Chapter 1 #2
She shivered as she sat on the sofa Agus indicated. “What do you want, Vance?” The less time she spent here, the better. A strand of her dark hair fell across her face and she quickly undid and redid her loose bun.
“I wanted to apologise.” Vance sat next to her and tried to take her hand. She shifted away and clasped both hands in her lap. Agus stood across the room, watching with interest.
“That woman meant nothing to me.”
“So you ruined your engagement for nothing?” Was it better that it was just sex? No, neither option made her sympathetic to him.
He pressed his lips together before giving her his sad puppy dog eyes. “She seduced me.”
So now it wasn’t his fault. God, she’d been so stupid to fall for his charming, loveable rogue act.
Or so desperate to have something in her life that had meaning.
Mila shifted in her seat, wanting to be anywhere but here. She sighed. “Go ahead.”
Vance frowned. “What?”
“You said you wanted to apologise,” Mila replied. “I haven’t heard one yet.”
His eyes widened and then he grabbed her hand. “Of course. I’m so sorry I hurt you. Please forgive me.”
Mila tried to pull away but Vance held tight. Not wanting to make a scene, she said, “You’re forgiven.” She’d dodged a bullet finding out about Vance’s infidelity before the wedding and it had given her the excuse to break off the engagement so she didn’t seem flighty.
Vance sighed in relief. “You’re so good to me, Mila. We can return home on the next barge and tell everyone the wedding is still on.”
Mila burst out laughing, but Vance stared at her in all seriousness. Her laughter died and her skin crawled. “No.”
“But you said you forgave me,” Vance said, his expression wounded.
“Yes, because your affair showed me what you’re truly like. I’m not marrying you.”
Vance’s scowl peeled the earnest facade from his face. “My father wants me to settle down, get a proper job, and get married.”
The truth hit her and she lost her breath. “That’s why you dated me. To get a job with Dad.” She acknowledged the hurt even though she didn’t care for Vance any longer.
“Right.” He agreed as if it wasn’t a big deal, shifting into bargaining mode, and her weak heart ached.
She’d been so flattered by his attention and so surprised he’d been interested in her despite the far more glamorous and sophisticated women at the fundraiser.
“We get married, I get my job back at your dad’s company and my father continues to pay me my allowance.”
Mila switched her attention back to what he was saying. She stared at him. Was he serious? “And what exactly is in it for me?”
He blinked. “Well, you want to get married, and you can show your face in society again.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Well, you must have been embarrassed about the breakup to hide on this backwards island.”
He really had no idea who she was. She’d spoken to him about wanting to volunteer in the future, and he mustn’t have listened to a word she’d said.
“I’d share some of my money with you.”
Some, not all. Out of morbid curiosity, she asked, “How much would you share?”
Vance pursed his lips as if he was making a hard decision. “Ten percent.”
A bit of her died inside. Was she worth so little?
Agus shifted to lean against a sideboard, listening to every word. Vance had to stop talking about money. She could practically see the dollar signs in Agus’s eyes.
“Firstly, Dad wouldn’t reemploy you even if we did marry. You did nothing of value the whole time you worked there.”
“Surely he wants to please his little girl.”
She shook her head. “I wouldn’t ask him to. You’re a bad investment.” Plus, both her parents had told her how relieved they were that she’d broken off the engagement.
He scowled, the genial bargainer personality glitching for a moment. “I can take you away from this hole, and you can live in my townhouse on Bondi Beach.”
“I like this island.” Bondi was too crowded for her.
“Be reasonable, Mila. I’m offering you everything you could ever want.”
He didn’t know what she wanted. Had never cared enough to ask her. “No. You’re offering me everything you want. We don’t want the same things, Vance. We never did.”
“You’ve got to do this, Mila.” A hint of desperation now.
“Why? There are plenty of women who would marry you.” Plenty who wouldn’t look past the shiny sports car and beachfront townhouse.
“I need a job.”
She sighed. The only reason he’d sought her out was because of her father. “Then I suggest you apply for one.”
“You’re so selfish, Mila. I can’t believe you won’t do this for me.”
And here was the child throwing the tantrum. He’d kept this side well-hidden during their relationship.
She was relieved she’d seen the true Vance prior to the wedding, but the fact their entire relationship had been a lie made her sad.
