I didn’t like how close Alice kept stepping to him. I didn’t like how he didn’t back away from her. I didn’t like the fact that they both turned their backs to me, so I couldn't read their fucking lips.
Who in the world is Alice Esposito?
“You have a month.”
I turned around quickly at the sound of Israel’s father’s voice.
“Come again?” I asked.
He glared at me. “You’ve got a month to move out of my son’s place.”
I blinked. “And you really think you have that authority over me.”
He removed a piece of paper from his tuxedo pocket. “Here.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a contract. Short and sweet.”
I furrowed my brow as I plucked the contract out of his hand. And when I unfolded it to read the first page, I felt the breath of my lungs leave.
“What in the world?” I asked.
“It’s a simple contract. I know your family has cast you aside. I know you have no one and nowhere to go. This contract guarantees you twenty million dollars to be granted in your name along with a separate purchase of any house you could ever want anywhere in the world.”
I slowly looked up at him. “Are you kidding me right now?”
“No strings attached, no secrets, no funny business.”
I blinked. “You want to give me twenty million dollars and buy me some private island just so I’ll leave and let you marry Israel off to someone he’s not happy with?”
“Do you honestly think he’s happy with you?”
“He could be.”
He raised both dark eyebrows. “You’re done playing house with my son. I don’t know if you have a plan in the works or if you’re simply leeching off him until you can get back on your feet. But I won’t stand for it. That’s my final offer to you, and it’s a good one. You can start a whole new life with something like that.”
She could. She really could. “I love your son, Mr. Rossi.”
His eyes hardened. “Then, if you love him, give him a life that’s at least a little easier on him in the long run. Because the last thing my hard-working son should have to deal with is to come home and wonder if the woman on the other end of the door is still thinking about killing him.”
I shoved the contract back at him. “I would never. I love him. And he’s going to love me. You’ll see.”
“You’re no longer welcome in this family, Miss Moretti. I suggest you take this contract—”
“I won’t.”
He nodded. “Very well. Then, I’ll be in touch with your uncle shortly.”
I snarled. “For what reason?”
He slid the contract back into his tuxedo. “To let his minions know where you are, of course. You know, like I did last time.”
I felt the world around me come to a grinding halt. “Like—like what?”
His father walked away. “Enjoy your time while you have it, Miss Moretti.”
“Like what?” My shrill shriek sounded above the crowd, and the entire party stopped to look at me. I peered over at Israel, who stared at me with an expression I couldn't read. I felt anger within me bubbling. I felt my frustration mounting. I felt my heart rate skyrocketing as blood pumped through my ears, drowning up the rest of the sound around me.
Then, I rolled my shoulders back and stood tall.
His father came close to me. “You better watch that voice of yours in this party. It’s for my wife. And if you ruin it, you’ll have me to deal with too.”
I held my chin high. “You don’t want what’s best for your son. You want what’s best for your empire.”
“My son is that empire. I would never expect a woman with no family and no children to ever understand that concept.”
The party slowly picked back up as I swallowed hard. “Israel’s my family now. Even if he doesn’t see it. But I know he does. I know he loves me, even if he won’t say it right now.”
“You’ll kill him, just like you were planning to do in the first place.”
“Let me tell you something, Mr. Rossi. I’ve had all sorts of chances over the past few months to kill your son. To poison him. Or stab him. Or smother him. I’ve had every chance to turn his own damn gun on him and go through with what my uncle wanted me to do. What he groomed me to do without my permission, mind you. And not once have I ever even considered it.”
“You considered it enough to marry him, and that’s betrayal enough for me.”
“Your son had every chance to let me die, too, you know.”
He blinked. “What?”
I nodded. “The warehouse fire? I was inside it. He saved me. Just like when those three men you and my uncle sent after us, came into our home—”
“His home.”
“Our home,” I reiterated, “and defiled it. That man was about to rape me, Mr. Rossi. Rape me and then kill me. And your son saved me from it. He could have easily let me die and be rid of all this nonsense, but he chose not to. Want to take a guess as to why?”
His nostrils flared. “Sign the fucking contract, Bonnie. Otherwise, I will kill you myself.” Then, he stalked off back to his wife’s side, while people at the party still glanced at me.
I slowly turned back around to find Israel, but he was gone. Him and Alice. I gazed around the crowd, trying to see if I could spot them. But I couldn’t.
“Israel?” I called out.
I set my drink down and wove my way through the party, trying to figure out where in the world he had gotten off to. “Israel!”
I walked back out into the hallway and looked both ways. I checked the bathrooms as well as the front desk to see if maybe they had seen him. Maybe he’d gone up to the room? Maybe he
