Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 74220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
It was the craziest time of her life, but it was the calmest of mine. The first time I slowed down to listen to the raindrops pelt the windowpane in the middle of the night. The first time I drank wine to savor it. The first time I enjoyed being out of bed as much as I enjoyed being in it. My life suddenly had more depth to it, going from a shallow bank to a deep river. That kind of dedication should give my heart palpitations and tremors, but it gave me something else.
It gave me peace.
It was raining when I arrived at the house.
I had never made so many house calls for a single client.
The butler showed me into the drawing room, the same place where Adrien had slouched in the armchair, drunk out of his mind. The butler offered me a drink, which I took because I needed something strong to make this visit more bearable.
Adrien stepped into the room moments later, in a t-shirt and jeans, his wedding ring gone. He was subtly hostile but also indifferent to my presence. He took a seat in the other armchair, back perfectly straight, fully in control of his faculties.
I shook the ice in my glass before I took a drink. “You look better.”
“Better than what?”
I sat back in the armchair and sized him up across the room, wondering if he really didn’t remember our previous interaction.
“Adrien?” A woman’s voice came from behind me.
I couldn’t see her unless I turned in the chair, and I wasn’t going to do that.
His eyes flicked to her behind me. “Wait for me in the car.”
The sound of her heels came and went.
Adrien looked at me again.
Every other time I’d visited him, he appeared to be alone, his wedding ring his only company. But it seemed his attitude had changed. “You’re moving on. Good for you.”
He broke eye contact, like my words were sharp when they were meant to be soft. “Why are you here, Bastien?”
“Because this is the eleventh hour, Adrien. I’m meeting Oscar after this.”
His expression remained rigid, like that information didn’t matter.
“You weren’t receptive to my last warning, so this is my final attempt to save your neck.”
“Your last warning?”
He didn’t remember anything, did he? I chose to disregard the question. “You don’t know Oscar like I do. You don’t know the Aristocracy like I do. They will not stop until each of your limbs is ripped from your body. They’re proud of their history and their culture, and in their eyes, you’re shitting all over it.”
“I’m not breaking any rules—”
“Adrien. You’ve built a beautiful life for yourself. Retire or find something else. It’s that simple.”
He rubbed his palms together, his eyes on his hands.
“No amount of money is worth your neck.” Did I really need to convince him of reason? Did I really need to father a grown-ass man?
“I’ve been in this business a long time, Bastien. People threaten me all the time.”
“Oscar is different. He’ll put a bounty on your head, and I promise you, everyone but me will roll on you. Take my advice and stop.”
He lifted his chin and looked at me. “If you were me, what would you do?”
Probably jump off a bridge.
“You wouldn’t back down.”
“We’re very different men, Adrien. You sell artwork on the black market, and I rule a fucking city. Don’t compare yourself to me, not when I keep my word and you look your wife in the eye and lie.”
He winced like my words were a spray of bullets.
“I don’t give a shit whether you live or not, but my girl does. She’s the only reason I’m sitting here.”
“Does she know about this?”
“No,” I said. “Just because you aren’t married anymore doesn’t mean she wants you to die a brutal death. If you don’t have any other reason to step away, step away for her.”
He looked at his hands again.
“Adrien.” I felt my patience slip, like a teacher who couldn’t get through to a student.
“If we were still together, I would give it all up to keep her safe. But I don’t have her anymore.” He looked at me again. “I don’t have anything except for this. And if Oscar is coming for me, that just means I need to come for him first.”
I released an angry sigh. “Don’t be stupid—”
“This is all I have.”
I wanted to argue, but that was like trying to drive a Mini Cooper through the side of a concrete building. Fucking waste of time. I gave a slight shake of my head but said nothing more, knowing I’d done what I could. When Fleur realized that Adrien had been murdered, she would withdraw once again and halt the crawling pace of our relationship. My concern was entirely selfish, but I was a selfish man, and I wanted that woman so fucking bad. “Good luck, Adrien.”