I nod in response. “Yes. I have many things to do.” Like continue plotting the downfall of your family and everyone you love.
Little does Eliza know the true extent of the darkness I harbor within. I don’t know whether it’s a darkness I was born with or whether it festered and grew as I got older after the incident I endured at six years old. All I know is that day broke something inside of me. A part of me forever changed that could never be fixed.
“As do I,” she says, leading the way up the path back toward the house.
I can’t help but let my eyes wander down to her full ass and feel a twinge of something low in my gut. Desire perhaps? It’s something I’m not used to experiencing.
Sex has always been an outlet for rage and dominance. I enjoy hurting women and taking whatever the fuck I want from them. It gives me a kick that I can’t get from anything else, and often desire doesn’t come in to it. I ignore that tingle at the base of my spine and follow her through the tree-lined path back toward the house.
Once we’re almost back, she stops suddenly, and I crash into her. “What is it?” I ask, setting my hands on her hips.
She shudders at my touch, shaking her head. “Nothing, I just thought—”
A gunshot rings out and I drag her to the floor, my heart beating at a thousand miles an hour.
Who the fuck is shooting at us?
Eliza laughs, making my brow furrow. “Relax, Adrik. It’s my brother hunting.” She nods to a clearing in the trees to our left where Thiago is holding a gun and pointing it in the opposite direction.
It’s at that moment I realize her hand is on my chest. Tightness constricts around my lungs as I push her hand off of me and stand, brushing the leaves and dirt from my suit.
She looks frustrated as I don’t offer her help to get back up. Most men would offer her help, especially since I’m the reason she’s on the floor. However, it’s best Eliza learns sooner rather than later that I’m not like most men. “Thanks, you ruined my dress,” she says, jumping to her feet.
I clench my jaw as I glance at the muddy stains on her cream floral dress. “I’m sure your father will buy you a new one.”
Her nostrils flare, and when our eyes meet, there’s rage burning in them. “Maybe you should be the one to buy me a new one, since you ruined it.” She crosses her arms over her chest, drawing my eyes to her full cleavage. The same tingling igniting deep in my stomach and making me feel uneasy.
“Is that the way you should speak to your future husband?” I ask, my voice cold and detached.
Eliza shudders again, shaking her head. “It was good meeting you. Can you find your way back to my papá’s study?”
I narrow my eyes. “Of course.”
She nods and then marches away from me in a rage, without another word. Perhaps I underestimated her. She has some fight burning deep inside of her. I sense Eliza is smart, far smarter than her father. She knows when to pick her battles and when to walk away, which will make her a formidable opponent.
However, once she is mine, I will utterly destroy any fight she has and leave her a shell of the woman she once was. Eliza has no chance against a monster like me.
3
ELIZA
Lila curls up at the foot of my bed and shakes her head. “I can’t believe he’s marrying you off.”
I arch a brow. “What did you think my fate was going to be?”
She sighs. “I hoped that since he agreed to you going to medical school, you were finally going to break this bullshit tradition.” She sighs heavily. “After all, if you’re being married off, then it’s only a matter of years until I am.” She shudders. “I’d rather claw my eyes out.”
I chuckle. “How will you avoid it?” I ask, propping myself up on my arm.
She sighs, getting a far off look. “I’ll commandeer a boat and sail the world, looting like a pirate, and he’ll never find me.” She sets her hand dramatically on her chest. “I’ll meet a strapping young sailor who will take me on adventures and life will be blissful.”
I snort. “You read too many fantasy romance novels.”
She grabs a pillow and throws it at me, hitting me in the face. “Well, at least I can dream. You don’t need to go around squashing them.”
I swallow hard, the memory of Adrik haunting me every single moment. There’s something off about him, but I can’t place my finger on what it is. All I know is I don’t really want to marry him, no matter how handsome he is.
“What is Adrik like?” Lila asks.