Chapter 27 She is mine.
CHAPTER 27
She is mine.
ROMAN – POINT OF VIEW
Time passes quickly. Eve and Rick go to Los Angeles. I spend the next couple of days with my face buried in financial reports. Scarlett gets used to her new bodyguards, and I try my best not to look at her. I need to get a hold of myself.
Then, it’s the evening of the private party. Tonight is very, very important. I need to show everyone that I am deeply in love with Scarlett. Through her, I’ll get what I desperately want and need.
I love parties, but I hate them too.
Parties are a wonderful opportunity for me to meet investors and men like me. We basically measure our dick sizes, and mine is always bigger. I like being the richest man in the room. The strongest. I like being me.
However, this finding a fiancée thingy has ruined the experience for me. This party was supposed to be a celebration of me, of bagging one of the biggest deals ever, but it isn’t. Instead, I’m stuck waiting for Scarlett to finish dressing up.
What has my life come to?
I’m impatient as I wait. I move and reach for the bottle of Vodka. It is unopened. My gaze and hold linger. I inhale slowly, and I return it. I need to stop drinking.
I hear the door open, glance and see Caleb walking in, dressed in a stunning suit.
“Are you ready? We’re running late.” He frowns at me, walking to my fridge to get a bottle of water.
“I am ready, but my dear fiancée isn’t. She’s getting your date ready, it seems.” I counter, leaning against the counter, staring at my wrist with a warm sense of satisfaction. My rings glint, and my watch is heavy. My suit is custom-made and has diamonds etched on it. My show is polished and catches the light. There’s no one better than I am.
Caleb and Eve have a thing, which will get complicated fast because Eve and Rick have a thing. It’ll be fun to watch it all unravel, though.
My patience runs thin, and I yell, “Scarlett!”
“Calm down, or you’ll get an aneurysm.” I hear her say, so I turn around, and my heart stops beating.
She has been transformed. She is wearing a beautiful rhinestone dress that clings to her figure in the best ways possible. It is strapless, and her chest is cupped perfectly. Her delicate neck is adorned with a rhinestone choker. Her long, wavy hair flows behind her. Fuck.
“You look beautiful, Scarlett.” Caleb compliments, and she giggles, which irritates me. She should be laughing with me. I am the one paying four million every month. Not Caleb. Fuck Caleb.
I don’t say that. Instead, I say, “Come on, we’re running late.”
“Still an asshole, I see.” She glares at me, and I bark, “If you want someone to fall at your feet, find yourself a client. Not me.”
I don’t know why I said that. Things have been going smoothly between us, but I just have to make a big mess of it.
Caleb mutters a curse.
Scarlett gives me an icy smile. “One more strike, Roman.”
With that, she walks out of the room, leaving me flustered and spotting a semi. I clench my jaw hard, and my temples throb with a troublesome headache.
“Looks like you’ve found your match.” Caleb flashes me a grin and walks out.
The drive to the party is tense. Rick, Eve, and Caleb drive behind us. Rue and Russell are with us.
The sun is setting in the distance. Scarlett is sitting beside me, silent and staring out the window. My gaze drags over her body, lingering on her cleavage. She has freckles. I wonder how deep the freckles go. I tear my gaze away from her and reach into my pocket.
I exhale when we get to the venue and say, “Play nice. Stick to the plan.”
She glances at me, and a warm smile crawls across her face. “Of course, sugar.”
The sound goes straight to my cock, and I walk out of the car angrily. She is fucking with my head. I help her out of the car and wrap my arms around her hip. I watch as she switches persona perfectly, smiling and holding a conversation as we get seated.
Everyone is looking. Everyone is watching. Cameras are flashing. People are whispering and pointing. I grin, relishing every second of the fame. Look at me, fuckers. Look at me.
When it is time to donate, I make sure to beat the highest bidder, dropping ten million dollars.
“Oh, sugar!” Scarlett giggles, running her hand over my chest. She is putting on a show. Too good a show.
I stiffen when her hand drops to my thigh and grazes my dick.
She freezes and looks at me, eyes wide.
“I need to use the powder room. Do you want to come with, Eve?” She smiles at Eve, who nods.
I watch as they walk away, my gaze on the way Scarlett’s hip sways. Rick follows closely behind.
“Let’s hit the bar,” I tell Caleb, and we go to the bar, where I do nothing but look at the restroom and wait for my fiancée, well, she is not mine.
“Calm down, no one is stealing her from you,” Caleb assures me, and I stay silent.
“Incoming,” He whispers.
I glance to my right to see her, the woman who taught me how to love, branded her name on my soul and shattered my heart into pieces. I stand straighter, emotions flooding me. I have never hated someone as much as I hate her.
“Oh, Romy, look at you,” Amara says, throwing her hand over my shoulder, pulling me into a hug.
I want to push her back, to tell her never to touch me again, but everyone is watching, waiting for my crash out. They will be waiting for a while.
So, I carefully slip out of her hold and say politely, “Ms Cartwright.”
“You don’t have to be so polite, Romy. I’ve missed you.” She beams, her engagement ring flashing as she gestures.
She glances at Caleb and tries to hug him too, but he sidesteps her.
“Lovely to see you again, Ms Cartwright.” He says calmly, and I bite back a victorious smile.
Every triumph I feel drains out of me when I hear Scarlett’s laughter and find her in the arms of my sworn enemy, my rival, my former best friend, Dante Ricci.
He took everything from me. He took my money. He took Amara. I’d rather die than let him take Scarlett.
She is mine.