Chapter 14
IMANI’s POV
This could not be happening.
Everyone kept dancing around me, but it wouldn’t take long before a pair of curious eyes strayed towards me.
My breath hitched. I tried to move, but I couldn’t. I was frozen in a spot, my dress ripped all the way down, my ass practically laid bare to the public eye.
There was no way to escape this humiliation. I could already hear their whispers echoing in my mind. I could see them laughing, their fingers pointed right at me, mocking me.
And then, the unexpected happened.
My eyes widened as I felt his strong arms wrap around me, pulling my back to his chest.
“Let go of me!” I hissed, only loud enough for him to hear.
He leaned into my ear, his breath warming me and I felt a chill run up my spine.
“You’d rather your ass be on the headlines tomorrow?” He murmured.
I hated his arrogance. I hated him. He infuriated me to my core.
I grunted, trying to free myself, “Take me out of here.”
But he didn’t listen. He swayed my hips against his crotch, and I could feel his bulge against me.
He was too close for comfort. It made my skin crawl.
“Can’t even say please?” His voice was dangerously low.
“The whole world would have burnt to ashes before I begged you.” I spat the words through clenched teeth,
He chuckled darkly, “As you wish.”
When I saw his hands pulling away from my waist, I pulled him back into me, holding his hands tightly.
I looked around, and I could see some eyes on us, watching. Waiting for me to slip. To fall.
“There are people watching!” I gritted my teeth.
“Then you should know,” he whispered near my ear, “that you are at my mercy.” I could already see that annoying smirk on his face.
I cursed under my breath. I had two choices– be publicly embarrassed or succumb to the shame of kneeling before the enemy– and they were on equal footing.
I looked around again. There were more eyes this time, and now, mouths were moving.
I grinded my jaw, “Take me out of here…Please.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite hear the last part.”
This bastard.
“Please.” I muttered, the anger rising in my being.
His hands drew me closer, the heat growing in me as my ass pressed against him even more. “You were so loud with your insults only a moment ago. Speak up.”
I didn’t know it was possible to hate this bastard even more than I already did.
Contrary to the desire I had to strangle him, I laughed, “Is this how you want to end up on the news tomorrow, groping your competitor after publicly losing to her?”
Suddenly he stopped.
His muscles tensed around me, and before I could blink, he led me away from the dance floor, his coat draped over me, shielding the rip in my dress from their prying eyes that followed us until we exited the hall.
Once we got in front of the restroom, I sighed. I would call Justin and he’d get me a new dress. “You can let go now.”
But he didn’t listen. He didn’t stop. He passed by the restroom.
“Let me go!” I protested, but the bastard kept going.
“I said let go!!” I tried halting, but he was too strong. I didn’t stand a chance.
He pushed me through a door, and pinned me to a wall. His
“You can release me now.” I glared at him.
“You spend hundreds of millions on a painting and you can’t even afford a proper dress. Pathetic.”
“With the way you dress, I don’t expect you to know the worth of this dress.”
His lips twitched, “Do you know how much my entire outfit costs?”
“I couldn’t care less. Let me go now.” I said firmly.
“Only after you’ve shown your gratitude.”
My brows shot up, “Gratitude? For what?”
“From saving you from humiliation.”
I laughed in disbelief. This bastard…
“First of all, in case you forgot, you tore my dress. Then you drag me here against my will. And I should thank you??” I asked incredulously, “Mr Simmons, I've always taken you for a joke but never a clown.”
“Don’t you fucking talk to me like that.” He scowled.
“Like what? Aren’t you accustomed to hearing the truth, Mr Simmons?”
His chest heaved, “You want to know the truth?” He closed the gap between us, “You will always be beneath me.”
I scoffed, “We will know soon enough who is beneath who.”
He slammed his fist into the door, right beside my temple. But I did not flinch. My gaze did not falter, and from the look in his eyes, he wasn’t expecting it.
I raised my chin in defiance, “I didn’t get to this height by cowering before men like you.”
His gaze hardened, “Men like me don’t take kindly to defiance. Especially from women like you.”
I laughed, “And yet, here you are, losing to a woman like me.”
His eyes blazed with fury, but I didn’t back down. “You cannot intimidate me, Mr. Simmons. Try these tactics on other weak minded women.” I said firmly.
His flashed to my lips, and for a brief moment, his eyes held no fury, but they blazed with something else.
He chuckled darkly, “Act high and mighty all you want, You will bow before me eventually.” He stepped away from me, adjusting his coat and his tie.
“I’ll let time show you how mistaken you are.”
His lips tightened, like he was stopping himself from saying any more and he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
I breathed out a sigh and relaxed into a chair, immediately texting Justin to get me a new dress.
My heart thumped in my chest as I sat there in the silence he had left.
I couldn’t believe I was in love with such a man. I was so foolish. What did I even see in him??
What did anyone see in that bastard??
But there was a part of me, however insignificant, that ached.
Laura wasn’t completely dead after all.