Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
I know the history between Dad and Brielle’s father, and I wonder if this was done purely out of revenge. If I’m to run the family, I’m going to need a wife eventually, but it still doesn’t explain why he chose her in particular.
Women have always been my downfall, my distraction, but that’s in the past now. Dad used to tell me that one day they would bring about my demise. The moment I hit sixteen, some pretty girl or another always swayed my focus. Father saw that—he noticed my attention could be easily stolen. But all that changed when he died, and I came here to run the university. I finally realised the truth. Yes, women are a distraction, but my best friends, the Princes, are my strength. The men I trust with my life. And then there’s Kai and Val—we’re much more than friends. We share everything between us, and now we have a woman in our lives. She will be owned by us all.
I hit send on the message to let them know I want to meet up this afternoon. I cancelled last night’s meeting because I couldn’t bring myself to talk about work. But I have pressing matters to consider—the first being the hiring of new professors. I haven’t spoken about Brielle to Kai and Val since we brought her home, and I’m not sure I’m ready for it. She may be mine, but that doesn’t mean shit, because she belongs to the three of us. And I can tell they’re taken with her.
I settle behind my desk and pull up the signed contract from Hamilton. The terms are clear, I’m to marry Brielle before I can take over the family. I want to be Boss by my twenty-fifth birthday, which gives me three months. Ninety fucking days of learning about her before I say I do. It’s archaic. There must be more to this stupid contract than meets the eye.
My office door opens, and Jordan saunters in. Dressed all in black, he settles opposite me, leaning into the chair as if he’s exhausted.
“What?” I ask, turning my full attention to my brother.
Only two years younger than me, he has the mind of a killer and a body that’s honed as a weapon. I can fight and hold my own, but my brother is second to none. I’m more business-minded than he is.
“Have you gone to see your little doll yet?” He smirks, resting his elbows on the arms of the chair, his fingers poised in a steeple as he rests his chin on the point.
Shaking my head, I glance at the contract once more before I say, “No. She can wallow in the comfort of her bedroom. I need to find out why Dad planned this shit.”
Jordan settles back in his seat, watching me through narrowed eyes. “Maybe he wanted his eldest son to make some babies and live a normal life,” he suggests easily, which grates on my nerves.
“I’ll never have a normal life,” I bite out, frustration ebbing and flowing through me, a river of annoyance that my brother could even utter those words. “I’ll always be the head of the family. There’s no stepping away, taking a holiday from it, and there is no denouncing my name. For the time being, the university is my focus, and some random little girl who thinks she’s going to be a queen at my side will not make me love her. She will always be the traitor’s daughter.”
“You need to get some pussy, brother,” Jordan laughs. “It’s obvious you’re wound so fucking tight. You cannot run shit while you’re acting like this.”
“Acting like what?” I push to my feet, leaning over the desk with my palms on the smooth wooden surface. “I’m trying to be responsible. To make sure we have a legacy to leave behind one day.”
This time, my brother rises to his full height. He meets my stare, dead on, and I know this is an argument we’ll have again and again. We have always butted heads about how to live our lives. He doesn’t understand the responsibility, but even though we may argue, I love him and I would die for him. And he knows this.
“Who will care about the legacy when we’re gone?” Jordan challenges. “After us, there’s no one else,” he tells me. “I love you, but sometimes you can be such an arsehole. Don’t allow the privilege of running Black Hollow to turn you into Dad.” He throws the insult at me without a falter to his tone or a glint of guilt in his eye, and then he turns and walks out of the office.
Besides Kai and Valen, my brother is the only other man I completely trust with my life. Emilio and I are best friends, but my relationship with him is more complicated because he’s a Saviatti. I can’t trust that he won’t turn into his father. I’ve learnt that blood is strong, and if someone comes from a certain gene pool, they’ll eventually follow in the footsteps of their parents.