Page 26 of The Arianna Arrangement

“Good idea.”

I flagged down a taxi and we took off to my favorite pizza place.

Walking back into the house, Leyla and I were on cloud nine. This afternoon together had been exactly what I’d needed. Man, I missed my bestie over the past couple of weeks.

Our laughs cut off immediately as Tucker stormed into the foyer, pissed. “What the fuck were the two of you thinking?!”

Leyla rolled her eyes. “Chill out. We just needed some girl time.”

“This isn’t Crestwood! Anything could have happened to you out there without security. And none of us had any idea where you were. We’ve been worried sick.” Tucker pulled Leyla and I into a hug, not wanting to pick between the two of us.

I did feel a little bad for worrying him. Ashley had probably been worried too, so I’d have to apologize to her later.

A throat clearing behind Tuck had us separating and turning to see Sandro standing there. “Dinner is being served and everyone is expected to head that way. With as pissed as our father is, I wouldn’t suggest wasting any time.”

Sandro turned and walked away as I turned my attention to Tucker. “How pissed is he?”

He ran his tongue across his front teeth as he took my hand in his and led us towards the dining room. “Mad isn’t an accurate descriptor. He was livid. He’s been barking orders at everyone, starting searches for you, throwing things. Sandro tried to calm him down, but that just earned him a fist to the face.”

Fuck. I’d have to apologize to Sandro later too.

When we walked into the dining room, everyone was in there waiting on us, Apollo whispering in Ashley’s ear. Probably preparing her to sit silently no matter what was said or done.

Several of my dad’s men were in here standing along the wall. There was also a decent amount of Givenchy security. That had to mean that they thought my dad would do something to Leyla.

As Ley took the seat between Apollo and Ashley, obviously put there so that she was kept in line and safe, I leaned down and whispered in her ear. “You have to keep your mouth shut. Don’t react. Please. This may be bad, but remember, my dad isn’t like yours.”

I took my seat beside Tucker, across from my mother and Sandro. Father had the boys sit next to him and the women beside them because we weren’t as important in his eyes. Beside her was my uncle Antonio, Marco, and Elio.

“I’m relieved you’ve found your way home, Arianna.” My fathers eyes flicked to my mother, then Sandro and his jaw clenched. “Your brother has suggested that I let you explain yourself, so please, go ahead.”

If Sandro was pushing for me to have a chance to speak, either he knew what was going on and hoped father would put our mom in check, or… this was going to get ugly and he hoped my explanation would be good enough to lighten the severity a little.

“I needed to get out of there and have a break from wedding planning.” I looked at my mother and thought I saw a bruise starting to form on her neck and my stomach sank even more. “I absolutely hate everything that’s being picked and she’s not listening to me. When I tell her what I want she just shrugs me off and gets what she wants instead. It was really frustrating me and instead of blowing up on her in the store, I decided that Leyla and I should just leave and hang out for the afternoon.”

My father stared at me in silence for so long, I wished he’d just speak and get it over with. The longer he stared at me like that, the worse this was going to be. “So you ran off because your mother isn’t letting you have what you want for your wedding?”

Tucker turned to me. “You should have taken your security. You are to become my wife in a matter of weeks. Not only does your family make you a target, but being my fiancée makes you one too. That was completely irresponsible of you.” His voice was low and cold.

I could see it for what it was. Tucker thought that if he reprimanded me, as my future husband, then maybe my father would back off. If my father was only slightly irritated, that would probably work.

But he was pissed, so I didn’t think there was anything that was going to save me from his wrath now.

“You behaved like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum, Arianna. Your fiancé is right. This was completely irresponsible of you.” My father sat back in his chair and rubbed his hand over his chin. “I’ve been too easy on you. Antonio suggested putting a tracker in you a long time ago but I didn’t. Tomorrow morning, the doctor will come and inject one in you.”

Apollo cleared his throat and leaned forward. “I know the wedding is a few weeks away so she is still under your purview, but I’m not sure I like the idea of a tracker being put in her. If it were to be hacked, she would be an easy target for your enemies. Especially once she’s pregnant with the Givenchy-Vitale heir.”

Some of the fire left my fathers eyes as he took in Apollo’s concern. They sat in a stare off before my father finally spoke. “If the Givenchy family is uncomfortable with her having a tracker, then after they are married and the marriage has been consummated, you may remove it. But as you said, she’s still under my purview until then, so we will be installing the tracker tomorrow.”

I wanted to be pissed, but in the grand scheme of things, a tracker for a few weeks wasn’t a big deal. It could have been much worse.

“I would offer to let your fiancé choose your punishment, to transition him into the role of being in charge of you. However, since the Givenchy family isn’t like ours, I highly doubt they punish their wives, something I obviously don’t agree with.” He looked at my mothers neck, where a bruise was definitely forming. “Since you decided to act like a toddler today, you shall be punished as one.”

I don’t remember ever really being punished as a kid. Sometimes I had to skip dessert or a meal. What punishment would he give me like he would give a toddler? I’d be fine being sent to my room for a timeout.

“I think a spanking is in order.”

I stiffened in my seat, knowing this was going to suck. There was no way Tucker or Apollo would let someone lay hands on me, but they didn’t actually have the authority to stop him.