Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 88551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
They’re probably for show.
He beckons me with a finger. “Come here.”
My eyes widen when he lifts a glass to his mouth and the pieces of ice make a swirling sound, clinking tantalizingly.
Holy shit. Alcohol.
That liar Ogla told me there was none in the house. Adrian is obviously drinking some right now.
I’ve been trying my damnedest to not make mistakes so that I’ll be rewarded and can ask for alcohol. However, my mouth usually gets me in trouble, because I can’t stand Adrian’s tyranny, so I end up being punished every night.
Or maybe you want to be punished every night.
I shove that idea in the black box at the back of my mind.
All this time, I’ve been holding on to the hope that I’ll be able to get at least a little drunk.
Now, things have changed. Adrian has alcohol in this place. If I had known, I would’ve barged into his office before.
A plan immediately forms in my head as I slowly approach him. His calm façade doesn’t fool me, because that’s merely a layer of camouflage to hide his observant nature. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve caught him watching me, whether through his office window or while I’m sleeping.
It’s creepy and causes my skin to crawl, but it’s not only because of the act itself. It’s because he really seems to be seeing through me sometimes. Due to that ability, he’ll be able to figure out whether I’m being fake or genuine, so I conceal my anger while I gently sway my hips.
I’m wearing a soft pink dress that has a skater skirt instead of the straight ones Lia’s closet is filled with. Needless to say, it took me a lot of digging to find it. I’m also wearing heels to add a bit of height to my short legs.
My hair is loose and I fixed my makeup after Jeremy and I woke up from our nap. So I have confidence in my looks. What I don’t have confidence in is my ability to play a seduction game on someone like Adrian.
He’s not only observant, but he also has the ability to barge into the soul of someone without armor.
I stop within an arm’s length of him and inhale a drag of air into my lungs. The scent of cognac is almost enough to make me drunk. I would kill for a sip. Just one, single sip. But no matter how much I crave it, I force myself not to look at the glass nestled between his lean fingers.
If I do, Adrian will see right through me.
He tilts his head to the side as if he’s trying to get past my skull and peer inside my head. “What did you think you were doing with Yan just now?”
“I was only inviting him to play with us. It’s cold outside the gazebo.”
“Yan does not play with you. Whether he’s cold or freezes to death is none of your business.”
“Are you always this heartless, even toward your own men?”
“Why?” He cocks his head further. “Are you offended on his behalf, Lenochka?”
“Of course I am. You don’t deserve his loyalty to you.”
“Do not touch him again. Do not invite him in again, and you do not even talk to him.”
“It was innocent.”
“Innocent,” he repeats, as if the prospect is impossible.
“It was.”
“Innocent or not. That will not happen again.”
“Or what? You’ll punish me?” I resist the urge to scoff, because that’s part of his modus operandi.
“That goes without saying. However, that’s not the only price. Anyone who dares to touch you will pay, too. In fact, if I catch anyone looking at you, they’ll wish they were never born.”
“Are you serious?” I know he is, so my question is rhetorical at best, but Adrian nods anyway.
“Go ahead and test me, Lenochka. If you prefer seeing that side of me sooner rather than later, if you’d like to witness Yan being beaten until a few bones are broken, you can keep up this attitude.”
“You’re crazy.” My voice trembles as images of Yan being beaten slam into my head.
“You’ve seen nothing of my craziness, so do not provoke me.”
“You’re a fucking dictator. I don’t know how the hell Lia stayed with you all this time. If I were her, I would’ve left long ago.”
I regret the words as soon as I say them. Adrian is fully believing that I’m Lia, and I just broke the spell he’s accepted as truth for a whole week.
His expression darkens, and I’m tempted to bolt out of the room. Better yet, the whole damn house. But something keeps me rooted in place.
It must be the alcohol. No. It’s definitely the alcohol that’s making me stay here.
Adrian grabs me by the wrist and I squeal as my throbbing ass meets the edge of the desk. He rolls his chair forward and opens his legs, caging me between them.