“It sounds as if your father has plenty of money to help one person,” Agus said.
Her skin tightened at his curious and slightly menacing tone. She glanced up as Agus approached them.
“I didn’t realise your father was so powerful,” Agus added.
Mila glared a warning at Vance, but he didn’t notice. “My father doesn’t have power. He owns a business.”
Vance snorted, oblivious to the threat in Agus’s words. “A multi-million dollar business.”
She slapped his thigh hard, trying to convey shut the hell up in her gaze. “It’s irrelevant. Agus doesn’t need the details.”
Agus chuckled. “If I remember correctly, you also said your mother was a team leader at an organisation.”
Vance laughed. “Good one, Mila.” He turned to Agus. “She’s a major-general in the army. That’s how we met. Dad’s the Minister for Defence and there was some army fundraiser he dragged me to. Mila was there.”
Mila wanted to be sick. She took a moment to fantasise about gagging Vance and then stood. “I have to get to my class.”
Agus stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Vance has been very forthcoming.”
A heavy dread sank to the bottom of her stomach.
Agus smiled. “Did you know I met your mother twenty years ago?”
Mila forced a polite smile to her face. “No, I didn’t.”
“Yes. Imagine my surprise when Vance told me who she was.”
Mila shot Vance a glare. He stared back confused.
“I know what it’s like to have marriage plans cancelled.
You really should give Vance’s proposal proper consideration.
” His grip tightened on her arm and she winced.
“On this island, we believe when you make a big decision, you need to focus all your attention on it. It’s better for the soul.
” He held out his hand. “You need to leave your phone here.”
She placed a hand over the bag she always wore crossed over her body. “That won’t be necessary.”
“Oh, I think it is. And your laptop as well.”
She clutched her bag to her chest. If he took both, she couldn’t contact anyone back home. “I need my laptop for my classes.”
“I’ll get Ali to collect it after each class.”
Perhaps he wanted to toy with her, or perhaps he hadn’t decided what his revenge would be. Or maybe his revenge was making her marry someone she didn’t want to marry. She had to leave the island.
Vance smirked. “Good idea. She’ll realise my offer is the best thing for her.”
Arsehole. “I can think about it while also having my phone.”
“I insist.” Agus held out his hand. “Quickly now, or you’ll be late for your class.”
She would be stuck on the island until Agus changed his mind. No one came or left without Agus knowing.
She understood the threat for what it was. “Yes, Pak.” She dug around her bag and her fingers gripped the phone. Slowly she pulled it out and handed it over, noting the strong Wi-Fi signal. So the small bar in the village wasn’t the only place to have Wi-Fi—Agus had it here too.
Not that the knowledge helped her if she didn’t have a device.
“Vance, might I have a private word before I go?” She glanced at Agus for permission. He inclined his head and smirked. She was trapped, and he was enjoying it.
Quickly she grabbed Vance’s hand and dragged him to the door.
“You’ll realise marrying me is the best solution,” Vance said.
He still had no clue what he’d done. She closed her eyes to channel some patience, because her whole body thrummed with fear. “Do you realise what Agus is, Vance?”
“He’s the only decent guy on the island. I was lucky to run into him when I arrived.”
Luck had nothing to do with it. “He’s a criminal. The reason he’s so wealthy is because he’s a smuggler. He’s dangerous.”
Vance’s eyes widened. “You’ve been watching too many movies.”
“He took my phone.”
“To give you the time to consider my offer.”
She glared at him. “Half the villagers are terrified of him. I kept under his radar and now you’ve told him who I am. What do you think a man like that will do with this information?”
“Chill, Mila. You’re blowing things out of proportion.”
Imbecile. How could he be so clueless? “If I were you, I’d leave right now, before he forces you to stay too.”
Instead of the fear she’d expected, his forehead crumpled in contemplation. She didn’t want to know what he was thinking.
“Goodbye, Vance.” She’d done her best to help him. What he did from here wasn’t her responsibility. She got into the car and Ali drove her back to the village for her class.
Mila stared out the window down to the small village below, her heart aching.
She’d been happy here. It was a safe place to nurture her broken heart and figure out what she wanted out of life.
But she could no longer stay.
Not now Agus knew who she was.
She rubbed the chill from her arms.
She just had to figure out how to leave without Agus stopping her.