Page 65 of Stolen Love

“Smart too. Capable.”

“Yes. You are all of those things.” His brow creases.

I reach out and lift his chin. Bring his focus up to my face. “So why, if you know that I’m capable, are you insisting that I’m not?”

The spellbound look in his eyes fades. “This fling you’re having with Rogue Maddox, it has to end. There really is no other choice.”

Does he know that we’re cousins? Was he aware all this time that Rogue and I are related? “You said that I had five days.”

“Three now,” he reminds me. As though I can’t hear a clock ticking down the seconds. “And you know what comes after.”

“If I don’t marry you, Rogue will be charged with murder. You used to be a good man, Nathaniel. I’m sure of it.” I trusted him once upon a time. He was kind to me. And not in a sleazy, romantic way. “What happened? How do you get to framing an innocent man to blackmail me into marrying you?”

His shoulders hunch as he lets out a low sigh. “Perhaps I’ve become jaded.”

That is not the word I would use for him. “You want to hold me hostage for the rest of my life while you call it caring.” He’s no different from Nicole. “And I want to know why.”

“The things I know would scare you, Ivy. And I care about you. I want to protect you from them. That’s all I am trying to do. I just want to keep you safe. That’s all I’ve ever attempted to do.”

There’s a knock on the door.

He blinks several times as Jackson steps to the side and opens the door.

The receptionist carries in a tray with a coffee pot and cups. She sets it down on the table in front of us. “Will there be anything else?”

“That’s fine, Sigourney.” He adjusts his tie, looking every bit ruffled.

Jackson shuts the door behind her when she leaves.

“Nathaniel?” I want answers.

“He thought it might help if he explained it to you,” Nathaniel says. “He knew you would never be mentally able to look after yourself. Not long-term. How many times have you already hurt yourself?”

“I’m not sure that I actually hurt myself at all.” I stand and the contract falls to the floor.

"W-what?” He levers to his feet.

"I think Alec tried to kill me,” I say. “I think he tried to drown me in the bath before I ended up in Sunny.”

He blanches, the color of his face growing whiter than his shirt collar. “No. That can’t be—”

“And I think he’s the reason I almost died a month and a half ago.” I lift my bare wrist up so that he can see the red scarring. The other is still covered in a cast. “I think he drugged me and took a blade to my wrists, Nathaniel.”

He swallows and crams his pointer finger into the inside of his tie, tugging it away from his neck as he tries to back up and almost falls over the couch. Righting himself, he captures my wrist and brings it to within a few inches of his face. There’s surprise there as he studies my scar. “Did you go to the police?”

“How can I?”

The fabric of Jackson’s jacket rustle as he moves away from the wall, inserting his presence in case Nathaniel is getting any ideas.

“I don’t actually remember it. At least, not entirely. But I’m certain it happened and it’s only a matter of time before it becomes clear.”

“You can’t go to the police.” Nathaniel’s eyes are bright with fear as he drops my wrist and moves around me. “At least not until you give me a chance to find out who… Nicole owns them. They won’t help you. We need to work out who isn’t under her control.”

“I’m aware.” How is it possible that he didn’t seem to know about Alec?

He rifles around in the bookshelves behind his desk. “You’re being manipulated. I want the best for you. That’s why I need you to stop thinking of me as your enemy. Marry me and I can look after you. That’s what your dad wanted.”

“He wouldn’t want that now. You have to know that.”

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