I won’t let this place become home and there’s not a fucking chance he’s giving me a tour.
Definitely not happening. Even if that means sitting here all afternoon bored out of my goddamn mind. Henry knows my answer before I give it, and his expression tells me I’ve scored the point I intended.
“I’m still feeling tired. I’ll rest. Alone.”
“Your father assured me you were healthy,” he sighs, stretching his arm over the back of the chair. “I’ll call my doctor. A full physical never hurt anyone anyway, and I’d rather know you’re well.”
My eyes narrow as he scores a point. “Why?”
His eyes sparkle, amused by his cleverness. “Your father didn’t take good care of you. I pay much closer attention.”
I scoff and he smirks.
“Which reminds me,” he says, casually enough to put me on edge. “He didn’t tell me what engagement ring you’d like. It’s a bit late, but I dislike seeing you without my ring.” He pauses and removes two small boxes from his pocket, placing them between us. “Pick one.”
Neither.
My preference is for my goddamn finger to remain naked.
“I don’t mind.”
Our voices are as strained as each other’s as the pretense we’re both calm vanishes. He opens both boxes and both arestunning. One is an enormous diamond, the other a blood red ruby surrounded by diamonds. Both have matching wedding bands.
“It’s your choice, Ivy.”
The choice I want isn’t which ring I wear. It’s whether I wear a ring at all, but that’s been taken from me and I hate this. Hate him.
“I don’t care.”
“You should. You’re wearing it for the rest of your life,” Henry says.
We resign ourselves to prolonged silence. I hate him for it. He’s impossible. This is impossible. We’re polar opposites and this won’t work, even if I wanted it to—and I don’t.
“Pick whichever you prefer.” I wave my fingers between the two boxes dismissively.
Henry’s eyes burn with an anger hard to quantify. He’s enraged I’m refusing, livid I’m fighting this. I’m provoking his temper and pushing all his buttons. I’ve gotten under his skin and I intend to stay there.
“Ivy, pick a fucking ring.”
“Why?” My eyes narrow and his burn even hotter. “It’s not like I had a fucking choice about this.”
He really dislikes that. Henry’s fingers curl into fists and he’s straining, holding himself together as he fights against his nature. I know angry men. I know their tempers and their levers, and I’m pulling damn hard on Henry’s. I need to know what I’m facing and I’ve got to figure out how much control he has.
“Let’s get a few things straight,” he says, pouring venom into his tone. “You had a choice. You could have refused. You didn’t. You even made your own agreement with me. You’ve been badly behaved and foul-mannered since you arrived, andI won’t tolerate this behavior. To me, or my staff. It ends now.”
“Fuck. Off.”
His eyebrow arches, and it’s sharp enough to slice into my resilience. “You will obey me, Ivy. It would be better if you did it the easy way. If not, I’ll be forced to teach you the hard way. I’ve been kind so far, and you’re running out of room, darling.”
I sneer and he growls. It’s unlike any sound I’ve ever heard, and it stops me dead. My body reacts, stunned and flooded with fear, screaming I should give him whatever he wants.
“From now on, you get only what I give you. If you want something, ask, and I will decide if you have it. We’ll move those boundaries when you’ve earned them, but you need to understand your position. You’re dependent on me. For everything.”
“I hate you.”
“No, you don’t. You’re fighting instead of accepting your situation. We will continue like this until you accept me.”
He’ll have a fucking long wait before that happens. I’m not going to let him dictate every decision in my life. I refuse to give him that control. I never agreed to this, and this is beyond unacceptable. I let him feed me last night and now he thinks he can have anything he wants—and he’s got another thing coming to him. Not a fucking chance.