MAYA
We reached the top of the stairs when I saw him.
A guy was leaning against a door.
He looked a bit like Silas, with the same sharp jaw, but his hair was a lighter blonde and his eyes were a muddy, mischievous brown.
He wasn’t as muscular as Silas, but he was lean and fit.
I guessed they were related.
Silas let out a long, heavy groan.
He looked even more annoyed than before, as if he were completely done with the day.
Silas reached for the door handle, trying to walk right past him, but the blonde guy was faster.
He blocked the way, keeping the door shut.
Silas didn’t even look at him.
He kept his eyes fixed on the handle and muttered, “Move, Julian.”
Julian ignored him.
His brown eyes moved over me slowly, raking up and down with a creepy smile plastered on his face.
“I thought you’d be taking her to your room, big brother.
Surely a five-hundred-million-dollar bride deserves a closer look.
She should be sleeping in your bed, not across the hall.”
I scoffed.
The people in this house were crazy.
So Julian knew about the contract, too.
I wondered if I’d ever meet one normal person in this place.
I watched the tension between them.
They definitely weren’t on good terms.
Was Julian the reason Silas needed a wife so badly?
Was he the one trying to take the company?
Julian let go of the handle and reached out.
His fingers moved toward my face as if he were going to touch my cheek.
I quickly jerked my head back, my skin crawling at the thought of him touching me.
“So, this is the little firecracker that made Isabella cry?” Julian asked, his grin widening.
Silas’s hand flew out, swatting Julian’s hand away before he could get anywhere near me.
He didn’t raise his voice, but the look he gave his brother was a sharp warning.
It was the kind of look that promised a very violent end to the conversation.
“Relax, Silas,” Julian said, laughing it off as he pulled his hand back.
“I was just checking the quality.”
Quality?
He might be a bigger asshole than Silas.
Why did everyone want to touch my face tonight?
I guess a five-hundred-million-dollar cheek was just too hard to resist.
So he knew about what happened in the study.
Either he’d been eavesdropping, or Isabitch had gone running to him to cry about it.
Julian laughed loudly and stepped back, looking completely unbothered.
He flashed me a grin that didn’t reach his eyes.
Then, he held out a hand for a handshake.
“I’m Julian.
The disappointment of the family.
The younger brother.
Call me whatever you want.”
So he was the brother.
Apparently, the Blackwood name came with a side of insanity.
I stared at his hand but didn’t take it at first.
I wasn’t in the mood to be checked by another Blackwood.
But then, habit took over.
I’d been raised to be polite, even to assholes.
I started to reach out, my fingers just inches from his, but I never made contact.
Silas snatched my hand back, his grip firm as he pulled me away from his brother.
“You don’t have to shake his hand,” he said, his tone making it clear the conversation was over.
Julian’s eyes widened, and a laugh broke out of him.
“Oh!
Look at that.
He’s being protective.
How sweet.”
His eyes darted between us, looking like he’d just figured out a secret.
“Have you already fucked him?
Is that it?”
He let out a fake gasp.
“That was quick.” Julian leaned in closer, whispering just loud enough for Silas to hear, his breath smelling like cigarettes.
“Tell me the truth, Maya.
Does he still taste like Isabella?
Or did he wash her off before he started on you?”
I felt a wave of disgust.
Was this his idea of a joke?
He made it sound like I was just another one of Silas’s flings he could gossip about.
Silas’s patience finally broke.
He lunged forward and grabbed Julian by the collar, slamming him back against the door.
I jumped back, covering my mouth to keep from screaming.
One second Silas was standing still, and the next, he was holding him.
Julian didn’t even flinch.
He just looked at me over Silas’s shoulder with a grin.
“Maya, he’s a total bore in bed, right?” Julian asked, ignoring the hands bunched in his shirt.
“And it’s not like he has the size to make up for it, either.
With a tiny dick like his, I bet you’re already regretting that contract.”
He gave me a pitiful look, shaking his head like he actually felt sorry for me.
“You poor thing.”
”Julian!” Silas growled.
What the hell?
I was right.
He was a much bigger asshole than Silas.
His knuckles were white from how hard he was gripping Julian’s clothes.
I could see the muscles in Silas’s back tensing up, like he was one second away from throwing a punch.
I stood there, frozen.
I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t.
It was crude and disgusting, but it made me realize something.
These brothers didn’t just dislike each other.
They wanted to destroy each other, and I was right in the middle of it.