Chapter 205: Chapter 205

Violet

Mirella butted in, oblivious to the war raging in front of her, her voice almost jarring against the tension coiled between us.

She let out a nervous little laugh. “I beg your pardon, but I think I must have heard it wrong. You want her?”

I did not look at her. But my gaze slipped to Elijah again because he was already moving with that same confidence that always made it feel as though the rest of us were insignificant.

His hand slipped into the inner pocket of his coat and emerged with a chequebook, making Mirella’s breath hitch audibly.

“Oh,” she exclaimed, stepping forward, “You want to purchase a piece. Of course, I should have realized. Which one would you like me to pack? And I can certainly offer a discount if you…”

“Did I stutter?” Elijah asked with enough force to freeze her mid-sentence.

She blinked, her smile faltering as she searched his face for clarification, but he did not even glance at her. His pen moved across the paper and under a second he tore the cheque free and extended it forward.

Mirella’s hand shot out instinctively, snatching it before I could even react.

Her eyes widened like Christmas had come early. “A blank cheque?”

He had already lowered his hand by then, sliding it back into his pocket as though the action held no significance whatsoever.

His attention remained fixed on me as he stated “Name your price.”

Something inside me recoiled even as heat flared sharply through my veins.

“I am not for sale,” I bit out.

But he took a step closer.

We were still two feet away but the space between us tightened, making it harder to breathe.

“I was offering you a job at my company,” he said flatly.

“A job?” I echoed, disbelief threading through the word.

He shrugged carelessly. “What else do you think I want you for?”

The faint edge of mockery in his tone struck me right where it hurt and for a second all I could think about was how easily he twisted things, how effortlessly he made me feel like I was the one overreacting.

Mirella stepped in again, unable to keep herself out of it, her voice rushing in to fill the silence.

“You wouldn’t want to waste resources on rookie designers, Mr Lockwood” she said quickly. “Perhaps I can redirect you toward our custom modification services.”

“Leave.”

The single word cut through her rambling. She stared at him, stunned. “What?”

“Leave,” he repeated pinning her with an icy gaze. “And don’t return until I have left.”

The color drained from her face.

For a second, it looked like she might argue but whatever she saw in his expression made her swallow the protest  as she scrambled away though she could not resist glancing over her shoulder to keep looking at us.

Apparently, people from nearby booths had already been watching and whispering among themselves.

“All of you, get out!.”

The effect was immediate. Within seconds, the space around us cleared, leaving me a prisoner of the monster who I had dared to fall for a month ago.

I watched them go, watched the way they avoided looking back, and something bitter rose in my throat.

“Happy with your powerplay?” I muttered, the words slipping out before I could stop them. “This is what you want. For people to be afraid of you. To bend, to obey, to act like they don’t have a choice.”

He stepped closer again.

This time, the distance between us vanished to just a step, the faint warmth of him brushing against my senses in a way that felt far too familiar, far too dangerous.

“I told you what I want,” he said in that same arrogant tone. “You just weren’t listening.”

My breath hitched, and I took a step back to put distance between us, my pulse unsteady for reasons I refused to acknowledge.

“Is this your idea of an apology?” I demanded, the anger surging again, sharper now to cover everything else. “Or do you take me for a joke?”

He came closer again and our feet were almost touching.

His eyes bore into mine.

exhaled slowly, as though steadying himself, and for a fleeting second, something darker flickered across his expression before it vanished beneath that controlled exterior.

“Monsters don’t apologize,” he said. “So this is me reminding you of how much you have missed me even if you pretend to hate me, of how hurt you were when I didn’t come running straight to your booth half an hour ago…”

How the fuck did he know that? He leaned forward and I took a step back.

“Stop it”

“...of how you wish you could lean into my arms but are too proud to do it…”

“I said stop!!”

“...of how you moaned my name when I..."

My hand moved before I could think, and connected with his cheek.

I slapped him hard.

The sound echoed around us and for a second, everything stilled.

I gasped, clasping that same hand to my mouth, realizing this was a professional event and I had done something that could hurt Dane and his grandfather for no fault of theirs.

Slowly, deliberately, he turned his face back toward me, his gaze locking onto mine again as he placed a hand on the wall behind me, his tall frame looming over me.

“You have two hours to decide” He said as if I hadn’t just left a faint imprint of my palm on his cheek.

“What?” I blurted out, my chest heaving as if I had run a marathon.

“If you don't show up at my company and sign the appointment letter, I will buy your current company and then destroy it while you watch.”

What the fuck?

“You wouldn’t dare…” I began but he growled, those menacing eyes glowing to reveal the ring of that half moon in his left eye again.

“You have no idea the lengths I would go to to get what I want.” He said, still not touching me, but I could feel his hot breath on my skin regardless.

My mouth fell open in alarm.

“My company has done nothing against…” I began but he stepped away and then turned around to leave without a backward glance.

“Time is ticking” is all he said as he left the venue.