Chapter Nineteen
Irvin
I lean against my bike, watching the blue dot on my phone screen as she makes her way to the mansion on campus.
My princess forgets she’s mine—that she wears my ring on her finger.
I need to keep a close eye on her and control every aspect of her life.
This is the only way I know how to express my love for her.
She doesn’t understand this is how I care about her.
But she will learn. I just have to give her time.
I placed a tracking device on her phone the night I found her passed out on the floor. I don’t want the same pattern to happen again where I can’t find her. My lips thin, and my fingers tingle as I breathe in deeply through my nose and exhale.
I read her message to Winter. She needs a night out.
I stalked my princess all morning. She hit up different stores, bought all kinds of ridiculous shit she won’t use: a transmission, a boat, a pool, a lawn mower—all just to upset me.
But, to be honest, I have enough money to fund a few countries.
I’ll let her think she has power here; let her live in her delulu world.
I knew she was going to find out what I’ve done to her, how I tricked her into marriage, but it needed to be done.
She wasn’t going to accept my hand in marriage, so I took matters into my own hands.
Now she’s trapped with me for the rest of our lives.
She needs to learn that she has no control in her life.
I told her to stay inside tonight because Shelby Miller was stabbed to death in her dorm room. From what Jameson told me, whoever did it is a skilled killer. The board members stopped informing me of the case because I’m a suspect, so he’s my inside man.
Heat rises rapidly through my limbs as I grind my teeth.
The board wants to keep it a secret because they don’t want to cause fear among the students. Personally, I think it’s because if students found out there’s a serial killer on the loose, the parents—members of the American Billionaire Club—would pull their kids out of the school.
I put my helmet on, hop on my bike, and cruise through the nightly campus.
When I pull up to the mansion, people litter the lawn, and someone’s passed out drunk.
Three Days Grace booms in the chilly air.
That’s one thing I don’t miss about living here—their goddamn parties.
I tried to steer clear of them when I lived here.
I walk into the crowded living room. Jameson hands me a beer. His pupils are dilated; he must be high on coke. That’s his drug. Me? I don’t see the point in paying thousands of dollars for a few minutes of a high. Waste of money and energy. Sex and weed are my favorite highs.
“Where the fuck is my wife?”
He points upstairs. “She’s in Keanu’s room.”
I frown, then head upstairs. I open Keanu’s door. This bastard is still the same—clean, neat, everything has to have a place. Lilac rests on the bed next to Winter as they look at bridesmaid dresses. She glances up at me, brow scrunched, rolling her eyes.
She sits up on her knees. “What are you doing here?” she snaps.
I stare at the tight sweater dress wrapped around her small frame. My dick gets hard just looking at her. She’s more beautiful than a painting.
“You were supposed to be at home.”
She laughs. “You told me to be home, and I refuse to listen to you. You’re not the boss of me. Besides, don’t you have anything better to do than stalk me? Get a life, Irvin.” Her words are colder than usual.
Winter glances between us, then gets up and hides Lilac behind her.
My stomach churns. I grind my teeth. Winter really thinks she can keep me from my princess? How comical. Lilac clings to her, and if she clings to her any longer, we’re going to have a fucking problem. I’m the only person she’s supposed to cling to.
“Leave, Winter,” I demand.
She lifts her chin and straightens her shoulders. “No. Only if Lilac tells me to leave.”
I bite my lip—hard—and step forward. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Winter’s lips tremble. Her body leans back. She frowns. “I said no.”
Lilac tugs on her arm harder, watching me like a hawk.
“Leave, Winter,” Lilac warns.
Winter stares at her. “Are you sure?”
Lilac nods. “I’m okay.”
Winter glares at me and stomps to the door. “I’ll be right outside that door if you need me.”
I march up to Lilac, brushing a few strands of hair from her face. “You need to remember who you belong to.”
She steps back. “Just because we’re married doesn’t mean I belong to you,” she snaps, folding her arms across her chest. “What are you going to do about it if I don’t do what you say?”
She storms out of the room.
I’m on her heels, following her into the living room. Most of the party has died down.
“Good question,” I say. “Disobey me and find out.”
She spins around, hands on her hips, staring daggers at me. Then she eyes Remy, Jameson’s brother, and places both hands on the sides of his face, kissing him on the lips.
He pushes her off and wipes his mouth. “Are you trying to get me killed?” Fear burns in his pupils. “Irvin, I di—” He disappears into the kitchen.
My jaw tightens. I’m not going to kill him because she kissed him. If he had continued to kiss her, that would be another story.
Lilac fakes a smile. “See? I don’t want you. Get the hint.”
She kisses another guy on the lips, and he wraps his arms around her waist.
I yank the fucker by his sweatshirt and toss him to the ground. He scrambles out the door.
I smile. “So that’s how you want to play this?”
She bats her eyelashes. “Anything for you to break up with me, my wonderful husband.”
I scoop her into my arms.
She punches me in the back. “Let me go! Irvin! Please! Let me go! He’s kidnapping me! Help!” she screams.
I ignore her and tap Jameson on the shoulder. “Give me the keys to your car. I need it.”
He tosses them to me, and I toss him my bike keys.
Once we get to the car, I throw her in the back seat, strapping the seatbelt over her body. She shoves my chest, but I stop her, activate the child lock, and slam the door shut.
She sits in the back seat, tears leaking down her cheeks, whimpering.
When we make it home, I open the back door and let her out. She stomps past me.
I gently grab her arm. “When I tell you to do something, you do it. Another woman was found in her dorm room, stabbed to death. Someone’s targeting students whose families are part of the American Billionaire Club.”
“I don’t believe you,” she snarls.
I cock an eyebrow. “Why not?”
She wraps her arms around herself, staring down at the dead grass. “Because you play mind games and manipulate me. I’m not stupid, Irvin.”
“Why would I lie about a serial killer on the loose?”
Her gaze meets mine. She sighs. “Why pretend that you care about me? Why trick me into marriage when you know the only out for me is death? Why pretend you actually give a damn about me? I’m just a tool for you in this stupid-ass boys’ club you have.
” She blinks rapidly, holding back tears.
“I don’t want you anymore, Irvin. I want to be free from this. ”
Warmth spreads across my chest. She needs to accept her fate. For a second, I don’t believe her words. I trace my finger along her neck, feeling her pulse.
“If I could free you, I wouldn’t, Lilac.”
“I know, Irvin.” Her tone softens. “That’s what scares me the most about you.”
Her eyes shine under the moonlight, and the cool air nips at my face as light rain taps my forehead.
We stare at each other. Silence wraps around us like a blanket.
She shakes her head and stomps up the steps to the front entrance. She turns around, her pupils unfocused, then slams the door.
I exhale and lean against the side of the car.
She wants me. I know she does. I just have to prove it to her.