MAYA
Julian’s eyes lit up like he’d just had a brilliant idea.
Despite the warning, his gaze returned to Silas.
“Is she officially off-limits then?
If not, I wouldn’t mind satisfying her myself.
After all, a five hundred million dollar bride deserves to be kept happy.”
Silas’s patience finally broke.
He shoved him hard, letting go of his collar so suddenly that Julian stumbled back before finding his footing.
Julian just smirked and adjusted his shirt like nothing had happened.
Silas didn’t say another word.
He got the door open, dragged me inside, and slammed it shut behind us.
Julian’s hysterical laughter followed us through the door, muffled but still clear, making me feel sick to my stomach.
I was in over my head.
Can this day get any better?
I knew nothing about these people.
I didn’t even know this man had a brother, let alone one who looked at me like I was a toy he wanted to break just because it belonged to his brother.
Silas leaned his head against the door for a second, closing his eyes.
He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a long, heavy sigh.
I guess it wouldn’t be easy living with a sibling like that.
“What’s his problem?” I asked, my voice trembling slightly.
I took in the room.
The massive bed, the expensive sheets, and the fireplace.
It was a beautiful prison.
“Just try to avoid him as much as you can,” Silas said, finally turning to face me.
He looked drained, the anger from a moment ago replaced by a dull weariness.
It was the first time he looked human to me.
“Okay,” I said softly.
I gripped the fabric of my skirt, my knuckles turning white.
“What about the rules?
You said there were things I needed to know.
Things I had to hear in private.”
Silas looked at me, his gaze lingering on my face for a heartbeat longer than necessary.
He looked like he wanted to say something, then thought better of it.
He checked his watch, his movements stiff.
“Get some rest, Maya.
We’ll go over the details tomorrow.
Once we start working together, you’ll need your strength.”
We stood in the middle of the room as the silence stretched on. Follow the newest chapters on novelping.com.
It felt like there was still so much more to say.
Finally, Silas cleared his throat.
“That’s it for tonight.
I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He started to walk away and reached for the handle, but I stopped him.
I couldn’t let it go.
“You didn’t tell me you had someone else.
You didn’t mention Isabella.”
He paused at the door, letting go of the handle.
“You never gave me the chance to tell you, and I didn’t think it was important.”
Jerk.
“Is it serious between you two?” I asked.
“No, it’s not,” he said, still keeping his back to me.
“Not really.”
Liar.
I’d seen the way she looked at him, and I’d seen the way he held her in that study.
It was definitely really something.
He reached for the handle again, but as the door swung open, he froze.
I stood up straighter, bracing myself.
Great.
I guess the show isn’t over yet.
It looks like I’m not getting any sleep tonight, since everyone is dying to get a look at the five hundred million dollar bride.
An elderly man with grey hair brushed past Silas, not even waiting for an invite.
He was tall and wore a blue suit that looked incredibly expensive.
He looked at me with a sneer so cold it made Isabella’s anger look like a smile.
For the first time today, I was actually scared.
Without thinking, I took a step back.
“Dad, stop,” Silas said, turning around.
Viktor Blackwood.
So this was my future father-in-law.
I barely recognized him, but I remembered the headlines from years ago.
When he stepped down and handed Blackwood Holdings to Silas, it was all the media talked about for weeks.
I didn’t see much of a resemblance.
I guessed Silas got his looks from his mother because there was nothing soft or approachable about the man standing in front of me.
Silas was right.
I wasn’t thrilled to meet him, and I could already see why.
He was staring at me like I was trash he’d found on the bottom of his shoe.
I wondered if it was a family tradition or if they just had a contest to see who could stare the hardest.
He didn’t just stand there.
He actually walked a slow circle around me, his expensive shoes clicking sharply against the floor.
I felt like an object at an auction, a piece of property being inspected for flaws.
He stopped right in front of me, his eyes trailing down to my worn out sneakers and back up to my face with pure disappointment.
“This is her?” Viktor didn’t even look at Silas.
He spoke as if I weren’t in the room.
“Your father’s business is failing, his reputation is in the gutter, and this is the best he could offer?
I expected better.
She better be worth every penny, Silas, because she doesn’t look like much.”
He took three steps back and looked at me like I was a dirty stray dog brought into his clean house.
The words stung like a slap to the face.
He was talking about me like I had a choice in this.
So there really was no normal person in this mansion.
I was terrified, my legs were about to give out, but I glared back.
As usual, my mouth moved faster than my brain.
“Is being an asshole a genetic thing in this family,” I snapped, “or did you all just take a class on it?”
Julian was suddenly there in the doorway, leaning against the frame and laughing like a madman.
Silas glared at me, his fists clenched tight at his sides, but Viktor looked even worse.
His face went pale with rage, his eyes bulging as he processed that I’d actually spoken back to him.
He reached behind his back, his hand moving toward his waistband.
Silas moved fast, rushing to his father and grabbing his arm to hold it down.
“Five hundred million dollars,” Silas hissed, his grip tightening.
“Remember what she’s for.
Think about the long game, Viktor.”
The long game.
The words echoed in my head.
I don’t know why I expected him to defend me.
I was a chess piece in a game I didn’t know how to play.
My head was spinning.
Since the moment I walked into my father’s office, I hadn’t had a second to breathe.
It felt like the whole world was against me and everyone was out to get me.
I was surrounded by men who saw me as a dollar sign or a tool for revenge.
Maybe I made a mistake.
When I jumped out of my bedroom window, I should have just fallen to my death instead of running to Liam.
Dying would have been easier than this.