Page 58 of Ruthless Love

“I came all the way out here to free you of your trailer life and take you back to the loving arms of Dimitri. He is, after all, your fiancé.”

“I hate to belabor the point, but actually, he’s not.”

Taking an interest in the window, he walks over to it, not bothering to look at me when he says, “Don’t worry, my dear. Dimitri won’t hold a grudge. He’ll take you back.”

“Take me back?”

My voice is definitely loud for the cozy space. The disapproval that flashes across his face as he turns to face me again shuts me up, avoiding my slippery slope toward a good old-fashioned tantrum more appropriate for a three-year-old. So I dial it down a notch.

“He’d be lucky if I took him back. And, by the way, I’d sooner use a sandblaster to wax my vagina.”

My deliberate crassness results in a predictable shrug by a man who has never used a swear word a day in his life.

“You always did have a mouth on you, Evelyn. You should thank your lucky stars that a distinguished mogul like Dimitri Antonov wants anything to do with you. You’d better marry him before he finds a younger, brighter, and slightly prettier model.”

“Oh, Daddy. You always were the charmer.” Asshole. “I’m not going back to Dimitri. Get used to it.”

“Then you’d better get used to being completely cut off.”

He studies me, gauging the impact of his warning. I’ve heard his tired threats all my life, so this one is barely a blip on my pucker-factor scale. But it’s never been more worthless than in this moment.

If my father saw my portfolio, he’d shit a brick. It was easy putting my money behind one of my best friend’s companies, Black Technologies. It’s done quite well, like getting in on Apple when it was a penny stock. But nobody knows. Because like the great Davis Richard Black himself, I’m taking his lead, throwing caution to the wind and banking on something, the one thing that will always win out over hundreds of millions of dollars.

My heart.

Sticking with my decision will be like an ice pick through my father’s wallet. Eager for a small slice of payback, I hit him where I know it’s going to hurt. Sting him just a little for all the pain he’s leveled on me.

“I’m not marrying Dimitri,” I say, trying to sound a little less elated and a little more determined. “I’d rather be in love and happy than wealthy and miserable.”

Without batting an eye, he says, “You think you’re in love? How very interesting, Evelyn, since the last I heard you had a fiancé.”

I force back the stammer waiting to happen. The weakness my father likes to home in on, wrap around, and twist until I’m suffocating.

Deep breath in. Long breath out. I do it twice more, taking my time while his narrowed eyes scan me.

I fight to get my voice heard, which comes out like a whisper. “Even if I didn’t love someone else, I couldn’t love Dimitri.”

I want to tell Daddy about the other women. As if he’d care. And the mind games. The cameras. But I don’t. What would be the point?

Losing interest in me, my father looks out the window again. “But there is someone else, isn’t there, Evelyn? Maybe someone close. Maybe someone in this very trailer park. Even on this very street.”

The silence between us draws out while he watches me drown in his omniscience. Whether he’s having me followed or Dimitri is, my father knows about Austin. And by extension, Dimitri knows. Good.

Taking an interest in the thick draperies, my father skims a long, crooked finger along the regal fringe on the curtains, landing at the sash. The one I just retied.

And now I get it. Just how sick the son of a bitch is, but I say nothing. I want him out of my fucking house, but I say nothing. I’m ready to slap the smugness right off his calculating face, but I don’t.

I. Say. Nothing.

Because if I move at all, I’ll crumble in front of a man who always manages to make me cry. And I am not crying.

“I’ll bet you think it’s love, Evelyn. You’ve always been that sweet dreamer of a naive girl. Like love is the answer. Love will fix anything.” Turning, he faces the window again. “Look there, Evelyn. The man across the street is home. Is that him? The one you love?”

I stiffen, trying to stop my body from trembling with rage. “You obviously know it is. How you know that, and all the other things you’ve managed to know for your perverse pleasure is beyond me, but you can’t teach an old dog to stop being a sick fuck.”

A disgusting smile takes over his face before he waves me over. “Come, Evelyn. Come take a look at your Prince Charming.”

My gut falls as I bolt to the window. “If you’ve hurt him—”

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