Free Web NovelChapter 25: Chapter 25
Gunnar’s POV
The moment I step out of my mother’s quarters, something feels wrong.
The corridor is too quiet and my instinct kicks in fast.
I move back immediately and press myself against the cold stone wall just as someone walks past me.
A woman.
At least, I think it’s a woman.
She is wrapped in a very dark, long robe that covers her from head to toe. The hood is pulled so low that I cannot see her face at all. Not her eyes. Not her hair. Nothing. Even her hands are hidden inside the sleeves.
My body stiffens.
She walks with purpose, slow but confident, like she knows exactly where she is going. She stops in front of my mother’s door.
My blood runs cold.
She looks left. Then right.
Then she opens the door and slips inside.
I stay frozen in place. What the hell was that?
Sebastian told us he had assigned someone to take care of our mother. Someone "trustworthy." Someone "professional."
That thing did not look professional.
It looked creepy and really wrong.
I wait a few seconds, my jaw tight, every muscle in my body tense, debating whether to storm in there and drag the person out by force. But something stops me.
If Sebastian put her there, confronting her now would only alert him.
And I am not ready for that yet.
I step away quietly and head back down the corridor, my thoughts racing.
On my way, I mindlink my brothers "{Where the hell are you guys?}" I ask sharply.
Caden replies almost instantly. "{We’re still where you left us. The old man and Calistus just left.}"
I slow my steps slightly."{ Left together?}"
"{Yeah}"Cane adds. "{Calistus said he was going to inform Ethan about the development.}"
A slow smirk spreads across my face. frёeωebɳovel.com
"{Good}" I reply. "{That will be very good for that bastard.}"
Cane chuckles darkly. "{You’re enjoying this too much.}"
"{Tell me you wouldn’t enjoy watching his face when he learns that his wife is married to the three of us}" I say.
There is a brief pause.
Then Caden answers, "{Okay, yeah. That part will be satisfying.}"
I cut off the mindlink and pick up my pace.
It does not take long before I reach the hall where I left them..
She is standing now, her posture is stiff, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She looks like someone ready to bolt at any second.
Nervous. Trapped. Angry. Then her eyes lands on me.
Her gaze flicker in my direction for half a second before she looks away.
That small action irritates me more than it should.
I walk closer, stopping a few steps away from her.
"Relax, Riley Grayson," I say casually, a smirk tugging at my lips. "No one in this place would have the balls to lay a finger on what belongs to us unless we allow it."
Her head snaps up instantly, her eyes burn.
"No," she says firmly. "I need to leave. I need to leave this place. I don’t like it here."
Good. At least she is honest.
"Not until we’re finished with what we came here to do with you," Caden replies calmly, stepping closer to her side.
She spins on him, fury flashing across her face.
"For goodness sake!" she snaps. "I have a company to take care of, and Ethan is not competent enough to do that. I’m married. All of you have to understand that I am fucking married!"
Her voice echoes through the hall. The word married hits me like a slap and something ugly rises in my chest.
I take a step forward before I even realize it.
"Are you not ashamed," I say coldly, "to be calling Ethan your husband?"
She stiffens.
I do not stop.
"Someone who does not care whether you live or die," I continue, my voice low and sharp. "Someone who signed you away without blinking. Are you really that pathetic?"
Her breath hitches then she explodes.
"Don’t you dare talk to me like that," she yells back, stepping toward me. "You don’t know everything. You don’t know what he put me through. You don’t know what I sacrificed to keep that marriage together."
"I know enough," I shoot back. "Enough to know he never deserved you."
She laughs bitterly. "And you do?"
The words sting more than I expect.
"Do you think you’re any better?" she continues. "You kidnapped me. You dragged me here and now you stand there acting like a fucking saint which you’re not!"
"We are, we are your fucking saints okay?" I snap.
Her eyes widen slightly.
Then she shakes her head, her voice breaking just a little. "You don’t get to decide my life for me."
The tension in the room is suffocating already..Cane steps between us before it gets worse.
"Enough," he says firmly. "Both of you."
He turns to Riley, his tone softer now. "We’re keeping you here because we want Ethan to come here and see you."
She scoffs. "And then what?"
"Then we negotiate properly," Cane continues. "He divorces you in thirty days."
She looks at him sharply. "Thirty what?"
"You agreed to this," Caden reminds her. "Remember what we discussed, Riley."
She looks between the three of us, disbelief written all over her face.
"You expect me to just stay here," she says slowly, "like a prisoner, waiting for my husband to come and see me here and then you all trade me like a fucking property?"
"You are not a prisoner but you can call it what you want," Cane says." But you’re safe with here"
"By people I don’t trust," she fires back.
I exhale slowly, trying to keep my temper in check.
"You don’t have to trust us," I say. "But you will stay."
Her eyes lock onto mine. "And if I refuse?"
I lean closer, lowering my voice so only she can hear.
"Then things will get messy, I will start with people you care about" I say quietly. "And trust me, you don’t want that."
She glares at me, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
"I hate this place," she snaps. "And I hate all of you, I curse all of you."
