Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 108768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
I was trapped in my own body, a prisoner of my escalating anxiety. The overwhelming desire to flee, to find an escape from this suffocating feeling, gripped me. Yet my legs seemed anchored to the floor.
The dizzying realization of Leo’s reach brought a fresh wave of terror.
The web of deceit was too intricate.
Too mind-blowing.
Too painful.
If Leo could plan all of this, what else was he capable of?
Then, a hand tenderly touched my thigh. The contact sent an electric jolt up my spine, breaking the oppressive weight of my thoughts.
Startled, I turned to see Lei.
The night’s breeze swept past him, making his long black hair dance like tendrils of midnight silk, each strand catching the glow of the moon.
He frowned. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
I took a deep breath. The familiar scent of him—a blend of pine, leather, and something uniquely Lei—filled my senses. “No. . .I’m glad you did.”
“Good.” He squeezed my thigh. Heat radiated from his hand and enveloped me, serving as a balm to the unease that had plagued me earlier.
For a moment, all the troubles and uncertainties faded away, leaving just the two of us, bathed in moonlight, lost in each other’s presence.
Well. . .Leo’s matchmaking isn’t all the way bad.
The moonlight traced the sharp contours of Lei’s jawline and high cheekbones.
Earlier, when Lei had come into the shower, dirtied from Rowe Street Mob’s blood, his eyes had held absolute death.
But in this moment, they were pools of calming compassion. “Are you okay?”
I swallowed and put my mind back on this new reality. “No, I’m not okay.”
The rest of the table continued with their urgent chatter. In between speaking, Chen stared at me in disbelief, making me extremely uncomfortable.
Lei moved in closer and whispered in my ear, “What’s wrong?”
I kept my voice low. “Your father wants me to be. . .you know. . .Mountain. . .Mistress?”
The mere title sent more terrifying shivers down my spine.
I did not like being Leo’s piece in his twisted game.
Isn’t it enough that Banks and Lei are trying to move me here and there?
The realization dawned on me, heavy and suffocating; I was truly a pawn to all of them.
But what did it mean to be a piece in someone else’s game? A mere object, devoid of choice?
If every step I took, every choice I made, was orchestrated or influenced by another, then where did I truly stand?
No. This is my life.
This burning need to reclaim my agency hit me.
I gritted my teeth.
They are craz, and this is bullshit.
If Banks, Lei, and even Leo thought they could slide me here and there on the board, then I had to hurry and learn the game.
Once I did that, then I would redefine the rules for myself.
In chess, you can still win as a pawn. They better stop messing with me.
Meanwhile, I had just mentioned the Mountain Mistress title to Lei and his eyes didn’t betray surprise.
Instead, they narrowed ever so slightly.
“Lei. . .” I took a deep breath. “You knew?”
Lei’s jaw clenched, a cold, impenetrable mask slid into place—the very same hard façade he reserved for his people during these gatherings.
That reaction sent a chill down my spine. “Lei?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he cleared his throat like he was wrestling with words that seemed reluctant to surface.
I held his gaze, willing him to answer. “Did you know that your father was setting us up?”
“On some level.”
“On some level?” I tilted away from him. “What level?”
“I knew that his putting the tracker on your neck, was for me to find you.”
“What? How did you know that?”
“Because my father wouldn’t put a tracker on a random gorgeous woman for no reason. Additionally, Chanel was Black. You’re Black. I figured he was trying to. . .”
“What?”
“Give me some form of a compromise.”
“What the fuck?” I shivered. “And Mountain Mistress? That’s serious. Maybe, Yan has some of it wrong—”
“I doubt it. I had already figured that we were meant to be unknowingly intertwined by Father’s Grand Design. I just never wanted to contemplate it too much.”
“But that’s not okay. We can’t just—”
“Monique.” Lei moved closer to me, so close that I could feel his breath on my lips. “It doesn’t matter.”
This time, I shivered again, but it had nothing to do with fear. “It does. . .”
“It doesn’t.”
“How can you say that?”
“My father brought us together but we will decide whatever. . .we decide. It’s only our choices that matter.”
“But are we not still his chess pieces following his plan?”
Lei frowned.
“I bet Leo wanted me here on this mountain with you.” I swallowed. “I bet he wanted me on this throne. Right now.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Why not?”
Lei’s gaze drifted to my cleavage. “Because I wanted you on this mountain with me too, and that is the only thing that you should care about.”
My breath caught in my throat.