I’m moving toward the front door when a box of donuts catches my eye. It’s a box from a famous American donut company, and I can’t resist. The craving leads me to the coffee table, but when I open the box, my stressed-out, knotted belly protests.
The sadist could kill me today. Yet I have no choice but to heed his demands.
I close the box and am heading out when footsteps pound the floor.
“Lake!” Leo catches up to me.
“Hey,” I say. “I thought you guys were downstairs.”
“Not yet.” Leo takes my hand and drags me back to the living room. Alessio stands next to the table, his hands in his pockets.
“Hey,” I greet him, blushing a little because there’s a glint of lust in his eyes that reminds me of last night.
“Hey back,” he says.
“Which one is your favorite?” Leo asks as he flips open the donut box.
“The one with vanilla cream.”
Leo sticks a candle into the donut with vanilla cream.
I frown. “What are we celebrating?”
Alessio steps in front of me, takes something out of his pocket, and drops to one knee.
I cease breathing.
“My dear Lake,” Alessio says, “I have always been the kind of man who knows what he wants, and I knew I wanted you from the first moment I saw you. I also knew that when I kept you in the house as my nephew’s governess, I was auditioning you for a long-term role with his care. A woman I want the way I want you must also love him, and he must love her back. This is nonnegotiable for me.” He clears his throat, and I use the opportunity to inhale a breath.
“Alessio,” I barely manage to utter before he cuts me off.
“I’ve also paid attention to how you react to my long work hours and whether you are as independent as I first thought you were. I’ve examined you in every way. I can almost always find flaws in everyone. I think you’re flawless. There’s not a single part of you that I dislike. None. Zero. This doesn’t mean you have none. It means I’m blind to them.” He clears his throat. “Most of all, I’m certain that you love me. You love me with all my flaws, which is something I never thought possible. I love you back, and I want to make you happy and take care of you. If you would do me the honor of marrying me, I would consider it as if I won the lottery in life. You are everything I’ve ever wanted my partner in life to be and much more.”
He opens the box.
“Oh my God.” Both hands fly to my mouth, and tears cloud my vision.
Alessio smiles, but when I start to retreat, he blinks and then stands up. “Lake?”
I backpedal toward the exit. I have to get out of here.
“Lake.” Leo moves toward me.
I make it to the door and try to open it, but hear it click. Alessio controls the exit.
Alessio’s dark expression at the other end of the hallway tells me I’m trapped.
From the outside, the security guard knocks. “Everything all right?”
“Perfectly fine,” Alessio says, his voice low and downright scary.
He closes the jewelry box, hiding the largest diamond I’ve ever seen, and slides it into his pocket. Leo stands in front of me, blue eyes asking for an explanation.
“Leo,” I say, barely able to get his name past the lump in my throat. “I’m sorry.” I wipe away my tears.
“It’s okay, Lake. You don’t have to say yes.”
“He’s right,” Alessio says. “You don’t have to say yes, but you can’t stay with us if you say no. I won’t put him or myself through anything short of what we deserve.”
