Chapter 122
KESTER
I’ve been on my phone all fucking day.
Texting Calling
Putting out fires and lighting new ones.
Ensuring everything was under control and went as planned while preparing for this damned dinner.
Everything had to work out fine. And soon enough. Because the sooner it happened, the quicker I’d get back with Kasmine and fix what was shattering between us.
I was losing myself. Slowly unraveling, I swear it.
With the steps I have taken and with June’s promise to me the other day, I was certain the engagement ring wouldn’t sit too long on June’s finger before I call it off.
I also had other plans to make sure King Mellors would not be able to undo the help he was about to render now when I call off the engagement. All of that is in the pipeline.
It was already time for the dinner.
My least favorite hour tonight.
I checked the time again on my phone, locking the screen before the image of Kasmine’s naked body, which I was looking at moments ago, forced me to go into her room this minute and bury my cock inside her until I felt sore and worn out.
She looked like a goddess of temptation in that photo that I had taken on the first night I took her virginity. Fuck. With those memories, I could die a happy man.
Who could have ever thought that I would be the one to take my little sister’s virginity after fantasizing about it for so long?
Fuck. My cock was already straining in my pants, desperate for a release. I was so hard that I could shatter glass with the tip of my cock.
I’d been tempted–more than once–to go upstairs, push open her door, and just… see her.
Touch her.
Maybe if we fucked, it’d fix whatever the hell cracked between us the last few days.
Maybe I’d hear her say, “I hate you,” but I’d know it meant “don’t leave.”
But I couldn’t.
I didn’t trust myself to face her.
Not when I didn’t have the words to explain why I had to do what I was about to do.
Why June had to be the public face–for now.
Why I needed this deal with King Mellors to push through first before I could finally call it off and return everything to its rightful place.
She wouldn’t understand.
Charter 122
But she would soon.
Texhaled and turned to the mirror.
The black shirt I wore was crisp, the top button undone just enough to make the look feel effortless. I’d rolled op the sleeves halfway without thinking
But the ink on my arms stared back at me, reminding me of the one person whose thoughts I was trying so hard to Ignore for the night.
I ran my fingers through my hair.
“You’ve got this under control. I kept chanting like a mantra over and over again..
But a knock shattered the silence for me, and my breath instantly caught.
I froze.
For a split second, I thought it was Kasmine… Probably coming to curse me out. To slap me. To beg me. To pull me in by the collar and kiss me until the world outside stopped mattering
My pulse jumped..
Then the door creaked open, and my face turned sour.
June. In the black dress I asked her to wear. God, I never knew she’d take it seriously. This woman is something
else.
The disappointment hit me in the chest.
I turned away, jaw tightening, trying to keep the storm inside from spilling out
Couldn’t she just give it a rest? I was beyond disappointed in myself that my disinterest in this woman wasn’t obvious enough to make her question certain decisions she’d been making lately… Decisions like visiting unannounced and barging into my room whenever she wanted.
I was one second away from telling her to fuck off and wait downstairs like everyone else, but her next words stopped me.
“Good news, baby!” She chirped as she stepped in, her dress sparkling obnoxiously under the warm lights.
I swallowed back the irritation and looked at her over my shoulder.
“Go on,” I said flatly. “Say it.”
She beamed like this was the happiest night of her life.
She didn’t even see how tightly I was gripping the edge of the dresser. She didn’t see that I was already a thousand miles away from this moment.
“King Mellors just confirmed,” she said, holding up her phone. “He’s not only going to announce his investment tonight–he’s making you his official partner in the east wing project!” She giggled.
I stilled.
My brows furrowed.
“Already?”
She nodded, eyes dancing. “He says he doesn’t need to wait till next month anymore. He’s ready to sign. That is
after I convinced him like you wanted. He even mentioned possibly inviting your parents to the coun
next month.”
I looked down at the floor for a second.
Fuck
That moved faster than I thought.
“With this, you’ll be in the big books once again, and your favestors will come running back to you, including
Wescor.”
I didn’t expect Mellors to be this eager.
Although, the partnership was only meant to be the first public move–to test the waters, to show the Westor and Belinzo crowd and the other import lords that I wasn’t radioactive. It also meant that my plans were almost at its
climax.
Which meant I had a shorter time to pull out cleanly than I thought.
Which meant-
Why aren’t you smiling?” she asked, her voice suddenly softer, her face dropping into a frownL
Hooked up, forcing a half–smile I didn’t mean.
“Just thinking about how quickly things are moving,” I muttered.
June walked closer, her hand reaching to adjust the collar of my shirt with a wide smile on her deep red lips.
I barely held myself still. I didn’t want a repeat of what happened the other day. Kasmine couldn’t see us like this ever again. She might never forgive me if she does
“You’re going to be the man everyone talks about after tonight, baby,” she whispered. “This will change everything”
She paused, then added, “And I’m glad I’m the one beside you when it does”
I didn’t respond.
Because in the comer of my mind, all I could see was Kasmine and I finally having the life I always wanted.
But, one more plan had to be set in motion.
“June?” I called, and she hummed a response, her hands still straightening out my sleeves as she tilted her head upward to look into my eyes. “There is something else I want you to do for me!
Her eyes lit up, hopeful, like a child catching the glint of a long–awaited gift. She thought I was about to hand her the future she kept fantasizing about. The one where she played queen beside me.
-I want you to make a press appearance tomorrow,” I continued, “Talk about tonight’s deal. About what your father did.”
Her face brightened with the kind of pride I hadn’t earned—and didn’t want
“I need you to make it clear that this move had nothing to do with us getting married,” I said, slicing straight through the balloon she’d been inflating “Tell them that Mellors made this decision because I’ve earned it. Not because of the engagement. It’s about my work. Not the ring. Not the fucking engagement. Just. My. Work.”
Her smile faltered. She blinked once, slowly, her lashes fluttering like the wings of a bird that had just realized the cage was still locked
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Chapter 122
“My business stays separate from my personal life,” I continued, “I don’t want anyone thinking I used this marriage as a fucking elevator to get where I’m going. This win is mine. Do you understand?”
A beat of silence.
For a second, I thought she might protest, but the look in her eyes shifted, the wheels turning in her mind
I saw uncertainty slipping into her features like a draft under a door she thought was sealed.
“That’s… what you want?” she asked softly, like maybe she wasn’t sure anymore what part she was playing in this grand performance.
“Yeah,” I said, “Make sure the press lows. This isn’t aboin us. This is about what I’ve built. What I bled for. Nothing else.”
She hesitated–of course, she did. This wasn’t the fairy tale ending she had been dressing herself up for.
I know she thought I’d ask her to make a press appearance announcing the role she played in helping me solve my crisis.
Funny.
But like every time before, she swallowed it. She never argued. She folded herself into the lines I gave her.
“Okay,” she finally said, nodding, “I’ll make sure it’s clear. It’s not about us. It’s all about your hard work”
“Good,” I said in an even tone, “I want this to be clean. You understand?”
She stepped closer, her hand lingering on my arm as if seeking comfort, but I barely felt it.
“Go downstairs,” I told her in a quieter voice, “I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
She didn’t say anything more; she just gave me a smile that I knew she thought was comforting before slowly walking away.
