“You two, downstairs study. Now.” Mr De Bellis knocks on the door. By the time I turn my head to look behind me, he’s gone.
“Are we in trouble?” I ask Ares.
He laughs. “I’m never in trouble, P. My parents wouldn’t know how to punish us if they tried.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
His dad is a De Bellis brother after all. The stories of that family handing out punishments to those who cross them are all over Melbourne, almost like urban myths.
My hand is tightly gripping Ares’s because I don’t know why his dad has called us into his office. I’m nervous. I don’tparticularly like being in trouble. I’m used to it but don’t love it. And I’ve never been in trouble with Ares’s parents. It’s different when it’s your own parents about to lecture you about something you’ve done wrong.
When we walk into the office, I’m surprised to see my Uncle Xavier sitting on one of the sofas. He stands, after glaring at the hand that is still holding on to Ares, walks over and hugs me—pulling me away from Ares in the process.
“This boy is not good enough for you, Zara,” my uncle whispers into my ear.
“Uncle Xav, trust my judgement here. He is,” I tell him.
My uncle steps back, sends Ares another dirty look, and then reclaims his spot on the sofa.
“Sit down,” Mr De Bellis says.
Ares takes hold of my hand again and leads us over to the double-seater. “Whatever it is, I’m pretty sure I didn’t do it,” Ares says as we each drop down on one of the cushions.
“You two are getting serious. It’s my job to protect Zara’s interests. I have some paperwork for you to go over and sign, Ares.” My uncle opens a folder that’s sitting on the glass coffee table in front of us.
“What?” I gasp. “Uncle Xavier, don’t you think you should have discussed this with me first?” I turn to Ares. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know they were going to do this.”
Ares smiles and shrugs. “What is it?” he asks, picking up the folder.
“There’s an NDA and some financial disclosures stating that you have no claim to Zara’s assets. I’ve already read through them all, Ares. You can sign them,” Mr De Bellis says.
“Wait… Why does he need to sign an NDA? Seriously, Uncle Xavier, no.” I jump up from the sofa. “He’s my boyfriend, not some business transaction.”
“Everything in life is business, Zara. This is to protect you,” Uncle Xavier replies.
“It’s okay. I’ll sign whatever you want. I don’t want or need any of her assets,” Ares says.
“You don’t need to sign that,” I tell him.
Ares stares at me. “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect you, P. Signing some documents isn’t a big deal.” Ares turns to my uncle. “Where do I sign?”
I’m mortified my family would spring this on us. And that no one thought to mention it to me first. I’ll deal withthatlater.
“You two are supposed to be studying, by the way. And I’m pretty sure last I checked, neither of you was enrolled in an anatomy class. Whatever you were doing wasn’t studying,” Mr De Bellis says, and my cheeks flame.
“Sorry,” I murmur.
“Maybe you should try studying downstairs.” Mr De Bellis smirks.
“Sure.” Ares stands after signing the paperwork. “That it?”
“Yes.”
“Pleasure as always, Mr Christianson.” Ares waves as he pulls me out of the room.
“I’m so sorry,” I tell him as we continue down the hallway.
“Don’t be. It’s not a bad thing. Your family is looking out for your interests, Zara,” he says.
