Chapter 93.2

Chapter 93.2

[If you have questions, ask now. If not, we’re done here.]

Lorraine pressed her lips together, then let out a long sigh.

[I’ll accept your terms. Now hear mine.]

He crossed his arms and gave a curt nod.

[Go ahead.]

[Like tonight, we need to be seen in public a few more times before the wedding. You know how suspicious our parents are.]

André thought for a moment, then answered briefly.

[Twice. We’ll settle the dates later. Next.]

This time Lorraine pressed harder, her tone firm.

[The first is the MoMA special exhibition opening. The second, a performance at the Metropolitan Opera in Lincoln Center. We’ll sit in the Collins family’s Parterre box so everyone sees.]

[Opera? Three hours is too long. Isn’t there something shorter?]

[Show a little effort, André. Or bring work with you if you must.]

He exhaled heavily and nodded with reluctance.

[One more thing. The ring is Harry Winston. Emerald-cut diamond, E color, three carats. Anything bigger looks vulgar. That’s your deposit on this contract.]

[Deal.]

With the negotiations concluded, André signaled the waiter for the check. Then he lowered his voice, sharp as a threat.

[Lorraine. One more warning. If you so much as try to approach my woman, use her, or harm her, I’ll see both your life and your man’s buried upside down at the bottom of the Hudson. Conduct yourself accordingly.]

Lorraine glared at him, pale with fury.

[Bastard. You make me sick.]

Regret came crashing in. In trying to escape her parents’ grip, she wondered if she hadn’t thrown herself straight into the tiger’s den.

André gave a cold, derisive laugh.

[Tell me something I don’t know.]

—

By August, André had grown even busier, his work hours erratic.

After a string of late nights, he finally came home early one evening. Like a knight returning from years at war, he scooped Miran up at the front door and carried her straight to the bedroom. Startled, she pounded his back in protest.

“Wh-what kind of noble acts like this? So ungentlemanly—”

André snorted.

“My family’s been a line of brutish soldiers for generations. It suits me.”

He set her down on the bed, his austere face lit by a mischievous gleam. Then, as if to prove his words, he held her in a raw, shameless way.

After the storm of pleasure subsided, he stretched out with Miran sprawled across his chest, his hand moving lazily up and down her back. This was when he was at his most unguarded, and when questions were most likely to be answered.

Miran lifted her head slightly from his chest, meeting his eyes.

“André? You’ve seemed so busy at work lately. Is something going on?”

His hand paused, then he shrugged as if it were nothing.

“There’s an important meeting in September.”

Miran knew he never exaggerated. If he called it important, it could very well mean the company’s future was at stake.

“I see… You’re working so hard.”

She brushed her hand over his face, noticing how lean he looked. He turned his head just enough to press his lips against her palm, then fixed his gaze back on her.

“When it’s over, I’ll take some time off. Think about where you’d like to go.”

“Really?”

She jabbed his chest with her elbow and sat up, making him grunt, though a faint smile tugged at his lips.

“Yes.”

“How long?”

“Four days, including the weekend.”

“I don’t care where we go. If I’m with you, even staying home for four days straight would make me happy.”

She meant it. Lately, catching even a glimpse of André felt as rare as starlight, so just having him by her side was enough. He let out a small laugh and stroked her back again, slowly.

“…Let’s go to the Virgin Islands. I can check the site for the new resort while we’re there.”

“I don’t know where that is, but I’m in!”

Beaming, Miran answered, and André drew her close by the nape and kissed her.

She had already noticed the hard weight pressing insistently between her thighs. When he shifted and moved over her, she wound her legs around his waist. The drowsy calm ignited into fire all at once.

Miran decided to put off telling him about the Flushing video. With the looming meeting leaving him so tense that even his shoulders were rigid, she didn’t want to burden him with something so trivial. There would be time enough after it was over.