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His gaze remained hard and unforgiving, and he stared at me with the stillness of a statue. “Because I want you.”
I had a lot of retorts, but I swallowed them back for the sake of diplomacy. “You had me, Axel,” I said calmly. “And then you dumped me for somebody else. A blonde with bigger tits.” It took all my strength to sound normal, to hide the fact that I was still hurting all this time later. “So that’s interesting.”
He didn’t respond to the allegations. Didn’t even react to it.
I carried on. “You’re a smart man, so you must have figured out there’s no way in hell this is happening.”
He lowered his fist from his chin and shifted his weight in the chair, his eyes still on me. “Then why are you here?”
“To negotiate.”
“Your father and I already negotiated?—”
“Now we’re going to negotiate,” I snapped. “When my father told me he was going to cut you from the business, I told him not to. I told him you were doing an excellent job, had gotten us out of a bad situation, and you deserved more loyalty than that. But my father couldn’t see straight, because of what you did to me.”
“Ironic. He said you wouldn’t be able to be professional with someone you were involved with, but he’s the one who couldn’t be professional.” This was the part where he was supposed to smile, but he rubbed his chin instead. “Even so, he fucked me over, and I feel no remorse for doing the same to him.”
“He removed you as a distributor from his business. You taking that business is not an equal hit. You know it’s not.”
“He’s done worse shit to me.”
“Like?”
All he did was stare.
“Why won’t you tell me?”
“It’s best if you don’t know.”
“Why?”
“Because as much as I hate your father, I don’t want you to hate him too.”
What the fuck did he do?
“I’m not sorry for what I did. If your father wants back in, he has to meet my terms.”
“But he can’t force me to marry you,” I insisted. “And as I said, that’s not going to happen.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t love you.” The words felt heavy as they echoed off the impressive carved mantel beside us. They overshadowed the rain outside, which had picked up again out of nowhere. “And I won’t marry someone I don’t love.”
He stared at me with those startling blue eyes, eyes that were so beautiful but also so deadly. “Theo says otherwise.”
“Never once did I tell him I love you or ever loved you,” I said. “So, he’s full of shit?—”
“But you’re still hung up on me.”
I laughed because it was absurd—and humiliating. “I’ve been with plenty of guys since you left me. Trust me, I’m not hung up on you.” I looked him in the eye and forced a hostile stare, feeling the pain in my heart at the memory of those lonely nights, nights where I was left unsatisfied, nights where I’d slept with a guy I didn’t even like just to feel better about Axel’s rejection. “And that’s pretty fucked up to have your brother date me to spy on me.”
“That’s not what happened.”
“That’s exactly what happened,” I retorted. “He didn’t ask me out because he wanted to.”
“It’s what your father wanted.”
“He told Theo to ask me out?”
He nodded.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t believe you.”
Axel stared at me in silence.
I waited for him to argue with me, but he let the conversation die. “My father’s business means everything to him. I’m sure we can come to an arrangement without anyone getting married.” I kept my back straight the entire time, protected my body with the armor of confidence, treated him like he was no one special. “We have connections in a lot of places. There must be something we can do for you.”
“You came to me.” His voice turned cold. “Because you needed me. I don’t need you for anything. The business is mine, and I’m not giving up a share unless I get what I want.”
My eyes narrowed. “That’s barbaric.”
He chuckled in a mocking way. “Your father is fucking barbaric. He asked you to agree to the plan. Why am I the only asshole here?”
“Because…”
His eyes narrowed. “Because what, baby?”
A surge of heat rushed through me, and not the good kind. “Don’t ever call me that.” It used to hug me like a blanket, but now it reminded me of the nights I cried in front of the TV, alone on the couch, in the dark. “You have no right to call me that.” I evened out my voice to hide my emotion, to hide all the anguish that still scarred my heart.
“I’ll call you that every night when you’re my wife.”
“I will never marry you.” I raised my voice, all the ropes that bound my calmness shredding. “Fuck you, Axel. Fuck. You.”
