Page 14 of About Love and Revenge

I have microphones in every room of his house, and I overheard an interesting conversation between Leandros and Sheik Naim, one of the guests.

I had a speech ready. Like everything else in my life, the wordsspoken here would have a certain target: afflicting the pride of Leandros Argyros.

The thing is that I've just discovered that my enemy is trying to find a way out of his financial collapse, and in order to solve that, he’s traded his own daughter.

Elina, the ice maiden.

Does she know about the deal? I can't be sure.

In any case, I won't allow that to happen. By marrying his daughter to the sheik, Leandros will free himself from his current misery and spoil my carefully crafted plans.

I'll make him beg on his knees, humiliating himself, honoring the souls of my relatives with his shame.

Just killing him is not enough. It wouldn't even come close to relieving my wounds.

No. I'll do whatever is necessary to stop him from negotiating with Naim.

I'm still stuck with that thought as I walk into the main hall. It's time for my speech.

As I pass through one of the rooms, I hear what sounds like anguished moans or the sounds of an injured kitten. I'm immediately alert because I know there are no animals here. The sounds come from a person, a woman, probably. The door is closed, but I don't have to knock to enter any room in my own house.

I pull the handle and, at first, try to understand what I'm seeing. Then a hot rage spreads through my bloodstream.

Elina is being pressed into a wall by the sheik. He has his hand around her throat, holding her head in place and stroking her hips as she tries to get away. At that moment, she reveals the same vulnerability I witnessed last night and is no longer the indifferent woman the world knows.

I must have made some noise because they both look at me, the man seeming to dare me to interrupt him.

I know his type. He thinks that having been born to a powerful family makes him immune to any rules imposed on the rest of humanity.

What Naim doesn't know is that I don't care about rules either. Ioverturn them guiltlessly whenever it suits me, and I don't give a damn about who he is. I fear no one, least of all a spoiled fucking heir who has never moved a pen to make a living.

I have no words to express how much the scene disgusts me. Taking physical advantage of this woman in order to control her is simply despicable. I have many flaws, but I would never take a woman by force.

Elina's expression tells me she'd give anything to get out of here, but despite that, even in an unfavorable situation, she still doesn't beg for help. Not with her mouth, at least, because her whole posture tells me that she's terrified. Even against my will, I am touched by her ability to disguise her fear and also by her persistent pride at the scene.

“What's going on here?”

The sheikh gives a fake half-smile. “My fiancée and I are in the middle of an argument, but it’s nothing for you to worry about.”

Although I'm already aware of Leandros's intentions to trade his daughter as if she's a piece of meat, hearing the possessiveness in the man's voice stirs something inside me. An uncomfortable, unfamiliar sensation that I don't want to try to assess right now.

“Is that what I'm seeing, Elina?” It's the first time I've spoken to her since that day at the beach, twenty years ago. I feel surprise mixing with fear.

“Are you doubting me? Would you rather believe a woman than the word of Naim Ayad Badawi Faheem?”

Fuck, how arrogant does an asshole have to be to talk about himself in the third person?

I stare at him silently for a while, and I think he has a feeling I'm going to back off.

He is mistaken.

“Answer me, Elina. I'll ask one last time, and then you'll be on your own. What I'm seeing is a simple couple's disagreement?” I'm sure it isn’t, but I need her to confirm it. I don't know how deeply involved in her father's plans she is, although my instinct says that, like me, the blonde despises the sheik.

Instead of speaking, she shakes her head from side to side. Only then do I realize she hasn't answered out loud because the son of a bitch is applying excessive force to her throat.

“Get out.” With two words, I release the warning. There is no change in the volume of my voice. On the contrary, it's perhaps even quieter than usual, but a man would have to be very stupid not to fear the implied threat in my words.

Naim is a bastard, but he loves himself too much to risk it. He's just a jerk who was raised never to get into a fight, always having some security guard to defend him.

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