Page 92 of The Arrogant's Redemption

"You heard me. I want you and Sedric."

"To put your life back together?" she asks, standing up, and I let her go. But once she’s on her feet, she looks regretful. "I’m sorry, LJ. I didn’t mean that."

"Yes, you did. You’re still hurt, and I get it. I’m going to tell you everything that happened that weekend and afterward."

"I already know what happened."

"No. Up until now, you’ve only heard other versions. You haven’t heard it fromme. I’m not doing it to make you choose me. I’ll never give up on you or Sedric, Alexis. I’ll tell you because you deserve to know exactly what you’re getting yourself into."

Alexis

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

I wantto protest and tell him that nothing he says will change anything, but I’m tired of feeling hurt.

I’ve been harboring poison inside me since that weekend, and even now, even after knowing the shameful role Lois, his sister, played in our story, I still cling to the anger, because what’s behind it terrifies me.

"Sit down," he says, and I sit in the armchair beside him.

For several minutes, I listen as LJ talks about his family—and the picture he paints isn’t pretty.

Power and selfishness.

Lovelessness and spite.

Pride and lack of empathy.

At no point does he exclude himself from the faults or try to make himself look better in my eyes, and that only makes me respect him more.

He then begins explaining how, a couple of years before he met me, he started considering marriage for the purpose of having heirs.

I try to keep my face neutral and not show how shocked I am. He sounds like one of those romance novel heroes I’ve read about, talking about the duty of continuing the family name. I never imagined things like this actually happened in real life.

"Why didn’t you go about it the normal way, instead of treating everything like a research project? I’m not judging you, just curious."

He leans forward, elbows on his knees, fingers intertwined with the index fingers pointed upward. "I wasn’t a kid when I made that decision, Alexis. I was a man. I had never felt anything for any of my partners besides desire, and I didn’t think that would ever change. I’m pragmatic. I wanted something, and I had to chart the path to achieve it."

"And that path was marrying without love?"

"Marrying. Love was never part of the plan," he says, sounding tired. "I’d known Jodie my whole life—and because she was close to my family, I’d never gotten involved with her. But when the time came to choose a candidate for a wife, like everything else in my life, I analyzed the options and saw that she fit my world, at least for what I needed."

"That sounds cold."

"I never painted myself in pretty colors for you, and I’m not going to start now. I am who I am."

"Okay. Go on."

"After four months together, I sat down with her and proposed—on my terms. We could both keep seeing other people, as long as we were discreet. We’d have no more than two kids, and after five years, we’d have an amicable divorce."

"Jesus Christ! How could any woman agree to that?"

"She didn’t hesitate."

"Because she loved you?"

"Honestly? I don’t know. But I don’t believe that."

"Why not?"

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