Page 64 of Bittersweet Legacy

“OK…” I trailed off. She looked familiar but I wasn’t sure where I’d seen her before – probably in one of my classes.

“You might marry him, but he’ll still be mine, I'll still be the one sucking his cock and giving him pleasures you can’t even fathom.”

Ah, the girl from the party.

“Oh, beat it Aleksandra.” Taylor scoffed from beside me before I got a chance to reply. “You think you’re making yourself shine here? You’re basically admitting that she will be getting the name, the standing, the respect and all the advantages of being a Forbes-Astor and you’ll be the woman in the shadows, on her knees giving head to a man who thought you were not good enough to marry?” Taylor slowly clapped at her. “Bravo Aleks, yep, you’re really raising yourself up there... really.”

The girl hissed but the blush of anger on her cheeks showed that Taylor had hit the spot. “Nobody asked you, you fat –”

“Hey!” I stepped in front of Taylor ready to take a swing at that stupid bitch. Insulting me was one thing, I couldn't care less what she said about me, but touching my friend… “Listen to me, low-class ho –”

Taylor rested her hand on my arm.

“I think you’ve got a death wish.” Caleb’s dark tone was unmistakable.

I turned toward him, about to defend myself for being mean to his sex-toy but for once his dark look was not directed at me and damn, this one was a force to be reckoned with.

“What did I tell you Aleksandra?” He took a step closer, his jaw ticking with annoyance. “What did I tell you when you showed up at my house unannounced on Saturday night, the night of my engagement, begging for my cock?” He threw me a quick look.

Did he want a reaction? I kept my face blank as I took a step back. Was I jealous? I hated to admit that I was but I would rather have died than give him a hint of that.

She paled as the hall started to fill with students and I couldn't help but feel sorry for her and the wrath she was about to face.

“Let me refresh your memory,” he enunciated darkly coming to stand closer to me. “I said we were done, that I was done with you. I also said that you’re not to address my fiancée, denigrate my fiancée, hell not even look at my fiancée with anything other than reverence. By disrespecting her, you’re disrespecting me.”

“I just-”

He raised a finger to stop her. “Whatever you’re planning to say I’m not interested. You’re barely first generation in our world, you’ve got the stink ofnouveau riche,which is barely acceptable. Don’t push it, don’t try me – your family will not recover. And you know me well enough to know this is not a threat but a promise.”

He said all that in an even, almost eerily calm tone which made it so much more terrifying, we all knew he had both the power and the drive to carry out any of his threats. “Now leave,” he added, dismissing her.

I turned toward him, not able to reconcile the image of my cold bullying fiancé with the protector standing beside me.

“Thank you,” I let out sincerely. “That was nice of you.”

His lips puckered with disgust at the word ‘nice’. “Don’t think too much of this, Esmeralda, don’t see chivalry where there is none. I told her to disappear, by disrespecting you she’s disrespecting me and that’s not something I will ever let go.” He sighed, reaching in his pocket and extending a $100 bill toward Taylor. “She barely ate today, make sure to take her somewhere for food. I wouldn’t want her to lose her curves.”

I never thought you could feel both insulted and cared for at the same time. Insulted because he talked about me like I wasn’t there and somehow cared for because he was keeping an eye on me.

Taylor glared at the money in his hand as it personally offended her. “I don’t need your money to feed my friend,” she barked. “I don't need anything from any of you.”

Caleb smiled coldly at her. “Suit yourself.” He turned to me. “Behave,” he added before disappearing down the corridor.

“What was that?” I asked, hoping Taylor had the answer but the way she looked, her eyebrows etched in wonder, she was just as confused as I was.

“I don’t know – Caleb’s not a defender of anyone. This was a slip-up, a mistake.” The second bell nudged her into action and she hurried us to our first afternoon class.

“A mistake of what?” I whispered as we took our seat at the back of the class.

She leaned toward me as the teacher started to hand back our assignments. “The kings are untouchable because they have no attachment, no pressure point, but he defended you, he lost his cool. We’re lucky she’s too scared to retaliate but this is a chink in his armor.”

“He doesn’t care about me.” I offered, rolling my eyes, but a little treacherous part of me hoped it was the case.

She shrugged- “I don’t know, but now? I just can’t wait to find out,” she added with a grin.

What’s your game, Caleb Astor?

Chapter 15

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