Page 119 of Reckless King

From the beginning, my plan has been to win Violet back after Eric was taken care of. Selfishly, I was only considering what I wanted, not what was good for her. But I can’t think about that now. Regardless of what happens between us after this, keeping her safe from Eric’s threats is the priority, and that’s what I need to focus on.

“Should we go home, sir?” Jeremy asks.

I tap my fingers on the armrest, then shake my head. “Take me back to the office, please.”

Without a word, Jeremy turns the car around and heads back to King Plaza. I’m not sure what I’m looking for, but the only person I can think of to talk to about this is Cole. Hopefully, he’ll still be at work.

When I step off the elevator on the fifty-third floor and mindlessly make my way down the hall, I find Samson at his desk outside Cole’s office. “Is my brother in?” I ask him.

Samson’s brows rise up in surprise. “No, he left early to take Delilah away for the weekend.”

Damn it. I scrub my hand over my face. If I was thinking straight, I would have called ahead.

With a half-hearted thanks, I head back to the elevator. As I approach, Roman’s voice stops me.

“I thought you’d gone for the day.”

He’s standing in front of the stainless-steel doors, hands in his pockets, expression stony as always.

“I had. Just came back to talk to Cole about something.” Head down, I hit the button for the elevator.

“Is it something I can help with?”

With a long breath out, I survey him. “It’s not work related.”

He rocks on his heels, his brows drawing together as he studies me. He clears his throat. “I’m game if you are.”

What the hell. Maybe Roman will have some words of wisdom for me.

I give him a small nod, and when he turns on his heel, I follow him back to his office. I expect Roman to take a seat behind his desk once we enter, but instead, he heads to the couches facing each other in the corner.

He settles on one, so I drop into the other. “I’m going to take a guess and assume this is about your fake fiancée,” he says.

“She’s not any kind of fiancée anymore.”

“There’s a reason for that though.” His gray eyes assess me. “You’re not making this permanent, are you?”

I tap my thumb on my thigh. “I’m wondering if I should.”

Roman arches a brow and crosses his ankle over his knee. “Why would you think that?”

“I don’t know if I’m what she needs.” The confession tastes bitter on my tongue.

His eyes narrow slightly. “You’re a billionaire. Who better to give her what she needs?”

The vise squeezing my chest tightens further. “Iwant to be what makes her life better, not my money. But I can’t help but think she’d be better off with someone else. Someone normal.”

“From what I’ve seen, Violet makes her own choices. And unless I’m misreading what I saw of your interactions when you were together, she chose you, complications and all.”

“Did she really choose though?” I voice the uncertainty out loud for the first time.

Roman leans back and crosses his arms, his expression thoughtful.“What’s brought on this doubt?”

I clear the emotion from my throat and rough a hand down my face. “What if it’s like Stockholm syndrome? She’s been forced to be with me, to pretend she loves me. She didn’t even like me before this whole thing started. And it’s not just about that. I saw her with Jarrod outside her shop. They seemed... comfortable. Normal.”

Roman’s lips tilt up with the hint of a smirk. “So you think she’s better off with someone like that? Someone without the King baggage?”

“Isn’t she? We’re not exactly the poster family for loving relationships and emotional stability. And with Dad?—”

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