Page 29 of Arianna

The words are there, but they are stuck in my throat. I hold them back, not wanting to find a common ground with him. It is easier to fight. To wage war.

That is all I know. Anything else will be uncharted territory and could leave me defenseless.

He sighs, and for some reason unknown to me, I feel a weird sensation in my stomach. He sounds disappointed. Maybe annoyed?

Good.

That is…good.

Focus on that, Arianna. Focus on making him not want to deal with your baggage, and maybe that is the key to freedom.

However, that is too easy. Deep down, I know that. I am not a fool, this is not a fairytale, nor is Sebastian a dashing prince.

“This will be your home now.” His emotionless tone breaks through my thoughts. “Banning will keep you safe, and if you ever need anything, communicate it to him, and he is under strict instructions to contact me and only me.” He sounds detached and business-like as if I am some sort of transaction. Which I guess I am.

Wait a second.

I turn away from the sea and stare at the infuriating man’s face. His black hair is perfectly styled, without a strand out of place, even when the breeze hits. He unbuttoned his suit and ditched the oxfords to join me in the sand.

“What did you say?” I must have heard wrong. He is leaving me here.

“You heard me.” He tips his chin as he murmurs.

I ignore the way his eyes drink me in as if they can see through me all the way inside my soul. As if he could tear my walls with just one look of those wolfish eyes. “I won’t be staying with you?”

I am so confused.

Sebastian’s face remains void of emotion. “Of course not.”

Of course not.

That is all he gives me.

This was not the plan. I was made to believe I would be marrying the Senator of Chicago, and that was the reason for my wrath. My life was given away without my consent to this man for him to do as he pleased, and now he is leaving me behind. In part, I am relieved, but something tells me this is not all. It cannot be this easy. “We are not to be wed?”

Then he laughs. The motherfucker laughs, making me steel my spine and raise my guard back up. Christ, he truly is the most insufferable man I have ever met, and I have met many assholes throughout the years.

None like this one, though.

His brows furrow when he says almost mechanically. “I told you, darling. I prefer my women grown.”

Something about that bothers me more than it should. God, this jerk knows how to push my buttons without really knowing me.

Therefore, I do what I always do when I feel attacked.

I bite.

“Well, that’s a relief. I couldn’t think of a duller life than to be tied down to an old man.” I bite back, wanting to piss him off just as he did me. It should not bother me. God, this is good for me. He has no plans to marry or touch me, as I was made to believe.

This time he chuckles, and I narrow my eyes up at him. The man is so much taller than I am, and I am not a short person by any means. I have always been the tallest girl everywhere I went back home, but Sebastian is almost as tall as the Viking, Banning, he called him. I stare into those blue-gray eyes of his, and I am taken aback by the mirth there.

It’s obvious he finds me amusing, which only makes me madder.

“You should be grateful I am not shipping you off to become a child bride like your cunt of a father intended.” He drawls, irritating me with how quickly he changes moods.

“I don’t trust you.” I blurt out.

“Good.” He takes out his phone, unlocks it, and starts to type rapidly. “You shouldn’t.”

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