Page 39 of The Heiress

“Hey,” she says softly, shivering in the early morning breeze. “Why are you up?”

“You got some messages.”

That gets her attention. “From whom?”

“Your family. Cristiano.”

Her spine straightens and her lips dry. The calm breaks.

“I haven’t looked yet.”

“I did.” Might as well not lie about it. “By the way, your birthday? Really? With all these paps about? You need a better access code.”

Daisy flinches, but only for a second. “What did they say?”

“That some deal’s falling apart. They’re panicking. You need to break up with me to buy them some time.”

She doesn’t say anything. She merely walks to the balcony railing and stares at the street the same way I did.

After a long silence, she whispers, “It’s because you’re a woman, isn’t it?”

I don’t answer right away. Then, “No. It’s because I’m not useful to them. If I were a billionaire heir with a dick, they’d have put a ring on me themselves.” Instead, I’ve got two tits and a womb. Really, whatwerethey thinking? Yesterday already feels like several months ago.

Daisy turns, red in the face and still dry in the lips. “Youarerich. Youaremore powerful than half the weirdos they fawn over.”

“Yeah, but I’m nottheirs.”

It lands. Her face crumples for half a second before she catches herself.

“They can’t make me leave you,” she says. “I don’t care what they say.”

“They’re not trying to makeyouleave. They’re trying to makemewalk.” I touch her cheek. “They know you’re stubborn and that I’m a liability. This isn’t a business move. It’s personal. They’re using you to punish me. If I love you, I’m supposed to back down. Let you go so your family stays afloat.”

She shakes her head. “That’s not fair.”

“Since when is any of this fair?”

“Lorde…”

“I won’t do it,” I say. “If they think they can scare me into giving you up, they’ve forgotten who the fuck I am.” I sniff. “Camilla Sheen had a kid out of wedlock at the height of her career and didn’t let it stop her from being one of the highest-paid and most sought-after actresses in Hollywood. You think this is gonna stopmefrom doing what I want?”

Daisy crashes into me and kisses me hard, messy, like she doesn’t know what else to do with the panic crashing down on us both. I kiss her back, swallowing her silent noise and grounding her.

When she pulls away, her eyes are glassy.

“They’ll go after everything,” she says. “The press. Your reputation. They’ll leak something if they have to. Try to twist it into a scandal and pressure me into breaking up with you just for that.”

“Then let them,” I say. “I’ve survived worse. You have too.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

“I’d rather get hurt than give you up.”

She exhales, trembling. “What do we do?”

I brush my thumb across her cheek, and she softens her face and looks at me like she’s never been so in love before. God almighty. What have I gotten myself into?

“Okay,” I say, “so, obviously your family is a disaster. We knew that. I simply didn’t expect them to besoon-brand about it.”

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