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“You are insane. He looked at me like any normal human being.”
Isiah closes in on me. “No, it’s just that you are too innocent to see that almost every man you come across looks at you like a piece of fucking meat. And you are mine.”
I roll my eyes and step aside, walking away from him and into the park. “Whatever. Why did you bring me here?” I ask, as it just looks like a huge expanse of gardens, but it’s not exactly the best time to enjoy it in the dark.
“There’s somewhere I want to take you to.” He holds out his hand. “Trust me.”
I narrow my eyes, untrusting of this man, especially here in a dark and deserted park. “Right, like I want to trust you after what you just pulled.”
He smirks. “Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it?”
I don’t answer that and instead take his hand, hating the way heat spreads through my entire body in an instant. He leads me into the park, walking past a playground and down a meandering path toward an unmarked gate.
“What is this place?”
He doesn’t answer and instead pushes open the gate. “It’s more beautiful in spring, as all the flowers are out. The wisteria is stunning, but perhaps I’ll bring you back in the spring.”
My stomach churns. “If I survive that long married to you.”
He laughs as he leads me under the tunnels with the bare wisteria trunks trailing over it. There’re dim lights scattered around the secret garden as he leads me to an old wooden bench.
“Have a seat,” he says.
I tear my hand away from his and sit down, placing my hands in my lap. The setting is oddly romantic, and that just puts me more on edge than ever before with this man. I still don’t know why he’s so set on marrying me, a daughter of an insignificant man thousands of miles across the sea.
My family holds a certain level of influence, but Isiah Darcy wields far more power—it’s as if he’s been handed his authority. I’m determined to discover his secrets, but I’m at a loss as to how.
“I come here when I want to reflect on things,” he says, gazing into the center of the lawn, which has a large fountain in it, but it’s not on. No doubt because the place is deserted. There are not many lights, which suggests people don’t often come here at night.
“It’s beautiful,” I say, taking in the surroundings.
He flashes me one of the sincerest grins he’s ever given me. “It is, isn’t it? The only thing I don’t like about the city is that you can’t see the stars.” He gazes up at the night sky, and I do the same.
I look up and nod. “Yeah, I remember we went on holiday once to Arizona, staying in the desert, and the stars...” I shake my head. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“The stars are often visible at my country house.”
I arch a brow. “You have more than one house?”
He laughs. “I have numerous properties, yes. Doesn’t your father?”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t believe he’s as rich as you are.”
“Not many are.”
“Is your house far?” I ask.
“Just over an hour out of the city in Letchworth.”
I swallow hard, wondering what it’s like. This country, completely foreign to me, is going to become my home. “And when we are married, where will we live?”
“You can live where you want. In my penthouse or the country house, as both are big enough.” He shrugs, as if it doesn’t matter where I am. “I spend weekends at the country house and the weekdays in the city. When we leave here, I’ll show you my apartment.”
The way he says it suggests he intends for us to live separate lives. A notion which should thrill me, but for some reason, I have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. And the idea of going back to his apartment makes me shudder, but if I want to learn why Isiah is so set on this union, I need to try to get closer to him.
We sit there in contemplative silence as there’s something about Isiah Darcy in his determination to marry me that I feel has a sinister twist to it. One I’m determined to uncover before it’s too late.
19
