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My eyes go wide as I swallow hard and do as he says.
“W –what?” I stammer.
“Good news. Your secrets are safe with me, babe. And it’d be a shame to let Daddy Dearest in on what you got up to on Tinder.”
“It wasn’t Tinder,” I whisper-shout. “H –how?”
A sick smile spreads across his face. “Truth is, we both want what we want, Lulabelle. I want to be CEO, and with your father already doting on me, I’m almost there. The son he never had. With you on my arm, it would seal the deal. We both get what we want.”
“I don’t see how I win in any of that scenario,” I snap. “So your pathetic little plan is futile.”
“No? Don’t you want Daddy’s approval? Come on now, Luna. We both know that you’ve always looked up to him, but he’s been out of reach. I can give you that. His approval. He’ll look at you in a whole new light if you marry me. You’ll be respected, finally. Taken seriously. And you’ll have wealth beyond your wildest dreams. You’ll never have to work the same dead-end job again, or wear anything except couture. Not that I relish the idea of my future wife being a fucking whore, but we can’t win them all.”
I literally can’t speak.
I clutch onto the cutlery, ready to stab him to death with my butter knife.
“I wouldn’t. Too many witnesses,” he says, giving me a wink.
“You’re such an asshole,” I whisper, venom in my tone. “The best part of my life was getting away from you. Hear me, and hear me good, fuckface. I wouldn’t be with you if you had a hundred million dollars. I wouldn’t be with you if you had all the tea in fucking China. Tell my Dad I have a sex tape that I didn’t consent to, we’ll see how that looks in court for you, and for Gary, if he’s in on this. It won’t affect me since I’m a nobody after all. What’s one more shame on my Father’s wall of regrets, right? His wayward daughter caught up in a scandal? Is this really all you’ve got?”
He purses his lips, momentarily caught off guard.
Of course, I’m shitting my pants, but he can’t know that.
Fucking Gary. When will this shit ever end? How did Brian know about that? Did he set this up?
“What about the money, Luna?” Brian finally speaks, his tone cold. “We both know that you’ll always be bouncing on bupkis, working one shitty job to the next to make ends meet. Though, you must be fucking someone high up to be driving a G-Wagon.”
Thank God, he doesn’t know about Tag. I can just imagine that scandal would be quite enough to make Brian squeal to the papers. Despite what I said, embarrassing my dad isn’t on the cards, no matter what I’ve led him to believe.
“Fuck you,” I spit. “You’ll have to try to find some other mail-order bride because I’m not for sale. I don’t give a shit about inheritance when it means I have to sell my soul to the devil in order to get it.”
“You’re looking at this all wrong, Lulabelle. We were good once, we could be good again.”
How can someone want money and prestige that much? Is it really that fucking important?
“I was a whore five seconds ago.”
He stares at me, his eyes cold. “I regret what I did,” he begins. “With…Amy.”
I laugh without humor. “Really? Is that because she realized what an asshole you were and left you five minutes after you left me?”
“I never meant to hurt you…”
“Oh, but you didn’t.” I lean over the table, my fist banging down. “I know how to handle bullies, Brian. I’ve been dealing with my dad my entire life, so I’m a fucking expert. At one point, I would’ve fallen over myself to get back with you. I never thought I deserved anyone who was actually good to me. Who would treat me like a queen and respect my choices. On paper, you had it all. But you never had the one thing I value more than anything—loyalty, Brian. You’re just a sad, pathetic excuse of a man who’s greedy and doesn’t want to work hard to get it.”
“You’re such a fucking bitch,” he seethes.
I laugh. “Is that the best you can come up with?”
“I’ll end you,” he warns. “I’ll fucking end you, Luna. With that stunt you pulled in my office that day, you’re lucky I didn’t come after you.”
“And do what?” I challenge. “Embarrass yourself even more?”
I love the way his eyes narrow, like he can’t figure out why I don’t want anything to do with it.
Why money means nothing to me because I’m not willing to sell my soul to get rich.
