With This Ring

Furious, I turned around, and my hand went on a rampage of its own. It struck him, hard across the face.

Everything stopped.

My blood felt like it was steaming in my veins, my heart was pounding hard enough for me to hear it, the breath, going in and out of my nostrils came fast and furious.

The blow had turned his face aside and he held it still in that position as though he could not believe what had just happened. Neither could I.

There were innumerable lines in this world that would have been forgivable to cross. Hitting Maxim was not one of them. I turned around then and pounded my fist against the emergency stop button. It was only after I did that I realized what the button did. It didn’t stop the elevator to let you out, but stopped it to keep you trapped. I was losing my mind. I punched the stop button again.

“You are a very problematic woman,” he said from behind. “All this because I gave you the million dollars that I promised I would?”

“Ever since I’ve known you Maxim, I’ve truly hated you, but this time around you’ve really behaved despicably.”

He straightened and adjusted the sleeve of his suit jacket. “You almost killed me? What do you call that?”

“What you deserve,” I retorted. “How I wish that I hadn’t missed your heart. Oh, hang on. I didn’t miss. You just don’t have a heart.”

It was impossible not to see the rage that was burning in his eyes.

“You’re a hypocrite, Freya. You say one thing with your mouth and then do another. Why exactly are you offended about this money? Wasn’t this what we discussed? What you requested? In fact, what you need to get your business off the ground? If you weren’t so fucking proud you’d take it and do something great with your life. For both you and Britney. You’re holding her back, Freya.”

I couldn’t respond. My entire body was trembling. I wasn’t offended. I was hurt.

He took a step closer to me. “You’ve just hit me,” he said in a tone that sent shivers down my spine. “A lot of people have been killed for much less.”

“Are you threatening me?” I choked out.

He locked his gaze with mine. “We’re both vulnerable now. We’ve now both been backed into corners that we never want to be in. So let me ask you… why does this offend you so much? Why does it hurt?”

My head fell. He might as well have been asking me if I had feelings for him. He took another step closer to me, and I staggered backwards until my back hit the steel wall.

“Maxim,” I breathed, hating how weak I sounded… how spineless. But in that moment, the earnestness in his eyes… it felt as if something invaluable was being dangled in front of me. I told myself that it could be a trick. If I reached out to try to grab it, it would be snatched away and I would be mocked.

So why wasn’t I breathing… and why did I want it so bad?

“Answer me,” he demanded. “You have feelings for me, otherwise the money wouldn’t have hurt so much. You gave me a piece of your heart when you slept with me, didn’t you? You became mine… solely mine.”

It felt like I had been hit on the head with a block. All I could do was pretend to be unaffected. To scoff. “And you? Do I have a piece of your heart?”

“Yes, you do,” he said softly. “The question is would that be enough for you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m not an ordinary man and I won’t give you an ordinary life. There will be bodyguards at the zoo.”

The elevator stopped then, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I glanced to see that we had arrived at his floor. I swallowed the lump in my throat. The doors swished open. He walked out of the elevator and stood looking at me.

I didn’t do anything and the doors closed on him. I told myself I had done the right thing.

Chapter Sixty-Two

Freya

“Britney, what was your first big dream?” I asked.

I was standing by the window in our office, a steaming cup of coffee in my hands. Below, an elderly Asian woman was squatting by a corner of the street, with a cigarette in her hand. She was watching a dread-locked man playing a guitar.

“What?” Britney asked.

I turned around to see she was completely focused on her computer screen. She had not even heard me. “What was your first dream?” I asked again.

“Uh… other than being one of those kids Barney used to play with, I wanted to be a top chef. My mom was big on child labor so she had me in a helper tower from the minute I could well, stand. She had me mixing flour and cracking eggs and munching on dough. That’s why I grew up so chubby.”