Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 141385 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141385 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
“Ha.” His lips tug into a smirk, and the dark glimmer in his gaze sends a shiver through me. “Is that why you wear that ring?”
I glance at the plain band on my left hand, then bring it up and wiggle my fingers. “What can I say? I’m nothing if not faithful.”
Actually, it just stops people from hitting on me, but that’s not the point.
His laugh is like whiskey, smooth and warming. “So, you want to take back your future by marrying me. Are you aware that Jasmine all but runs the upper-class social circles? She’ll make your life hell.”
I bark out a laugh of my own. “Hell? As if. I’ve lived through Hell, and I’m still standing here. Jasmine wouldn’t know Hell if it dragged her through its seven circles, chewed her up, and spat her back out covered in burns. If anyone will be going through Hell, it’ll be her, and I’ll be her goddamn tour guide.”
He blinks at me. “You really hate her, don’t you?”
“Everything that’s happened in my life is because of her and Rosalyn. From my disappearance to my mother’s death, to even me living a lie these past two years—it’s all on them. It’s about time they paid for their sins, and I intend to charge them interest.”
“Starting with marrying me?”
“Starting with marrying you.” I eye him. “Jasmine wants nothing more than to marry you and be Crown Princess, and I want nothing more than to turn that dream into her worst nightmare.”
“Then what?” he asks. “What do you do after that? You marry me, shatter her dreams, and then… we live happily ever after?”
“I rip apart everything they have with my own two hands,” I say, my voice ice-cold. “I intend to dismantle every brick in that mansion, collapse every office in the business, and uncover every single dirty little secret hiding underneath the floorboards. I want to ruin them. I want to make them sink so low they can never claw their way back up.”
“And presumably, the seat of Crown Princess will make that easier for you.”
“I’ll do it regardless of if we get married. Your decision only determines whether you’ll be caught in the crossfire.”
“You really are bold. Some may even say stupid.”
“Those people haven’t been through what I have,” I counter. “Which is just as well, because they might not have survived it.”
He tilts his head to the side, his gaze firmly focused on me. “What have you been through?”
I smile. “Pray you never find out, Your Royal Highness. I’d hate to hurt your delicate sensibilities.”
He raises his eyebrows. “Delicate sensibilities? Whose? I don’t have such a thing.”
“Really? You’re sitting here staring at me as if you’ve never seen a woman hell-bent on revenge before.”
“Oh, I’ve seen such a thing…” He frowns. “But it’s usually scratching a cheating ex’s car, ruining a business deal, stealing family heirlooms, that kind of minor thing. Not imploding someone’s entire life.”
“Three. Three lives.” I hold up the corresponding number of fingers.
“Not imploding three entire lives,” he corrects himself. “Now, look. And I’m not saying I’m not tempted by your offer,” he says, raising a hand. “But I fail to see what I gain out of this arrangement. As far as I’m concerned, if I take away my personal feelings, Jasmine is a perfectly good candidate to be my wife. Right now, you benefit the most from this. You claim back an engagement, husband, and the future that was promised to you, piss off your family, and can carry out your plans to ruin them all while you’re protected by the Royal Family. And I… What do I get out of this?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“Isn’t what obvious?”
“Out of all this…” I smile, holding out my hands. “Me. You get me.”
He runs his tongue over his lower lip, and his cheek twitches as he fights a smile. Amusement twinkles in his blue eyes, and he raises his brows in question. “You seem to think of yourself as quite the prize, Hattie.”
“I don’t think it. I know I am. I know my own worth, and you should be grateful that I’m sitting here offering to make you my husband.” I glance at my wristwatch and smooth down my blouse as I stand. “We both know who the queen would rather you marry,” I say, looking down and across at him. “And as I said, I’ll get what I want, with or without you, and I won’t be responsible if you get dragged down with them. So, think about it.”
I walk around the coffee table towards him and lean down, reaching into my back pocket. He gazes up at me, his brow slightly furrowed. His lips are pressed together and he’s studying me like I’m some kind of riddle, a puzzle to be pieced together.
“Here.” Bending down, I tuck my personal card into his shirt pocket and give his chest a gentle pat. “Contact me on this number when you’ve thought this through. I’ll give you a week before I assume you’re going to make the wrong decision.”