Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
“Love is a privilege, and whoever tells you otherwise?
Never knew darkness and loneliness.
For everything in this life has a price.
And I continue to pay mine with every breath I take.”
Orion
Orion
Flipping through the marketing report one last time, I scan the numbers and throw it on the desk after signing my name.
“Give it to Jeremiah and tell him if he can’t handle such a small issue himself next time, he will lose his position as the head of the marketing department.
” Elizabeth nods, wearing her standard black-and-white three-piece suit that practically merges with the interior, making her almost invisible, sans her thick red glasses, which she adjusts on her nose.
“And tell Tom that if he won’t close the Smith deal by Monday, he can search for another job. ”
She picks up the report. “Mr. Wright is here to see you, sir.”
My brow furrows. “Why?”
She shrugs. “I think you should ask him that, sir. I’ll let him in and shift your two o’clock meeting to three.”
“Thank you.”
Rafael rarely visits me unless I request it, so whatever the fuck is going on must be important.
She leaves, and I lean back in my chair to stare out the window, wrapping my hand around my coffee mug. I take a sip of the bitter-tasting liquid, hating every minute of it.
I’ve disliked coffee my whole life. However, drinking it always reminds me of the present and how we have to suffer through certain things in order to reap the rewards.
I should be calm and cunning, moving toward my goals and finalizing all the paperwork for the upcoming auction while fighting off the estate’s lawyers, desperately trying to find some holes in my story to keep the property for themselves.
The only thought I have right now is to throw the damn mug away and go back home to my wife, whose beauty and charm have become my undoing.
And that weakness is both a problem and a curse.
“Orion,” she whispers into my ear, her nails cutting into my skin while her thighs flex around me. Her intoxicating scent surrounds me, wiping away all thoughts except one.
To claim her right here and never let go.
My body is rock hard. I’ve never wanted a woman more in my life. Skimming my lips upward, I trap hers in a hot kiss, pushing my tongue deep as my hips thrust forward, both of us groaning at her softness greeting me.
Something burns my palm, pulling me away from the haunting memories and forcing me to avoid Diana because the instincts raging within me cannot be controlled.
They want to possess, to own, to claim, and show everyone that she belongs to me.
What woman would want such madness?
Especially from someone like me. My reflection in the mirror would scare the bravest of souls, and if I spend more time with her…I’d trap her.
And then I would be no better than him.
“Fuck,” I say, the mug cracking in my grip and bruising my palm. The hot liquid mixes with my blood, a combination that should pain me, but I welcome it.
Just for a moment, I can focus on something other than my obsessive need.
That’s another thing I had to learn the hard way.
There is no escaping my wife. She pollutes my every dark thought and fantasy, filling my dreams with her beauty and becoming a temptation even my control and mind cannot resist.
I hear the door open, followed by an amused voice grating on my nerves. “That might scar, dear cousin.”
Spinning around in my chair, I grab some tissue and wipe my palm, pressing on the wound hard after dropping the mug in the trash can under my desk. “Have you seen my face? Scars don’t scare me.”
“It’s rude to comment on someone’s appearance. It might even get you sued.”
Rafael and his ability to see a lawsuit in anything, which is hilarious considering the man ended up behind bars anyway.
Then married the one who put him there. A fact that will never stop astonishing me because such betrayal is unforgivable in my eyes.
Loyalty ranks above anything else.
“What are you doing here?”
He opens the button on his blue suit jacket and drops into the chair opposite mine. “When one of your most loyal secretaries calls me to say there is a crisis in the company, I know it’s time to pay you a visit. What happened, Orion? Married life doesn’t agree with you?”
Ignoring his last question, I focus on his first sentence, and everything inside me grows cold at once as the anger that has shadowed me through the years, fueling my ambitions and drive, rises to the surface. “Elizabeth called you?”
“Yes. She told me, and I quote, ‘Mr. Wright has lost his mind and needs your help.’ She sounded worried.”
If it were anyone else calling Rafael, I would have fired them immediately. The only reason stopping me right now is that Elizabeth would never have gone behind my back unless she believed it threatened my company's well-being.
