Page 73 of The Billionaire's Timed Wife

She stands, agitated. “The day your brother told me I’d been sold for a hefty sum, he attacked me, tried to assert his dominance both physically and verbally. We were at a party atOdin’s house, and if it hadn’t been for the man who is now my husband, Naim might have assaulted me right there.”

“You and Odin were together back then?”

“No. He also...uh...had his own issues with my father, and we weren’t even friends. Anyway, that same night, Odin announced to the world that my father was bankrupt and gave him a deadline to leave our island, which then became his property. The next morning, my parents fled with the money your brother had paid them in advance, and Naim showed up at my house demanding his part of the deal. With no one left to stop him, he attacked me.”

“He assaulted you?” I ask, horrified. Even after uncovering Naim’s depravity and crimes, hearing it firsthand from one of his victims makes it all the more real.

“Defineassaulted. If you mean did he beat me and try to rape me, thenyes.”

There’s such dignity in her statement that I can’t help but admire her. Whatever she endured, Elina refuses to see herself as a victim.

“That day, once again, Odin arrived just in time, and your brother was thrown off the island. After that, I moved to the United States. End of story.”

“It’s not the end, and we both know that, Elina. He followed you to the U.S. I have proof.”

She sits back down, folding her hands in her lap. “Do you? Then why haven’t you found him yet?” she asks, as if daring me, then sighs, exhaustion creeping back in. “Listen, in a few months I’ll be a mother, and that’s the only reason I came. I want my children to be—”

“Children?”

“Yes, I’m expecting twins. As I was saying, I want them to be born in peace. I want a calm pregnancy. That’s why I’m here, to tell you I don’t know what happened to your brotherafter the last time I saw him.” She doesn’t clarify when that was, whether in Greece or here, but adds, “If something did happen to him, I wouldn’t doubt for a second that he deserved it. Naim is a monster. Sheikh or not, he should never have been walking free.”

An hour later, I’m still replaying the story of Lykaios’s wife in my mind, examining it from every angle.

There’s no justification or forgiveness for what my brother did. Not to Elina, nor to any of the other women unlucky enough to cross his path.

And I can’t disagree with Lykaios’s wife: if my brother is dead, it’s far too little for all the harm he caused.

Chapter 35

At the end of that same day

I arrive at the hospital not knowing what to expect.

Until now, I’ve never had direct contact with my fiancée’s mother, and from everything I know, she has a terrible impression of the men of Rheadur.

Adeela spent the entire day with Daisy, and aside from a few texts I sent to check on her, I let them have their time together. There was probably a lot they wanted to say to each other.

But now I’m eager to take my fiancée away with me. To spend a few hours with the beautiful woman in my arms and forget the ugliness I had to stare at while digging into Naim’s past.

I’m not used to missing someone. This need for her, not just sex, isn’t normal for me. I even wondered if it was simply the fact that Adeela is one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever been with—and she is, without a doubt. No, I’m not imagining it. Wherever we go, men crane their necks to look at her, and she doesn’t even notice.

But even with all that beauty, I quickly discarded the idea that it’s only her looks that drive me crazy. Unlike the other women I’ve had, she seduces me without trying.

I’m addicted to touching her: her hair, her soft skin...kissing her receptive mouth.

On the flight to New York, I kept my distance so I wouldn’t spend the entire trip indulging in her body. I’m very sexual, and I can’t pretend this abstinence has been easy; on the contrary, the wait leaves me even more keyed up, dying for her.

And now, after a hellish day, the prospect of having her to myself, selfish as it may be, sounds like paradise.

In that frame of mind, swinging between possessiveness and need, I head down the corridor faster and faster, my entourage of bodyguards on my heels.

I sense people staring, but I don’t have time to notice them. Something more urgent is calling me: the need to see my woman.

And then, as I turn into the hallway leading to her mother’s room, I’m hit by a sight that makes me see red.

I’m not usually territorial about women, mostly because I’ve never stayed with anyone long enough to think I had any right over her, but now, as I approach my fiancée and see her talking to—and smiling at—a man who looks like a doctor, my vision blurs with rage, and an emotion I’ve never felt before—jealousy—turns bitter in my mouth.

And it’s far from pleasant because it shows me how much I already consider her mine—which brings another problem in its wake: feelings. Everything I didn’t want for our relationship.