Page 33 of Alpha-Ex Wedding Ruse
I picked up my napkin and wiped the corners of my mouth.
“You know Sterling Moreau,” I said, allowing the corner of my mouth to curl—not quite a smile, but close enough. “All talk and no brawn. He was impressed with my proposition. The old man couldn’t stop smiling while I laid out the details.”
My father smirked.
He and Sterling had hated each other for decades. But in business, hate meant nothing. If a man could make you richer, you shook his hand and signed the damn deal.
“I knew he wouldn’t be able to refuse the offer,” my father said, setting down his glass. “I know that man like the back of my hand. Which is why I’m sure he brought up that crown jewel of his before things got too exciting.”
“He most certainly did,” I replied, offering a tight smile.
By crown jewel, he meant his daughter. Sterling saw her as an asset. A bargaining chip in a tailored dress.
And Elena? I didn’t think she cared much that her father treated her like one.
“And how are the marriage preparations with the Moreau girl coming along?”
A quiet throat clearing cut through the silence.
It was the first sign in over thirty minutes that there was a third person at the table.
Victor didn’t look up.
He kept slicing through his steak like nothing had been said. But the corner of his mouth curled into that familiar smirk.
He knew exactly how I felt about marrying Elena. Knew how deeply I resented the obligation.
These days, he lived to twist that knife.
I shot him a scowl as he lifted his fork, placing another piece of meat in his mouth, before turning back to the head of the table.
“It’s going well,” I said, flatly. Hoping that would end it.
But then—Victor.
Fucking Victor
He opened his mouth.
“Is it now?”
My head turned sharply toward him, and so did my father’s.
The frown on my father’s face told me everything.
He shifted back to me.
“What’s he talking about, Luca?”
“How should I know?” I said, jaw tightening.
His gaze snapped to Victor again. I could see the calculation behind it. And that’s when the thought finally hit me:
Does Victor know? Does he know Leila is back?
The thought made my grip on the cutlery tighten. Victor and Leila had always been close. Friends. He’d always made himself available to her. I wouldn’t put it past her to have reached out.
What she never seemed to understand was that underneath that polished smile, expensive suit, and freshly cut hair, my brother was worse than the devil himself.
