Chapter Twenty
Lilac
Winter and I sit at the gazebo. I glance at the inky sky as gray clouds hover over the half-crescent moon. I inhale the wet air and lean on the wooden bench. The campus is empty, quiet, and bare—like my spirit.
Winter frowns, squares her shoulders, and intertwines her fingers with mine. “How are you holding up?”
I shrug. “I want to kill Irvin every five seconds. He doesn’t take no for an answer. And he really thinks this is okay—trapping me in this marriage.”
She buttons up her Burberry jacket, yanking the hem over her knees.
“I didn’t realize how brutal the American Billionaire Club men could be.
They are all controlling. Keanu is controlling too.
They were raised to be.” She pauses. “But what he did was wrong, and if you need help beating him up, I can help.” She smiles.
“I love the mansion he moved you into. It’s nice. ”
She stopped by earlier to pick me up for school. I’d rather be around her than my controlling-ass husband.
I look down and notice a wedding band on her ring finger and cock an eyebrow. “Did you get married already?”
She grins from ear to ear, hiding her face. “Yes. We got married yesterday morning, but we kept it a secret.”
I smile tightly. A few weeks ago, I was jealous of her because I thought I couldn’t be with Irvin, but now that we’re actually married, I instantly regret it. “Congratulations. You’re not pregnant, are you?”
She giggles. “Of course not. Why would you say that?”
I shrug and bite my thumbnail. “Why else would you get married so fast?”
Her laugh is easy, unguarded. “It was Keanu’s idea. He said it so casually. ‘Get dressed, Ice Petal, we’re going to the courthouse to get married.’ I asked him why, and he said I’m the only woman he cares about.”
“Would you have married him if you had a choice?”
She stares into my eyes. “Yes. If I had a choice, I would.”
“Does he make you happy?” I ask.
“Honestly? Yes, he does.”
A chill presses into my skin. Tears gloss my eyes. I wish I were married to someone who made me happy, and I wish I had a choice in who I wanted to marry. I shouldn’t be envious of my friend—but I am.
She wipes the tears from my cheeks. “What’s wrong, Lilac?”
“It’s… I will never feel the love that you have with Keanu. I’m trapped in a marriage with a man who won’t leave me alone. I can’t get away.”
I avoid eye contact. I don’t dare tell her about my secret identity, what I’m hiding, or what’s at stake for me. If she knew the real me, I could lose her.
She squeezes me tight. “I wish I had the right words to make things better, but I don’t.”
“It’s okay.”
We sit in silence as Winter strokes my back and lets me cry on her shoulder. I pull away and bring my knees to my chest.
“He says there is a serial killer on the loose on campus, but honestly, I think he’s lying. He’s saying that to trap me in the mansion with him.”
She strokes my back. “Lilac, there have been a few students that have gone missing. Keanu told me there’s a suspect, but there isn’t anything confirmed. They are supposed to keep quiet about the Gods—it’s stupid.”
“I agree. They have these rules about women not knowing what goes on. And the only reason they marry is to keep their bloodline going. What kind of shit is that? I’m never going to have Irvin’s baby. Hell no.”
“I would love to have children, but not for that reason.”
I take out my phone to check the time. Irvin sent me a few messages.
Lunatic: Come home. It’s getting too dark on campus.
That’s the thing that bothers me about Irvin—how the hell does he know where I am?
Me: I’m going out with Winter tonight. I’ll be home when I’m fucking ready. You don’t control me.
Lunatic:smiling face with horns emoji
Me: Fuck you!
I hit the off button and toss my phone back into my purse.
“Do you have any plans for the rest of the evening?”
She shrugs. “I have a test this week for my philosophy course.”
“Let’s go barhopping.”
She smiles. “Yeah. I need a drink.”
“Sounds awesome to me.”
We arrive at the bar, and it’s packed with people.
The neon lights burn my eyes, and the crowd is too loud for my ears.
We’re not dressed for it. I don’t care; I just don’t want to go home to that lunatic.
I order a drink and pay with cash, just in case Irvin tracks his debit card.
It feels good to have some fun, to let my hair down.
I remove my bow from my head and shake my ass to the booty-shaking music.
I down a few shots of tequila. Winter dances with me and grabs her phone, pressing it to her ear with one finger. Her eyes meet mine.
“Yeah, she’s here.”
“Who was that?” I slur.
“It was Keanu. Irvin wanted to know where you were.”
That son of a bitch. He will never leave me the fuck alone. Does he really need to know where I am at all times?
Someone wraps their arms around my waist, and I turn and push him away. I sway, trying to catch my balance.
“Please don’t touch me.”
I glance into the fucker’s eyes. Chocolate eyes beam at me. His pupils are dilated too. He might be drunk. He’s not bad-looking—looks like a student from campus. Same height as me, built like a runner.
