Page 34 of Intrigue

I step closer, forcing her to meet my eyes. “Because you were never safe, Selene. Because the second you came back, you put yourself in his crosshairs all over again.”

Confusion appears. “What are you talking about?”

I could tell her. That she’s a threat to the man she still calls her father. That she’s walking around with a target on her back.

But I don’t.

Instead, I lean in and lower my voice. “Think about it, Selene. Cassian keeps everything. And all it will cost is you.”

The air between us tightens, thick with everything we haven’t said. The storm outside howls against the glass, but I don’t move. Neither does she.

I watch her, waiting for her decision.

As she stands in front of me, I feel that unfamiliar pang of guilt again. It’s a weakness, but I brush it aside. My desire for control outweighs all else, yet her presence complicates everything. Just as I’ve orchestrated every move in this game, I need to see this through.

I slide the contract across my desk. “Read it.”

She doesn’t move. “Just tell me.”

“One year. You live here, work for me, belong to me completely. In exchange, Cassian keeps everything.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then watch me destroy everything he has. Your choice.”

She takes three steps forward, picks up the contract. “That doesn’t even make sense... Cassian and I are due to marry in a few months. How am I supposed to live with you?”

“You aren’t going to marry him as quickly as you thought. Delay the wedding till this is done.”

“And fuck you in between that time, right?”

I raise my glass to her and smile wickedly. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

“You’ve planned this from the start, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

Her fingers tremble, but she forces them into a fist. “Why?”

I should say power, control, victory, really those are the easy answers. But none of them are true.

So I say the real one. “Because I had to know if you’d choose him or yourself.”

Lightning flashes, catching the tears she won’t let fall.

“You are such a prick.”

I step closer. “I know.”

She picks up the contract, turning toward the door. “I’ll have my answer tomorrow.”

I let her go. “Thirty days, Selene. That’s all he has.”

The thunder crashes just as she marches out of my office. The sound reverberates through the room, but nothing drowns out the satisfaction of a plan well-executed, even if a part of me resents what it’s cost.

Selene needs time to process, to sit with the decision she never wanted to make. But it doesn’t matter. She’s already in.

By the time she reaches Cassian, the eviction notice will have arrived. His gallery, his pride, and his entire world would be ripped out from under him.