Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
STEFAN
As dinner wound down, the kids cried and begged to stay longer because they hadn’t used the chocolate fountain enough or counted all the fish in the koi pond. I wanted to tell Bella not to cry because we could return for her birthday next month. Except I couldn’t make such promises.
Kai wasn’t bothered by their pleas. He left the table to talk the restaurant into staying open and soothed Bella with the information. She was overjoyed and threw her arms around his neck. Then he proceeded to faux wrestle with the twins as they grabbed his legs.
The twins and Bella had been wary of outsiders since our parents’ death.
Despite seeing him weekly, Bella screamed whenever she saw our mailman.
Yet Kai had won them over, and they acted familiar around him.
Power and money had erased their past trauma.
What child would have crippling anxiety in a setting designed to cater to your every whim?
Amelie was relaxed as well. With a glass of wine in hand and her head leaning back, she listened to the background music. When was the last time my wife had a few minutes to unwind with fine wine?
I was the only one on edge.
I shouldn’t have brought my family here and teased them with a lifestyle I couldn’t replicate. The thought left me depressed and feeling like a failure. I resented my responsibilities, but what I resented most was my inability to give them everything their hearts desired.
When Bella dragged Amelie to the cave for story time, Kai strolled back in his perfect black suit and white smile.
He seemed relaxed after his time with the children, entirely ignorant of what the end of tonight meant for me.
It meant we’d never see Kai Cavendish again or be a part of his world.
There was no reason now that he had repaid my wife’s kindness.
Suddenly, it was crucial to forge a connection with him.
I’d be lying if I said this was just about providing my family with luxury experiences.
There was more to it. There was also my own desire to be at the center of this lifestyle.
His lifestyle. One I could never be a part of once this dinner ended.
I rose from my seat to welcome him back to the table like he was royalty, which I supposed he was in my mind.
The server returned to the table to offer us a nightcap. I chose a cognac, while he opted for brandy. With Amelie tending to the kids, we were alone for the first time. Time was running out, and I needed to invest in his interests to be on his good side.
“You never got around to telling us about the third option. Your work in progress.”
“I’m glad you asked,” he said with a triumphant smirk as if all roads had led to this moment.
Why did it feel like he had set a trap, and I had walked into it?
“The third option is to acquire a wife and a family. That’s what I’m working on right now.”
I laughed but zipped my lips upon noticing his grave expression. A man like him didn’t say things unless he was stone-cold serious.
“I’m at the point in my life where coming home to an empty house is… well, empty. Seeing your family tonight, I realized what my home was missing.”
I frowned. “What do you mean by acquiring a family? Like falling in love, getting married, and starting one?”
“There are other reasons to get married besides love,” he replied vaguely.
His tone carried a weight that made me uncomfortable, but I was desperate to connect with this man. “Sure. People marry for lots of reasons. Are you referring to a business marriage?”
“More like a desire-based marriage. Take the two of us, for instance. We both have something the other desires.”
I stilled, the glass of cognac inches from my lips. “I beg your pardon?”
“I did some digging into your life. It seems you’re in a pretty big financial hole.”
My blood ran cold. “You had me investigated?”
“I had your whole family investigated,” he replied unapologetically. “Any good businessman would do their due diligence before diving into a venture. Wouldn’t you agree?”
My eyes narrowed. I had entered the lion’s den wholly unprepared. “What do I have that you could possibly want?”
“I told you. I realized what my home was missing after seeing your family.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Then let me be clear. I want your wife and kids.”
The glass in my hand dropped, but Kai caught it smoothly before it could shatter on the floor. The reflex told me he had predicted my reaction. Exactly how long had he been investigating me?
“Everything about tonight was premeditated, wasn’t it?” I surmised. “You intentionally came to Amelie’s work and bumped into me. You invited us to dinner because you knew we had no means to celebrate the twins’ birthday.”
He dropped the pretenses and disarmed me with his honesty. “Yes.”
