Page 438 of The Christmas Wife

"And this was the only way to be sure." I rub the back of my neck. "I know this is a lot for you to take in but?—"

"So when you offered me a job?—"

"I knew you needed it. I knew your preschool had gone out of business, and you were running out of options."

She pales further. "You used that to your advantage."

"I saw the opportunity and took it."

She shakes her head. "So, you already knew everything about me. You knew?—"

"That I wanted you to be my wife? Yes."

"Fake wife." She swallows. "You wanted me to marry you to satisfy G-Pa’s terms, so you could confirm your role as CEO of the company."

"And you still believe that? After everything that's happened between us the last few days, you still think that?" I look between her eyes.

She holds my gaze for a second, another, then looks away. "What other explanation is there?"

57

Mira

He had me followed. He invaded my privacy. He’s known who I was for a while. He knew everything about me when he asked me to work for him. It was all preplanned, including asking me to marry him. My head swims. And yet, somehow, I’m not overly surprised. It explains why, when I met Edward I felt like I knew him. I felt like I had seen him. It’s why it always felt like he was hiding something from me. I just never thought it would be something so big.

"Everything you told me was a lie." I begin to inch toward the edge of the bed.

"Do the last few days seem like a lie?" He raises his hand as if he’s going to reach for me, then lowers it. "I’m not good at expressing myself through words, Belle."

"Don’t call me that."

"You can’t negate everything that's happened between us just because the way it started was a little unorthodox," he growls.

I rise to my feet. "You stalked me. Bugged my devices. Had cameras on me. Had me followed. You manipulated me into working for you, knowing I didn’t want to work in the role of a personal assistant. You knew I worked in a preschool. If you had so much information on me, you’d have known I’ve always wanted to work with kids, yet you offered me the role of your PA."

"I wanted you close to me."

"I was right outside your office, and you still had a camera trained on me."

His jaw tics. "You have to understand, I'm not good at sharing what’s mine. Left up to me, I’d have had you locked at home, and not allowed anyone to see you."

I glance around the space. "Is that why you brought me here? So you could hide me away? I’d question whether you also arranged for a snowstorm, but not even you could do that."

His eyes flash, then he glances away.

I raise my hands to my mouth. "Oh, my god, you knew there was a storm on the way."

"I might have heard about it on the weather forecast, yes."

"So you planned it so that we’d be here and unable to leave."

He drags his fingers through his hair. "It’s not like that."

"It is exactly that. You had it all planned. You knew my every move. You knew my past, who my father was—" I lower my arms to my side. "You knew he was going to arrange my marriage. Did you also arrange for his business to go under so you could use it as leverage?"

When his left eyelid twitches, I know I’m right. He must see the realization sink in, for he slides his legs over the side of the bed and stands.

When he moves toward me, I throw my arms up. "Don’t touch me."

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