Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 104532 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 523(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104532 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 523(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
“Let me talk to him,” I say, holding out my hand for the phone.
Ignoring me, she faces forward again. “Yes, Mr. Hart. No problem. I’ll tell her.” She hangs up, pockets the phone, and faces me again. “Mr. Hart says he’s on his way.”
Just as I open my mouth to tell her that won’t be necessary, the intercom by the front door buzzes.
My mom goes over and answers with, “Yes?”
Leon’s deep voice booms through the system. “Hi, Gia. It’s Leon.”
My throat closes up. He’s here? Already? He must’ve been planning on meeting the moving company.
Looking at me, my mom raises her palm in a helpless gesture. I shake my head, but she’s already pressing on the button to open the gates.
“Come on in, Leon.” When she’s hung up, she says, “We can’t not let him in. Even if he’s no longer your betrothed, he’s still a colleague of Gus.”
“Wait here,” I say, shaking a little as I open the door. “Leon and I need a few minutes.”
My mom brushes her palms over her skirt before motioning to the lounge. “Ladies, why don’t you wait in here? Can I get you something to drink? It’s already so hot outside, isn’t it?”
The women’s reply is lost on me as I step outside and close the door. All I can focus on is the blue Aston Martin that comes to a stop behind the truck. I stand rooted to the spot, watching Leon with growing dread as he gets out of the car and makes his way over with long but unhurried strides.
He’s wearing dark jeans, a faded T-shirt, and a leather jacket—his signature work attire. Only, he’s not at the office where Elliot must be moving his precious Johannesburg Country Club mug and coaster to his new desk. He’s here, pinning me with a stare cold enough to freeze the sun. It’s a violent kind of cold, the kind that only dangerous men possess. They don’t make threats or raise their voices. They pull the trigger calmly and quietly. They’re efficiently deadly.
He stops two steps away from me, measuring me with that cool gaze. “Violet.”
I swallow around the lump in my throat. “Leon.”
“The moving company employee said there’s a confusion.”
Lifting my chin, I try to look confident instead of scared. “Yes.” I wave a hand at the truck. “What’s the meaning of this?”
He looks over his shoulder at the vehicle, studying it for a second before turning back to me. “You’re moving in with me.” His words are flat, toneless. “We’re getting married.”
The word pops out of its own accord. “No.”
He raises a brow, an unfriendly smile playing on his sensual lips. “No?”
My mouth is so dry it feels as if my lips are glued together. I have to wet them before I can speak. “That’s what I said.”
He advances on me, closing the small distance between us and putting our bodies flush together. “Once again, you’re mistakenly assuming I’m asking.”
I back up, my heel hitting the step behind me. “Gus won’t force me.”
His smile turns mocking. “Because I’m not his new partner after all?”
Not sure how to answer that without provoking his anger, I remain quiet.
He cups my head, his fingers gentle on my scalp while his gaze bores into mine. What I see in his eyes makes me shudder. In contrast to his light touch, he looks at me like he wants to crack me open and break me apart.
“Here’s the thing you don’t understand, Violet. It doesn’t really matter what Gus says. Tonight, you’ll be sleeping in my bed. Tomorrow, you’ll wake up in my bed. And the next day, and the next.”
A shiver runs through me.
He searches my eyes, but he’s not looking for emotions. He’s not interested in my feelings. He’s evaluating them like an artist studying a subject to assess the color. “Tomorrow, my darling, you will say I do.”
I pull away and step to the side. “Why will I do that?”
He doesn’t break our eye contact as he takes his phone from his pocket, activates it with his thumbprint, and holds it up to my face.
My heart stops beating. A flush heats my body. A video of me that’s been taken from a webcam plays on the screen. The poster on the wall behind me is a dead giveaway. I’m sitting at Leon’s desk, the recording damning evidence of my crime.
My gaze snaps back to his. My throat is raw, my voice hoarse. “What do you want?”
He pockets the phone. “I told you what I want.”
“Why?” I exclaim. “You have nothing to gain. If you think Gus will give you preferential treatment because you’ll be part of his family, I have news for you. Gus has never seen me as his family.”
“Only a pawn?”
I don’t reply.
“What do you think will happen if you don’t marry me?” He utters a humorless laugh. “Do you believe your stepfather will let you do what you want? He’ll sell you to someone else, making sure he gets some value for the money he’s invested in you.”