Chapter 10
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I turned sharply, ready to head out of the room, my chest burning, my stomach tight from panic but before I could even reach the door, I slammed straight into what felt like a wall.
The breath rushed out of me as my face landed against something solid and warm.
My hands shot up instinctively, pressing against a firm chest. My heart stumbled. I lifted my head fast, and there he was, Rick, his eyes locked on mine.
He gripped my arms gently, steadying me before I could pull away.
His hands slid up to my shoulders, holding me in place like he could feel how close I was to falling apart.
My heart was pounding too loud, my breathing came too quick, shallow and sharp like I couldn’t catch enough air.
Fiona,” he said, voice lower than usual, steady. “What happened?”
could barely get the words out. My hands trembled in his hold. My chest wouldn’t stop rising and falling ike I was suffocating under my own panic. My mouth opened but nothing came. My brain was spinning, out my body couldn’t keep up.
Hey,” he said again, softer now. His hands slid lower, wrapping around my wrists and gently pulling me oward him, grounding me. “Talk to me, what happened?”
forced myself to look at him, trying to focus on his face, on anything to calm the storm inside my chest. The sharp edges of his jaw, the furrow between his brows, the faint concern sitting in his eyes, it slowed ny panic enough for the words to finally slip out.
My daughter is gone,” I choked. My throat burned. “She’s missing. I can’t find her. I’ve searched this entire house, and she’s nowhere. If she’s not found right now, I swear, I will tear this whole place down.”
His brows drew together, but not with panic. His gaze stayed steady, almost amused, like watching me inravel was something unexpected.
Your daughter,” he repeated, tilting his head slightly, “she’s perfectly safe.”
froze, trying to understand what he was saying. My hands clenched tighter in his grip, “what?”
One of the staff took her for a small tour around the house,” he said casually, like it was nothing. “I arranged it, everything’s fine.”
The relief that hit me only lasted for a second before anger shoved it out.
My chest heaved as my voice sharpened, “and you didn’t think to tell me that first? She’s my daughter, Rick, nothing concerning her should happen without me being told, nothing.”
He looked almost entertained as his eyes ran over me. It made my blood boil.
“I didn’t realize you had this much fire in you,” he said, his lips curving slightly. “I thought you were
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Chapter 10
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supposed to be the calmer sister.”
I jerked my wrists free from his hold, my jaw tight, the heat rising in my face burned worse than my anger as I remembered the way he had his hands around that woman, “you don’t know anything about me.” I
snarled.
He followed my movement with his eyes, then glanced past me toward the corner of the room.
My stomach dropped before I even turned to look. His gaze had landed on the half–packed suitcase still sitting wide open.
His expression hardened, “what do you think you’re doing?”
I straightened my spine, forcing my voice steady even though my pulse was racing, “I’m leaving.”
His eyes narrowed, his whole body tensing like I’d struck a nerve. He closed the distance between us quickly, “you’re not going anywhere.”
My fists clenched at my sides, “why do you even care? I saw you in your study hugging her, whispering like you couldn’t wait to see her again.”
My throat tightened as the sting I’d been holding back broke into my voice. “If you love her so much, why didn’t you marry her instead?”
He looked unchanged by my words, his face cold and blank.
The second the words left my mouth, my chest tightened. It felt pathetic even saying it out loud, but I couldn’t stop myself. The jealousy, the pain, the confusion, it all came crashing together.
His eyes sharpened immediately, jaw flexing as he stepped even closer, forcing me back until my shoulders hit the wall. The coldness of the surface behind me made his body heat feel even hotter, even more suffocating.
“You’re forgetting something,” he said, his voice dangerously low, “this isn’t about love, this is a contract marriage, one you signed yourself into.”
I swallowed hard, but my throat stayed tight. I had nothing to say. He was right, but it didn’t make any of it easier to hear.
His face lowered closer, his breath fanning across my skin. His eyes locked on mine, unblinking.
“You can hate me, you can scream but you don’t get to walk out, you don’t get to decide this is over because you’re jealous.”
I pushed at his chest, desperate for space, but he didn’t move an inch. His body was like a wall, and I was trapped.
“It’s not your business who I see or who I fuck,” he said, voice dropping even lower, rougher. “But you will stay exactly where you are because whether you like it or not, you’re Mrs. Sterling now.”
I bit down on my lip hard, feeling my stomach twist, my entire body flushed from how close he was, how
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Chapter 10
his voice wrapped around me like a warning.
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My chest was rising too fast, my legs barely steady, every nerve in my body screamed at the unfairness of it, but I couldn’t push the words past my lips.
He let his eyes linger on me for another long moment, studying every reaction he was pulling out of me, before pulling back just slightly. His voice dropped even colder.
“Now,” he said, “I’ve had a dress prepared for you. Go get ready. Tomorrow, you will attend publicly as Fiona Sterling.”
