“Oh, sure you didn’t. Then who did? Who could have done this? There was no one else who knew except for Amelia, and I assure you that she wouldn’t betray my confidence. That’s something only you would do. God, just when I think I can care about you a tiny bit or place any trust in you, I find out you already went behind my back.” I snatched the phone from his hand, closing the application because looking at it made me sick.
Then I burst into laughter. My life was just…
“You need to listen to me. We’ll figure out what to say to your father. I’m sorry this happened. I think I know who leaked it.”
“Well, it’s too late,” I gritted out. “My father already left a message. Now I have no idea what to say to him, but right now, I don’t care. Maybe I’ll just tell him the truth in that I was hired as a high-priced call girl to help destroy his reputation, his company, or hell, maybe his life. Why not? That’s something you’re very good at.”
With anger boiling inside, I retrieved the message, putting it on speaker phone for Christian to hear.
“Vanessa. It would seem you decided to betray your family. You have no idea what you’ve done. I know that your relationship is fake, an attempt to destroy me, but it won’t work. Be careful as Christian Elliot and his father are nothing but vipers. You willbe their next victim. This will be the only warning you receive. Time to play dirty. And daughter, I play to win.”
A quietness settled between us, the air hot and heavy and it had nothing to do with desire or the frivolous activity we’d been toying with. I was angry, so much so I couldn’t see straight. Whether or not he’d made the announcement of our engagement himself honestly didn’t matter. Winning did. Nothing else seemed to bring him joy but the challenge and ultimate win.
Exactly as I’d endured with my father since I was a child.
I didn’t care about my commitment, or a deal made. I wasn’t certain I could care about anything at this point. I’d sold my soul and in doing so, I’d become the same person I’d professed I loathed.
“I’m sorry, Vanessa, but I did not release an announcement. You need to trust me.”
“Trust,” I repeated. “You know what’s funny?”
I wasn’t certain if he would have the nerve to utter a single word.
“None of this is funny, Vanessa.”
“I’m so glad to hear you say that. From what I read, the way I grew up was very similar to your situation. I didn’t want for anything. I went to private schools and had piano and ballet lessons. We vacationed in the Caribbean and Europe, skiing on the Swiss Alps.” I had to continue laughing. If not, I might start crying.
He sighed and I hadn’t realized he’d pulled over at first. The man was stoic, staring out the windshield as twilight fell.
“I had a goddamn horse when I was six. I had a playroom full of toys and a private nanny. None of it mattered. I wanted my own life, to fulfill my dreams, but my father was having none of it. He once told me he owned me. Can you believe that? My own father.”
The slight growl I heard reminded me his father was just as all controlling as mine.
“Anyway, I won’t bore you with details, but I made a choice to walk away from glitz and glamor only to find myself jumping right back in. In other words, I was a fool. With that in mind, I would love to be able to trust you and I almost believed I could. Almost. I saw something in you in the last two days that I would never have expected. After the shock wore off, I had the warm and fuzzies that brought me peace and just a hint of happiness. Maybe I was crazy to believe you could change colors, but here’s the thing I learned from my father, just reiterated by the fact he didn’t ask about Donovan. All he cares about is winning. And that’s exactly the way you are. Two men almost exactly alike, prepared to walk all over anyone who gets in your way. The appropriate word for both of you is ruthless, at least in business.”
I took a deep breath, hating myself even more since I felt sadness at discovering what made Christian tick.
“But the personal word hurts much more than anything professionally done. Heartless. You simply have no heart.”
CHAPTER 24
Christian
Heartless.
Vanessa was right.
I’d lost my heart and soul years ago. And I knew exactly when. The very moment I’d tossed away anything good inside.
She’d talked about selling her soul, but I was the one who’d offered it on a silver platter. Even in doing so, I hadn’t been granted my wish.
I was a fucking loser.
Anger was an emotion I was used to experiencing.
I’d learned to control blinding rage years before, at least when absolutely necessary. However, at this point in my life, playing second fiddle to anyone would never happen.
Including to my father.
