Page 63 of Wicked Heiress

Sis?

Gross.

I wanted to cry.

With some hesitation, I shook his hand and forced a smile. Then I pulled my hand away like his skin was on fire, rubbing my palm down the front of my dress when Grayson wasn’t looking.

I had to find a way out of this marriage. There was no way I would walk down the aisle and become a Vanderbilt.

Grace Vanderbilt.

I hated how it sounded.

Rhys dipped his head down to speak against the shell of my ear. “Be nice, princess. My brother might not see the wheels turning in your pretty little head, but I know you better than you think.” His hand moved to my lower back, inches from my ass. “I’m a master manipulator, but I learned from the best. So before I introduce you to my parents, you better get your shit together.”

Last week, I would have moaned just having him this close. My panties would have been soaked. But now, my skin crawled as if bugs were on me.

“I don’t care what you or your sleazy family thinks of me,” I shot back, keeping my voice low. “You might think you won. But this isn’t over, Rhys.”

“Oh, princess, you underestimate me.” He twisted a lock of my hair around his finger, yanking me toward him. “The Rhys Vanderbilt you met over the past month was an imposter. Everything I said and did was a lie. All for show.” His lips curved into a mischievous grin, lighting up his emerald eyes. “I feel nothing for you. Not a single thing. You were always a means to an end. After we marry, you will never know what it’s like to have the freedom Marshall gave you this summer.” He tugged harder on my hair. “Get used to your gilded cage.”

My mouth opened, lips parted in shock, the words I wanted to say dying on my tongue. With a few hateful remarks from Rhys, I felt my soul being sucked from my body. Everything I felt for him this past month still lingered.

The longing.

The desire.

The need.

I even thought I was falling in love with him for a short time. I was so foolish. Grandfather would have called me a silly girl.

My gilded cage.

Was he planning to hurt me? Without my father here to protect me, I was at the mercy of ruthless men. The Colonel should have been home by now. His missions never went on for this long.

Was it intentional?

He worked for The Founders. That was the reason he agreed to become my legal guardian. Which meant he would stay gone for as long as my grandfather wanted.

Would I see him again?

Rhys looped his arm through mine and led me over to his parents. He tipped his head at his father. “Grace, I’d like you to meet my dad, Remington.” Then his doting gaze landed on his mother, who was smiling at her son like he was a god. “And this is my mom, Helena.”

I was raised with manners, so I offered my hand to his father. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

His fingers slipped between mine, and he shook my hand like he was trying to break my knuckles. “Welcome to the family, daughter.”

He didn’t lovingly say that word. No, it sounded sinister and hateful, like how Rhys had been speaking to me all day.

His mother didn’t offer her hand nor hug me as our eyes met. Helena Vanderbilt seemed like a woman who could hold her own without a man. But standing beside Remington, she was even more powerful and disarming. She eyed me up as if I were nothing.

Less than her.

I should have treated them with the same disdain they showed me, but I was better than that.

Better than them.

“Rhys, darling.” Helena’s bright red lips turned up into a smile. “Fetch your mother another glass of champagne.” She glanced at me for a moment. “I’d like to have a word with your bride. Alone.”

---