Ice settled in my chest. “I think it’s time we call it a night.” I glanced at the cave entrance, hoping Amelie and the kids would emerge.
“Tell me, Stefan,” he said calmly, ignoring my indignation. “Between picking up and dropping off the kids at school, after-school programs, birthday parties, and sleepovers, when was the last time you had an evening to yourself or returned to a clean home?”
An image of toys scattered around the living room popped into my mind, distracting me from making a snippy comeback.
He had vetted us and was manipulating me with things that hit home.
Back in the day, I was a neat freak. Since taking over the guardianship of my brothers and sister, I hadn’t come home to a clean kitchen even once.
Clutter left me with anxiety and despondency, but there was nothing I could do about it. Kids made messes, and that was my life.
“Imagine if you had a nanny and a housekeeper to take care of those things. It would change your life.”
My silence told him he had struck gold.
He sat back on his chair and slowly sipped on the amber-colored liquid in his glass. “I could make all your wishes come true.”
I scoffed. “My wishes? Do you consider yourself a genie, Mr. Cavendish?”
“Why not?” He sat up straight. “I’ve always been rich and never had to worry about money.” Obviously, he came from old money. Look at how he carried himself. “However, it wasn’t until later in life that I became wealthy—and I’m talking about an unimaginable type of wealth.”
Was he still trying to impress me with his money?
“With this type of resource, perhaps I can be your genie and give you the things your heart desires. What if I can grant you three wishes?”
“I wasn’t born yesterday, Kai. Nothing in life is free.”
“You’re right.” His tone was ominous. “Your wishes come at a price.”
“If the price is my wife, you can forget it.”
He lowered the glass and watched me, sizing me up.
“You know, once I became absurdly wealthy, everyone wanted to be my best friend. Long-lost relatives and old friends reached out for favors that money couldn’t buy but status could.
Everyone suddenly had an agenda, and I got accustomed to keeping people at arm’s length.
Until your wife, I had become pessimistic about humanity’s greed.
She didn’t know who I was, yet she took care of me outside the scope of her job.
She read to me, wrote for me when I couldn’t hold a pen, and even fed me.
It was the first time I experienced genuine affection. It was addicting because it was rare.”
Dammit, Amelie. Why did you have to be so compassionate? Other patients had given her similar feedback; she went above and beyond her job description. “If you want a nurse, you can hire one on . A nurse and a wife aren’t the same thing.”
He chuckled. “I’d say Amelie is an even better wife than she is a nurse. I can’t imagine it’s easy for a twenty-three-year-old to raise her husband’s siblings, but she acts like a mother to them. Who wouldn’t want to acquire such a wife?”
Acquire? The nerve of this man! “My wife isn’t for sale,” I said, barely keeping the ire out of my voice, and that was only because if I offended him, he might refuse to pay our portion of the bill. We couldn’t afford one item on the menu, let alone everything we consumed.
He sensed the shift in energy and my rising agitation.
“No need to get offended. I’m not a lecherous man.
Amelie mentioned how the nurses at the hospital confirmed my impeccable reputation when they googled me.
Nor do I have any interest in breaking up your family.
Clearly, Amelie would never leave you. You don’t lack love in your life, Stefan.
If anything, you resent your family’s endless love because it obligates you to provide for them when you don’t have the means to do so.
I don’t lack money. If anything, I have too much of it, and it poses a problem.
Women approach me with dollar signs in their eyes.
Authenticity, like what I experienced in Amelie’s care and with your family tonight, is impossible for someone of my stature to find.
What if we reached an agreement in which we both gain what we lack and part with what we have in excess?
All your wishes would come true. Mine, too. ”
Kai had figured me out. He had sensed my hunger for limitless resources and my resentment at feeling stuck. He teased me with things his world had to offer, and only after I was desperate to remain in it, did he use my vulnerability to proposition me.
The worst part? It was working. Rather than leaving, I was hearing him out, and I hated myself for it.
My heart raced. “What exactly do you want?”