His Hidden Treasure (Completed)

Thirteen

Zephyr's hands clenched into fists, his anger rising like a tempest within him. The woman refused to back down, and he resisted the urge to throttle her. Instead he opted for forcefully grabbing her arms when she wouldn't shut her mouth to his mother. Aware of her still-sore shoulder, a twinge of remorse pricked at him, but she had crossed a line. Now, he found himself in the position of mitigating the fallout, as his mother simmered with fury. And now he had to do damage control as his mother seethed with fury.

As he made his way downstairs, Zephyr made sure to give clear instructions to the guards stationed outside his bedroom. He could already hear his mother's voice echoing through the halls, her shouts directed at undoubtedly his father in his office. The sound was both amusing and unsettling, knowing that he would soon be on the receiving end of her wrath.

Outside his father's office, Zephyr paused to listen to the scolding his father was receiving, mentally preparing himself for what was to come. "Come hai potuto fare questo, Michael? Come hai potuto permettere a tuo figlio di fare questo a una donna innocente? Noi non trattiamo le donne in questo modo! Pensavo che tu fossi migliore di così. Quella povera ragazza non vuole questo, e tu la stai ricattando? Quanto in basso sei caduto? Stai per rilasciare Nila ora, insieme a qualunque cosa tu stia usando per ricattarla. Non permetterò che questo matrimonio accada e fidati, Michael, se continuerai su questa strada, me ne andrò e andrò da mia madre." With a deep breath, Zephyr entered the room and silenced the livid Italian woman with a look. His father appeared relieved at his arrival, and a smirk slipped onto Zephyr's lips, a mistake he would soon regret.

**Translation: How could you do this, Michael? How could you allow your son to do this to an innocent woman? We don't treat women this way! I thought you were better than this. That poor girl doesn't want this, and you're blackmailing her? How low have you sunk? You are going to release Nila now, along with whatever you're using to blackmail her. I will not let this marriage happen and trust me, Michael, if you continue down this path, I will leave and go to my mother.

"Oh, quindi pensi che sia divertente? Non ti ho cresciuto meglio di così?" His mother yelled at him.

**Translation: Oh, so you think this is funny? Have I not raised you better than this?

"Mom, basta, per favore. We have our reasons for doing this. No one is leaving and the wedding is still happening."

"Zephyr!" Zephyr cut her off before she could go on another rant.

"The wedding is happening, mother," he stated firmly, his voice tinged with a hint of defiance. The grand office was filled with tense silence as his mother's hazel eyes widened with disbelief. She shook her head furiously, her chestnut curls bouncing with the movement.

"This is madness, Zephyr! How can you think of marrying someone against their will? She's a hostage, not a bride!" she exclaimed.

"But she will be," he replied calmly, taking a seat on the edge of the mahogany desk. "She will come to see that it's in her best interest to be my wife." His father's stern gaze met his own, their identical caramel eyes locked in a silent battle of wills. His mother continued to protest, but he held up a hand to silence her.

"You will see," he declared confidently. "I'll make Nila mine. She'll come to her senses once she realizes what I can offer her." His mother's protests grew even louder, but he remained resolute. There was no changing his mind now.

"You're mistaken if you think you can force someone to love you, Zephyr!" His normally impassive face hardened into a mask of determination as he gazed at his mother, sending an unspoken message through the charged atmosphere between them. The tense silence in the room was only broken by the frantic ticking of the grandfather clock standing proud in the corner.