Chapter 2

Leon was much easier to win over than his father.

He had that spoiled arrogance of a rich heir, but beneath it, he was all heat—passionate, impulsive, and almost naïve.

I only had to smile at him once, and he blushed.

I let him catch one of the family men bullying me, and he flew into a rage on my behalf, making sure the guy couldn’t stay with the family another day.

I used him to get close to Vincent.

As Leon’s girlfriend, I could finally appear at the Johnson family table openly and righteously.

And for the first time, Vincent stopped looking at me like I was just another subordinate.

There was scrutiny in his eyes now.

Displeasure.

And something darker, something complicated I couldn’t quite name.

The more he looked at me like that, the more excited I felt.

I wrapped my arm around Leon’s and deliberately made a show of our affection in front of Vincent.

“Leon, I want some shrimp.”

Leon peeled them for me immediately and held them to my lips with eager devotion.

I ate them while stealing glances at Vincent in the seat of honor.

He drank his soup without expression, as if we didn’t exist.

After dinner, Leon drove me home.

Downstairs, he opened the trunk and pulled out an enormous bouquet of roses before dropping to one knee.

“Elena, marry me!”

All around us, his friends—planted there ahead of time—started chanting for me to say yes.

I looked at the hope shining all over his face.

And thought about another man.

Still, I said yes.

Because I knew that only by becoming Leon’s wife could I truly move into the Johnson family home.

Into the house where Vincent lived.

The wedding was lavish and rushed.

Vincent didn’t smile once.

I just didn’t know whether his displeasure was aimed at me or his son.

When he placed my hand into Leon’s, I felt how cold his fingers were.

And in that moment, a vicious little thrill rose inside me.

My wedding night.

Leon got drunk beyond reason and was carried into our bedroom by his friends, then passed out the second his head hit the pillow.

I took off the heavy wedding dress and changed into the silk nightgown I had prepared in advance.

Then I picked up a glass of wine—laced, of course, and knocked on the door to Vincent’s study.

He was still awake.

Of course he was.

“Do you need something?” he asked, lifting his eyes to me from behind his glasses. His gaze was deep as the sea.

“I wanted to toast you, dad.”

I walked in with a smile and held the glass out to him.

He didn’t take it.

He only looked at me.

“What did you call me?”

“Dad.” I smiled, innocent and sweet. “From today on, that’s what you are.”

I put extra weight on the word.

His brow furrowed.

“Elena. Stop this.”

“I’m not joking.”

I set the wine down on his desk, circled behind him, and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“I love you, Vincent.”

“I’ve loved you since the first day I entered this family.”

His body went rigid.

“You’ve lost your mind.”

“Yes,” I whispered, burying my face in the hollow of his neck and breathing in that cool, expensive, woodsy scent that was so terribly him. “I have.”

“I married Leon to get close to you.”

“Vincent, I want you.”

He tried to push me away, but I clung tighter.

“You don’t have to drink the wine.”

“But tonight?”

I brushed my lips against his ear.

“You’re going to be mine either way.”

Then I kissed him.

At first, he resisted.

But under the dual effect of the medicine and me, the clarity in his eyes slowly gave way to something hot, dark, and hungry.

Then he flipped us, pinned me against the desk, and took control.

That night, we both lost our minds.

His son lay passed out in the bridal suite next door while we gave ourselves over completely to that shocking, forbidden affair.

By morning, I woke up in his bed.

He was already dressed, standing at the window smoking, his usual composure restored.

“Forget what happened last night,” he said hoarsely.

“I can’t.”

I wrapped my arms around him from behind.

“And this is only the beginning.”

He didn’t push me away.

From that day on, a twisted, blazing affair spread through the Johnson estate like a sickness no one could stop.

I thought Sophia was the past.

I thought no one could keep me from having him.

I was wrong.

Sophia discovering us would become my greatest obstacle.