Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
“He’s already going to be angry at how long it’s taken me to retrieve you.”
“Fine. I’ll follow you.” Even my father’s guards didn’t have to treat me with respect. Why would they give me any sympathy when my father didn’t?
Fortunately, my father was alone. As soon as he saw me, he snarled, “Why aren’t you up and dressed already?”
To do what? Sit in my room? He was keeping me locked in. I was summoned to meals when expected, and that was it. “I’m sorry, sir.”
He huffed. “I think you’ve got a lot more to be sorry for than laziness.”
My pulse had already been thumping in my ears. It sped up even more, and the room began to spin. What did he know? Could he possibly have found out about Lorenzo and me?
“Remington Theriot called me this morning and made it clear that he wasn’t pleased about your upcoming marriage. Why would he do that? What would make him think he had the right to tell me who my son should marry?”
He paused as if he actually expected me to answer. “I have no idea, sir.”
“You don’t?”
“No, sir. I’m not sure why I would.”
“I’m not sure why you would either when I have secured an excellent marriage for you, far better than anything you would find for yourself. I’ve spent money on you, made sure you had anything you needed, tried to teach you about the business, though you refused to learn, and your mother coddled you too fucking much. I saw Lorenzo watching you last night, and my brother says he saw Lorenzo upstairs, just a few doors down from your room. When he asked what Lorenzo was doing up there, he implied he was meeting someone.” Oh God. Please don’t let him know. “Do you know who he was meeting?”
I shook my head. “No, sir.”
“Interesting, because we haven’t been able to think of anyone who was seen up there, and no one was in any of the rooms to my knowledge except for you. Lorenzo has made it very clear that he’s interested in you despite you being plenty young enough to be his son.”
Lorenzo was only twelve years older than me, and according to my mother, my father had been sleeping with women half his age or younger throughout their marriage. I’d certainly seen plenty of young women in and out of his bedroom when I’d still lived with him. I wasn’t about to mention that though. “I don’t know what Lorenzo was doing upstairs, and I don’t know what that would have to do with Remington’s decision about our marriage. Perhaps he owes Lorenzo a favor.”
“What happened last night?”
I thought about the tie lying under my pillow. What if, right now, guards were searching my room?
“Nikolai, tell me what happened last night.”
“Nothing happened.”
My father walked around the desk and stood in front of me. “Try again.”
“Nothing happened.” He slapped me across the face so hard it felt like my eye was going to pop out. I tried to fight the tears that came to my eyes, but I couldn’t hold them back.
Just then, the guard who’d come to get me stepped into the room and held up Lorenzo’s tie. “I found this under Nikolai’s pillow.”
My father smiled. “Of course. I noticed Lorenzo was missing his tie last night.” He turned back to me. “What did you say to him? How many of our secrets did you spill?”
“None. I didn’t say anything.” My voice sounded weak and shaky. I wanted to be strong like Lorenzo. I wanted to have the balls to stand up to my father.
“Did you encourage him to interfere with your engagement?”
“No, I swear.”
“If Ivanov finds out what kind of perverted slut you are, he’ll call this marriage off, then you’ll be completely useless to me. Part of me wants to slit your throat right now, but I need this deal. I’m going to make damn sure you don’t do anything else to fuck it up.”
I was shaking, and I wished I could sink into the floor and disappear. Why couldn’t I have anything I wanted? Why couldn’t I have found the courage to run? At least then I would have had a chance.
I could have gotten away when I was living with my mother in New York, but I knew what my father would do to her if she lost me. Even when she stopped being sober, when she stopped really talking to me, I couldn’t give her a death sentence.
My father drove his fists into my stomach. More blows came after that, but I retreated somewhere deep into my mind, knowing that was the only way I would survive.
I was on the floor, barely conscious, when I heard my father say, “Take him up to his room, lock him in, and stay at the door until another guard comes to relieve you.”