Rafael continues as he throws a blue folder on my desk.
“I’d have probably ignored her because, as your cousin, it’s not my job to police your mood swings.
I’m also your lawyer, though, and your business problems concern me.
So, after doing my research, I’ve discovered that several of your top executives are on the verge of quitting.
Apparently, you’ve been exceptionally unbearable for the past month.
” He taps his chest. “Paying you a visit and talking to you about it seemed like a good idea, after all.” His eyes zero in on my bleeding palm.
“That will need stitches.” He cocks his head to the side.
“Or maybe not. You have to clean it up to make sure.”
As children who grew up with our asses beaten on a daily basis, we learned to distinguish various wounds and how to help ourselves without the world knowing.
Status above anything else, and God forbid if anyone finds out what happens behind the Wrights’ closed doors.
First-aid kits have been my best friends since I was five years old.
Because my mother could never find out what that monster did to me. Otherwise, her already weak heart would have given up sooner.
And I would take any pain as long as it ensured my mother stayed longer on this Earth with me.
Getting up, I go to the en suite bathroom and wash my hands, letting the blood drip onto the white porcelain before turning the faucet off and wrapping my hand in a towel. “It’ll heal on its own.”
“Isn’t that a relief? We don’t need you walking around with a stitched-up hand so soon after tying the knot. It would cause unnecessary rumors.” He drums his fingers on the folder. “We have enough issues as it is with your inheritance.”
Rage fills my veins in a flash, and my voice drops a few octaves as I stare Rafael down. “I’d never hurt my wife.” Just the idea of harming her or putting bruises on her smooth skin sends me into a maddening spiral.
I’ll kill anyone who dares to touch her.
Understanding crosses his face, and he nods gravely.
“Never said you would, cousin. But the estate lawyers will use any weapon at their disposal to keep the mansion. The property would bring them billions of dollars, and they don’t want to lose it.
You’re already walking on a thin line with the will, considering you’ve been married for a month but have made zero public appearances with your wife.
Her being locked up in that castle of yours and rarely going outside doesn’t help matters.
” He swirls his finger in the air. “I think you also have a mole in your corporation because the estate lawyers? They know about your less-than-stellar moods, and trust me, they will build their case on it. We need to do some damage control and fast before this escalates.”
If I could just see my father again, I’d find a way to make him suffer more in his last moments for hiring that piece of shit to take care of his affairs.
Alan might be a brilliant lawyer. However, he lacks moral integrity and would protect and work with anyone as long as they pay him the right amount. He also likes to play dirty, using every trick up his sleeve to drag opponents into questionable situations that make them lose their cases.
The dishonest and fucked-up man cast a blind eye to a lot of matters, and the only reason he’s still breathing? He has no idea what really happened all those years ago.
Otherwise, he’d already be six feet under.
Unfortunately, being a selfish and dishonest asshole is not a crime.
Although I started to question his so-called brilliant mind when he came up with a stupid scheme that I saw from miles away.
When a man came with high recommendations just as my thirty-sixth birthday was approaching, looking for a job, I knew he was a mole. The idiot really thought he was getting classified information for Alan, but he only told him what I wanted Alan to know.
And while everything was smoke and mirrors, their company didn’t know that, and as a result, they started acting too cocky for their own good.
My mood might have been less than stellar this past month, it would mean shit to a judge though.
The law has no gray in it, as it exists purely on facts.
“Everything is under control. The mole committed a lot of corporate crimes, and since he’s under surveillance, we have all the footage needed to sue him once this is over.”
My cousin stays silent, though I see a calculating look flash in his gaze. The man is very proactive with all his cases, so I’m sure he's already drafted the entire thing in his head. We can consider this case closed.
“Per my father’s will, I have to be legally married by the age of thirty-six to get the property. It would be hard to prove to the judge that my wife isn’t my wife.”
And I dare anyone to fucking try.
Rafael rubs his chin and rests his ankle on his knee, leaning back in his chair. Judging by his expression, he’s one second away from showing me his infamous temper in all its glory.
I’m afraid that’s a Wright trait.
We have no patience when it comes to things that annoy the fuck out of us.