Chapter Twenty-Six
Irvin
We sit outside on the balcony off our bedroom. The cool breeze burns my face—it’s cold, but not to the point where it’ll snow. She sips her hot cocoa and stares at the stars scattered across the sky.
Living with Lilac is strange. We share the same bed, but I haven’t fucked her since before she found out that I trapped her in this marriage.
I’m waiting for the perfect moment. She’s very clean and always tidies up after me.
She’s just now started eating dinner with me.
I’m not stupid enough to believe she’s doing it because she’s come to grips with the fact that she’s mine—she’s doing it to get me to trust her, so I’ll give her freedom. So she can betray me.
I suspect she’s trying to manipulate me. The way she was asking me questions—beyond what’s normal for her abnormal psychology class—gave it away.
I can spot when someone’s trying to manipulate me because I do it to other people.
People are just pawns I use. The only difference between Lilac and the others is that I don’t want to hurt her or break her.
I want her to realize that she’s mine. That I’m in love with her—but she won’t love me freely, so I’ll just control it. It’s the only way I know how to love.
That’s why I played on her empathy yesterday by sharing my traumatic experience—to let her guard down. To get her to trust me. I needed to see the ache in her eyes for me, because I feed off of it. I need her to question her feelings for me.
It worked. She sent me a heartfelt message about abuse—how I’m not a victim of my environment. I loved it so much that I printed the message out and placed it in my wallet. It’s not that her note touched me in any deep way. It’s because it’s something she gave me.
Manipulation is easy. You figure out where someone is soft—you exploit it, use it against them. Empathy is Lilac’s weakness. Survival is another one. That’s why it was so easy for me to trap her in this marriage.
My princess is cunning. And it gets my dick hard.
I know she wants me. She just keeps lying to herself. But deep down, she loves that I control her. She likes the dominance. She’s afraid that if people knew, they’d judge her.
I remove the vape from behind my ear. She takes it, inhales, and puffs smoke from the corner of her mouth. Then she grabs my hand and squeezes tightly.
“Thank you for helping me with the paper. I switched up your name so no one will know who I’m talking about—for your privacy.”
That’s what I love about her—she thinks of other people’s feelings.
I pat my leg for her to sit. She stares at my pajama pants, then back at me. A tight smile spreads across her face. She needs to keep up this act that she’s manipulating me, so I’m going to take advantage of it.
“I keep the message you wrote me in my back pocket, princess. It was heartfelt.”
Her cheeks flush. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
The good thing about her weak manipulation attempt is that I can go along with it—and be this close to her. Before, she didn’t want me to touch her or come near her, which I respected. I know when I can cross boundaries with her.
The salty air burns my nostrils from the dark sea below.
“What do you want to do after graduation?” I ask.
“To be a psychologist. I have a knack for helping people.”
“It’s a good career. You’ll do well. When you get your Ph.D., you can start your own practice.”
She shrugs. “I don’t know if I want to start my own practice, but I do want to work with children.”
“Sounds rewarding.”
She’s quiet. “We’re not having kids, Irvin. And we’re going to move to New York City.”
I smile. “So you already have plans for our life together?”
This is all part of her game—to get me to let my guard down. She’s smart. I press my hand on her thigh, squeezing gently, pretending to give in to her manipulation attempt. I’ve never had anyone challenge me the way she does.
“Well, I know as part of the American Billionaire Club, we’re supposed to have kids—and I’m supposed to serve you.”
I cup her face and stroke my fingers across her lips. “So you don’t want to have my child?”
She shakes her head. “It’s not that. I just want to live a full life.”
She’s going to give me a baby whether she wants to or not. I’ll just switch out her birth control when I think we’re ready. Plus, I’m not risking us going to Tartarus because she wants to be stubborn.
The doorbell rings. I stroke her cheek and gently push her off me. She dusts off her pajamas, eyeing me tentatively.
“Who is that?”
“I think it’s Judy, Remy’s sister.”
I want to test a theory, to see how Lilac responds. I called Judy over here to see if I’m right about her. To see her reaction. To see if she still wants me.
Lilac is on my heel, biting her nails.
“Why is she here this late at night?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. She told me she wanted to talk.”
I open the door. Judy’s pretty, but she’s not on Lilac’s level. She has high cheekbones, a short stature, bleach-blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes. Boring. We never hooked up—she’s like a sister to me. Not my type. Her parents haven’t arranged her marriage yet.
Judy throws her arms around me, and I hug her back. Lilac crinkles her nose as Judy kisses the side of my cheek. Judy rubs her thumb on the same spot. “I miss you, babe. We haven’t spent much time together.”
“I’ve been busy.”
She glances at Lilac, reaching out her hand, but Lilac just stares at it, then brings her gaze back to Judy’s face.
Judy grabs my hand and leads me up to my office. “We need to talk.”
Before Lilac can respond, Judy slams the door behind her and sits in my executive chair.
“How long do we have to stay in here? I have to meet Tommy for a date.”
Tommy’s father is part of the American Billionaire Club—he’s a student here and Judy’s current boyfriend.
I sit across from her, eyeing her. “Twenty minutes.”
Her eyes narrow. “Did you see the look on your wife’s face? She looked so upset.”
I shrug. “Yeah, that’s the plan—to make her face the fact that she wants me.” I lean my elbows on my desk. “Pinch your cheeks so they look flushed, and ruffle your hair. I want her to think we were fucking.”
She does as I say. “I don’t feel good about hurting Lilac.”
“If you don’t play along, I’ll tell Tommy you cheated on him with Jameson.”
She glares, the corners of her mouth crinkling. “You’re an asshole.”
I shrug, folding my arms across my chest. “I know.”
She leans back in the chair.
“Now unbutton your shirt.”
Several moments later, Lilac bangs on the door. “Open the fucking door, Irvin!”
I smile. My plan is working. I open the oak door.
Lilac’s face is flushed, her gaze darting to Judy, then studying my body and expression.
Judy moves past both of us and blows a kiss to me. I want to roll my eyes but refrain.
“Thanks for the talk about our relationship,” Judy says.
Lilac fidgets with the hem of her pajama shirt, her lips quivering as she pushes her shoulders back.
There it is—the jealous look on Lilac’s face. Exactly what I thought. She does want me.
“What relationship?” Lilac snaps, standing in front of me and blocking my view. “Don’t you know my husband is a married man?”
Judy steps close to me and strokes my cheek. “I’m going to be his mistress.”
Lilac holds out her hand, displaying the huge-ass ring I bought her.
“Let’s make something clear. Irvin is a married man—my married husband. If you don’t want the hell beaten out of you, stay away from him.”
Judy smiles and leaves.
I slide my fingers into my pocket. “What’s the problem, my princess?”
She glares, balling her fists and digging her nails into her palms.
“You’re not having a mistress, Irvin,” she sneers.
I straighten my spine. “Why do you care? You don’t want to have anything to do with me, right? Plus, I’m allowed to have a mistress.”
“I don’t care.” She bites her thumbnail.
I cup her cheeks and gaze into her stormy eyes—so beautiful. “Then why are you upset, my princess?”
She steps back. Again. And again. Exhaling deeply. “Because if I can’t be with anyone else, you can’t either. It’s not fair. I have to commit to you, and you can’t commit to me?”
She storms off, but I grab her hand and pull her close. Her breath hitches, her gaze lingering on my mouth.
“I need some fresh air,” she murmurs.
I watch her slam the front door.
A grin spreads across my face.
My princess is jealous—and she’s hiding it. That means she wants me. Now I just have to manipulate her into admitting it.
This will be fun.