Chapter 4
Diamond tried to still her hand from shaking; she didn’t like showing any type of weakness in front of others, but she was not happy with what she was about to do. The man she had vowed to be with for the rest of her life and had even taken his ring was about to get a bomb dropped on him, and she didn’t know how she was going to explain this one to him.
A husky male voice answered the phone. “Hello.”
Diamond’s lips lifted from the sound of the familiar voice on the other end.
“Did I wake you?” Her voice softened with affection.
The dark timbre of his voice gave her comfort. “No babe, it’s time for me to get up anyway; I need to get ready for my appearance on Sports Sin tonight.” She heard her fiancée and best friend since high school, famous quarterback Bryson Reid, yawn, and then heard sheets rustling and imagined him moving across the bed and to the edge of it, tucking his cell phone to his ear, then cracking sounds that told her he was stretching and getting the air pockets out of his fingers.
“Okay.” She paused, shame pouring through her.
“What’s wrong? I have never heard your voice like this. Is it your family? Ambra?”
“No, I—”
“Just rip the bandage off.”
“Dia, who is that?”
She glared at the man putting her in this pickle of now having to hurt her fiancé.
“TikTok Diamond.”
At the same time, another chime went off.
“I am so sorry, Bryce. I am calling off our engagement. I know this is coming out of nowhere, and I didn’t mean to or want to hurt you.” She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, making it difficult.
Diamond continued to speak through the silence of Bryce listening on the other line. “I just can’t marry you; it has nothing to do with you; it’s me.” She looked to Ben for help.
“I will be on the first plane out.”
“No Bryce.”
“Don’t tell me no, Diamond, something is wrong; this is not you. You don’t drop a bomb like this and then expect me not to come out to see you to find out what is going on for Christ’s sake. Yesterday everything was all good, and now you are calling off our engagement; this is not—”
“Don’t make this harder than it already is. I am involved with someone else now, and we are planning to be married.”
“Are you for fucking real right now, Diamond!?” She winced when Bryce swore in her ear, his voice raised.
“Do you know how this will look for me? Diamond, don’t do this. Whatever is happening, let me help you. Tell me what's going on, Dia.”
She opened her mouth and closed it, sorrow hitting her, and she shook her head, knowing he couldn’t see her through the phone.
Before she could say anything else, her phone was taken from her hand.
“What do you think you are doing?” She hissed and tried to get it back, but Ben turned to the side and put the phone to his ear.
“Bryce, Ben here.” He paused, listening. “Ben Brooks.”
He turned to look at her as she assumed Bryce was not too pleased to hear Ben on her phone. Bryce did not care for the Brooks family and had mentioned his distaste for them, especially Ben, throughout the years of their relationship. This was going to be a slap to him when he found out it was Ben she was marrying. Bryce had always warned her that he would be trouble and that she should keep her distance. She reached for the phone again before Ben could say anything more before she could explain… Well, shit.
“No, I won’t put my fiancée on the phone. She has told you that your engagement is off and the reason why. I do not care if you believe her or not.”
He hit the speaker on her phone.
“Honey, am I holding a gun to your head?”
“No.”
He nodded and hit the off-speaker button.
“See, nothing to worry about; you just have to accept she isn’t in love with you and is with me now.”
His face went cold. “It is my responsibility now as her fiancée to take care of her every need, including her well-being, and to protect and keep her safe; you no longer have to worry about that now,” he said arrogantly.
Diamond was now ready to throat punch him and tried again to grab her phone when she suddenly felt herself trapped to his side; his free arm was wrapped around her waist, holding her pressed against him. His hand rested on her lower stomach in a possessive manner.
“Oh, didn’t I just hear you were about to go on Sin tonight? It would be a shame if you suddenly lost that guest appearance and those endorsements that you have suddenly go away.”
“Really? Try me.”
“Ben, give me back the phone.” She demanded.
He regarded her coolly in silence and then handed her back her phone but not before hitting the end button.
She stared down at it now incredulously that he had the audacity to do that. She began to punch in Bryce’s number.
“You are wasting time and need to block Bryce’s number. I don’t want him calling my fiancée anymore.”
Her head reared back. “You are a real bastard, you know that.” She pushed against his hard chest.
“Yes, and now you need to leave for me to concentrate on working on this virus.” She stiffened at his dismissive rudeness and then flushed with sudden heat from his words as he moved away from her.
“Because if you stay here, I might decide to not wait until our wedding night and fuck you right here and now. Since you came through my door, my restraint has been weakening.”
He looked up as he sat, showing her the blaze in his silver eyes, and had trouble swallowing now for a different reason. Her nipples pebbled hard underneath her clothing, and his eyes lowered to the throb in her neck and then to her obvious sudden arousal. A smirk lighted his mouth before he turned and focused on the laptop in front of him, dismissing her.
She didn’t know whether to be amused or pissed at the way he was able to now focus solely on something else other than her.
Diamond decided to get moving when she heard another chime. She needed time to digest what just happened and how she was going to fix everything.
As she almost reached the door, she heard Ben call her name.
“Oh, and Diamond. Tonight, you will be moving into my home. I want your place put up for sale and everything given away with it, except for sentimental valuables from your family. The rest, you are to come to me with nothing, not even the clothes on your back.”
She turned so fast she could have sprained her ankle.
“What did you just say?” She could not have heard him right.
“I meant what I said to Bryce on the phone: as my woman, I will take care of your every want and need from now on. That is part of the deal, Diamond.”
“You are crazy!”
“Yes, when it comes to you. Certifiable, and you will find that out very quickly if you test or decide to push me, like now.”
“I, you—”
“See you later. I will have a car come and get you. Be ready.” He ordered.
And just like she was dismissed again . She firmed her mouth and left Ben’s office.
If he thought she was going to just give in this easily, he didn’t know who Diamond Jackson was, but he was about to find out.