someone entered the room with a tray holding glasses and tonic water.

The clinking of glass filled the silence.

I stood up and walked toward the small hidden cabinet Waldo kept for his alcohol collection.

“Come again?” he asked, his voice full of disbelief.

I rolled my eyes in irritation.

Was he suddenly deaf?

“I said—”

I turned toward him slowly.

“I got engaged.”

This time I pressed every single word.

Hard.

Clear.

Final.

I grabbed the gin bottle and poured it into the glasses.

It was already past working hours, so technically no rules were being broken.

Still, the tension in the room was thick.

Waldo picked up his glass.

Then—to my absolute annoyance—he gulped it down in one shot.

And before I could react—

He grabbed my glass too.

And emptied that one as well.

The glass slammed against the table with a loud thud.

I stared at him in disbelief.

If looks could kill…

He would’ve been dead already.

Without saying a word, I poured myself another drink and immediately took a large sip before he could attempt another robbery.

“Dude… how?” he asked slowly.

I leaned back into the couch, my eyes drifting toward the large window.

Night had already swallowed the city.

The sky was dark.

But the moon was shining brightly above Brussels.

Calm.

Silent.

Unbothered.

“You hated the idea of marriage,” Waldo continued.

“You were practically allergic to it.”

He paused carefully.

“So how the hell did you end up…”

He hesitated.

I shot him a deadly glare.

“…engaged,” he finished quickly.

I said nothing for a moment.

But inside me…

Chaos was raging.

A storm of emotions crashed violently inside my chest.

Anger.

Frustration.

Rage.

The kind of rage that made your hands itch to break bones.

But Waldo knew me too well.

He knew every reason I had for hating marriage.

So, I told him everything.

From the beginning.

How things spiralled out of control.

How I walked straight into a trap.

And how now—

I was tied to someone I never wanted.

“Damn, Vincenzo,” Waldo muttered after hearing everything.

“I don’t think you can get out of this.”

He poured himself another drink.

The deep frown on his forehead told me exactly what he was thinking.

I was screwed.

“I want to get rid of this,” I said quietly.

My fingers rubbed my eyes.

“And to make things worse…”

My voice hardened.

“She’s, my mate.”

The word felt like poison.

“And Nate won’t take it well if I even think about rejecting her.”

Waldo leaned back slowly.

“Yeah…”

A heavy silence filled the room.

Then he sighed.

“Bro… I do not see a way out.”

His words were blunt.

Honest.

And painfully true.

“You royal werewolves have the most ridiculous rules.”

He shook his head.

“Once you accept… she’s practically your woman.”

The word woman hit me like a punch.

“Soon your wolf will start developing feelings for her,” he continued.

“That’s how the bond works.”

He rubbed his forehead.

“And you already got engaged.”

His voice lowered.

“There’s only one direction this goes now.”

“Marriage.”

My jaw clenched so hard it hurt.

My woman.

The words echoed inside my head.

Something inside my chest twisted painfully.

If she had just refused…

If she had said no…

None of this would have happened.

I would be sitting here peacefully with my friend.

But that cunning little witch had other plans.

If she thinks this engagement means she has won…

She is wrong.

If she believes marrying me will give her power…

She is wrong.

If she thinks she will enjoy my wealth…

She is wrong.

If she believes she will gain status by becoming my wife…

She has no idea who she has provoked.

If there is one thing I despise in this world—

It is being royal.

That cursed title has chained my life since birth.

And now…

Because of her…

Those chains feel tighter than ever.

My breathing grew heavier.

Heat spread through my body like wildfire.

My vision darkened.

Rage flooded every vein.

I could feel my wolf stirring violently beneath my skin.

My nostrils flared.

Everything around me slowly turned red.

I wanted to destroy something.

Anything.

And then—

CRACK.

The sharp sound snapped through the room.

I blinked.

Confused.

Then looked down.

My hand was bleeding.

A shattered crystal glass lay scattered across the floor.

Small shards glittered under the light.

Waldo rushed toward me immediately.

“Shit, Vincenzo!”

Blood dripped steadily from my palm onto the floor.

But strangely…

I felt nothing.

No pain.

It was as if my body had forgotten how to register it.

“Someone brings the first-aid box!” Waldo shouted.

Within seconds someone arrived with it.

He grabbed my hand, trying to clean the wound.

“I think we should go to a doctor,” he muttered.

“What if glass pieces are stuck inside?”

I pulled my hand away.

Taking the cotton from him.

“I’m fine, Waldo.”

I stood up slowly.

Pressing the cotton against the cut to stop the bleeding.

“You’re anything but fine,” he called out behind me.

“At least let me bandage it!”

But I was already walking toward the door.

Because if I stayed here any longer…

Someone was going to pay for the storm raging inside me.