“Fine.” He clenched his teeth, wanting to beat the crap out of the man in front of him. There wasn’t much difference between them in age, just twenty years. Liam was fifty-five years old while he was thirty-five years old.
Unlike the women in their world, he didn’t have to marry at a young age. Most of their daughters were often betrothed by the age of twelve and married at either eighteen or twenty-one.
Alex was twenty-one, and she was nothing like the women of his world. She didn’t bow her head or try to be hidden. She held herself tall and proud. There was also defiance within her gaze. His father had told him of her denial to take the virginity test and how Liam refused to enforce it.
Liam stated that his daughter was a virgin and he believed her.
Roman didn’t. He also hadn’t fucked her either, hadn’t consummated their marriage. He expected Alex to tell her father they hadn’t had sex, but she still kept quiet.
He didn’t know what her game was, but he intended to find out.
No one took him for a fool. When it came to Alex, he already had people in place to find out her weaknesses. So far, she showed none. She had also not proven to be a liar either, which … baffled him.
Liam chuckled. “Just fine.”
“I think we should talk business,” Lucas said, interrupting. “I’ve gotten word—”
“Business is for the morning where booze hasn’t been so freely offered,” Liam said. “Do you think I got to where I am by taking the words of drunken men?” His gaze turned back to Roman. “I have it on good authority that you’ve been with Denise.”
Roman tensed up. He didn’t know how Liam knew of his ex-lover, or her name, and to be honest, he wasn’t happy with it either.
He kept his personal life very private, and his lovers were always protected.
Since his marriage, he hadn’t enjoyed another woman, not even his wife. He’d been so focused on dealing with the fallout from taking an outsider as a wife. Alex was … so different.
She didn’t know their customs and often just stood by herself, ignoring everyone, or being ignored, he wasn’t quite sure.
What was with her? He couldn’t read her.
Women like Denise, his ex-lover, were interested in power and money. They only wanted what was best for themselves. When it came to Alex, he wasn’t sure what it was. He also couldn’t find out the relevant information he needed to know more about her. Her father kept it all under wraps.
No one knew anything, and that pissed him off.
Whenever he had a computer guy onto something, there was always some glitch or problem that stopped him from finding out everything there was about his wife.
“My son wouldn’t ruin his marriage vows,” Lucas said.
That wasn’t entirely correct. His father had pulled him to one side and said that if he ever needed to, there were always mistresses who would help deal with his needs. Lucas, besides having a wife, had three mistresses.
Roman hadn’t been interested in going to another woman. Being married wasn’t what he expected. First of all, he had to make sure Liam didn’t find out he hadn’t actually consummated the marriage.
The only piece of information he could truly get was that Liam Smith loved his daughter. Adored her. She was treasured by him, and that made her an interesting pawn in this game.
Liam Smith was an ally, and his father had told him to treat Alex with respect. He had no interest in hurting a woman.
“I had dinner with Denise at her request, two weeks ago. She had a problem and needed me to fix it.”
Her boss was getting handsy, and with his and Alex’s marriage announced in the press, people assumed the women in his life were now easy targets.
He hadn’t seen Denise for a long time, and they had ended things rather amicably.
Roman finished off his whiskey as Liam glared at him. “My daughter has not returned. Go and find her.”
In his father’s home, he didn’t expect to take orders from anyone but Lucas. He had a quick glance at his father and saw the nod. It annoyed him to even be seen doing as that bastard asked.
Still, he turned on his heel and made his way out of the main party, going along the corridor and coming to a pause when he caught sight of Antonio, one of his best friends, with his wife.
Antonio attempted to put his arm around Alex, but she immediately stood up. She hadn’t seen Roman yet. “You know what, I think it’s time I headed back to the party. It was nice meeting you, Antonio.” She stepped away, and the moment she caught sight of him, she stopped. “Roman.”