Page 12 of The Arrogant's Redemption

“There’s nothing to decide. It’s done. I just have to inform Jodie.”

Seth pauses at the door, turning back. “You’re a cold bastard, LJ.”

“What do you see in front of you, little brother? A mirror?” I smirk. We were forged from the same mold.

“You ever hear of karma, LJ? Because one day, it’s coming back to bite you in the ass,” he says, walking out.

“Karma’s for the weak. Same as destiny,” Morrison mutters, pouring himself a drink and settling into the armchair beside me. “But Seth’s right about one thing: your mother’s not going down without a fight.”

“I don’t care,” I say, taking another sip.

“Seth's right again. You’ve turned into an even colder asshole than the two of us.”

“You are older. You should be my mentor.”

He grins. “Who says I’m not?”

I raise an eyebrow in disbelief. Morrison still has a heart—mine’s long gone.

“We’re all damaged,” he says, leaning back. “None of us should be passing on our genes.”

“I want heirs.”

“At any cost?”

“Within reason.”

“What changed during dinner?”

“What do you mean?”

“You walked in conflicted but not decided. Something tipped the scales during dinner.”

“Whatever I saw in Jodie tonight didn’t matter. I knew this afternoon, right after surgery, I wouldn’t marry her. My heart rate never spiked. It stayed steady. That’s how I always feel with Jodie.”

“And what does that mean? You’ve changed your mind? You want someone who makes your pulse race now? I thought you didn’t want to fall in love.”

“I don’t think I can love. But I also can’t spend years living with someone who puts me to sleep. I thought she was perfect for me, but she’s not.”

“Why?”

“Besides what I just said, I found out today she’s been lying. Or rather, acting. For months, since we started dating.”

He freezes mid-sip. “And how the hell did you figure that outtonight?”

“She slipped. Let a flicker of anger show. I don’t mind people with tempers. But I do have a problem with liars.”

“So that’s it? She pretended to be someone she’s not, and by your standards, she’s out?”

“Exactly. There won’t be love in any marriage I agree to, but there will be a very clear deal. There has to be honesty. I need to believe it can work. She’s been faking it all along. And now I know she wants more than I’m willing to give, I’m not walking willingly into that disaster.”

“You can’t back out. I already told my parents,” she says, sitting beside me in the car.

I glance at the rearview mirror and wonder if my bodyguards are bored out of their minds. I’ve been listening to her complain for forty-five minutes straight. In moments like this, I wish I hadn’t been raised with the fucking manners of a prince. I wish I were the kind of man who could leave a woman talking to herself.

But I’m not.

“If you already told them, then you’ve broken our agreement.”

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