“Aww, come on, baby, let’s dance.”
I hold up my prison band. It comes in handy for situations like this. “No, thanks. I’m married.”
He wraps his arms around my waist and yanks my hair. My scalp stings. My heart hammers against my rib cage. I smack him across the face—hard. My hand aches. I knee him in the gut.
He lets me go. I squeeze between two other people. My eyes scan for the exit. The guy rushes toward me.
Winter stands in front of me and balls up her fist. “She said leave her alone.”
The guy grits his teeth. “Move. I want the purple-haired girl.”
He digs his nails into Winter’s forearm and shoves her to the ground.
Oh, hell no. I elbow him in the stomach and smack him on the top of his head.
“Don’t ever pu—”
I’m yanked by the shoulders. I glance up. Irvin’s cold gaze locks on the guy. He grabs him by the throat, squeezes until the guy’s eyes pop, and slams him against the bar.
“No one—and I mean no one—touches my wife.”
Irvin’s eyes are devoid of emotion, but his jaw clenches. He punches the guy in the stomach and breaks a bottle of whiskey over his head.
Warmth spreads across my chest. I breathe in and out. Why am I turned on by the way he’s hurting the guy?
Keanu kicks the guy in the stomach. He and Irvin beat the poor man to a pulp—fist, knee, fist, knee.
Once they’re done, Irvin straightens his back, strides up to me, and examines my body. “Did he hurt you?”
I shake my head. I don’t know what to say or think. I knew what Irvin was capable of, but to see it in action is another thing. I don’t know how I should feel—if I should be scared of him or if I should be happy he came to my rescue.
“We’re leaving,” he says.
I nod, hug Winter, and tell her I will see her tomorrow on campus.
The ride to the mansion is quiet, eerie. Tension radiates from Irvin’s shoulders. I’ve never seen him so mad.
He pulls up to the driveway, kills the engine, and glares at me. “You’re staying inside the mansion while I’m away.” His tone is soft. Too soft.
I’m not staying in this creepy-ass mansion by myself. How many times do we have to have this conversation—that I do what the fuck I want? Controlling prick.
“No.”
He cups my face and uses the pad of his thumb to stroke my cheek. “Let me explain something to you. I control every aspect of your life. You don’t go to a fucking bar without letting me know. Do you know who that guy was?”
Warmth spreads in my chest from his touch. I fight the urge to lean in. And I should want him. I don’t know. Maybe him coming to rescue me, protecting me, sparks unwanted urges in me. And it will be a cold day in hell if I ever let him fuck me again.
I shake my head.
Irvin licks his lips, then taps the steering wheel. “He’s Robert. My ex-fiancée’s new fiancé. He’s under investigation for her murder. So am I.”
I stare into his emotionless jade eyes. “Did you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Kill her?”
“No. She gave me no reason to kill her.”
I don’t know if I believe him. I saw the way he looked at Robert at the bar, like he was holding back.
The smile on his face when he beat the fuck out of him.
The fixed, unblinking gaze. If there weren’t any witnesses, would he have killed him?
He did tell me that he kills anyone he sees as a threat. My throat tightens. I bite my lip.
He shakes his head. “Do you know what that looks like? I’m already a suspect. And when Robert reports to the board members what I did, they are really going to keep an eye on me. So you know what—you’re going to stay in this mansion, since you can’t follow orders.”
My hand connects with his face. “You don’t control me. I had no control over that. No one told you to go apeshit on him. Winter and I were going to kick ass. We didn’t need you and Keanu to show up.”
He grips my chin. “Robert is part of the American Billionaire Club. He’s a trained killer. If you two had handled it, he would stalk the both of you and kill you. Robert is irrational. I said you’re staying in the mansion.”
My eyes venture to the said mansion. It looks even creepier at night than in the daytime. If a few bats circle around the roof, it would look like an Addams Family mansion.
I clench my teeth. “You can’t keep me locked up there!”
“Oh yeah? Watch me.”
My shoulders turn rigid. “I fucking hate you, Irvin Victor Ashford!!!”
I get out of the car and slam the door shut.
His gaze lingers a little too long over my body. “Ooh, I love you too, princess,” he mocks.
“Don’t fucking patronize me, you lunatic!”
He stomps up to me and strokes my cheek. “I already emailed your professors. You’re going to take your classes online, and my security team will be here in the morning after I leave tomorrow.”
My pulse accelerates. I smack him across the face, and of course, he doesn’t flinch—tears slip down my cheeks. I sob uncontrollably as I shove Irvin’s chest—shove, shove, shove—until I’m out of breath.
“If you do this, I will never forgive you, Irvin.”
He doesn’t respond; he simply leans in and kisses my forehead. “It’s for your own good.”
Without another word, I rush inside and cry.