Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 22269 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22269 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
“Then, other than bringing that woman back, why are you here?” Daniel asks, interrupting his sister.
“Well, now that I know Isabel, here, is mine. I’m here to claim her and bring her home.”
“Are you insane?” Isabel shrieks.
Daniel pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes as if he’s asking The Man Upstairs for patience. I just lean back, grinning at my wife. She stares at me, plotting my murder. I’m not sure I can remember being happier. It’s confusing, but true.
“Now, Pookie—”
“Stop with the weird names!” she orders, standing up, her face red. “You are not claiming me. I’m not going anywhere with you. Even if we don’t get an annulment—which, mark my words, Sammy, we are! I—”
“Daniel, can you leave and let me have a moment alone with my wife?” I ask politely, standing up.
“My brother is going nowhere! You are!”
“Daniel?” I prompt.
“I think it’d be best if you calm down, Izzy. The two of you need to speak calmly to decide the best way to bring this situation to an end.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am. Samuel, I’ll give you twenty minutes. Do not try to take my sister—you won’t get out the door. If you hurt her in any way, you won’t be leaving here alive.”
“You’d risk war to protect your sister?”
“In a heartbeat. I am not my father. Greed does not rule me. My sister is, and always will be, my priority.”
The man doesn’t blink. My respect for him blossoms. I may have thought little of him in the beginning, but it’s clear I’ve misjudged him—and his father, for that matter. I’m realizing that Juan Navarro was a greedy bastard. Isabel likely thinks I’m the same. There’s a lot that the two of us need to learn about each other.
“Daniel—”
“Talk to him, Isabel. I won’t let you be hurt or railroaded. You know that.” I watch as the man walks over and kisses his sister’s forehead. For a moment, jealousy pushes through me. It comes out of nowhere, blindsiding me. Then I hear him whisper. “Yo siempre te protegeré.”
They probably think that I don’t understand his words—or maybe they just don’t care. I almost feel like an intruder here as they talk. It’s clear that these two are close in a way that I can’t even fathom. Then again, I never had anyone close. I trust my uncles, but I wouldn’t say we had a loving relationship. We have a mutual respect and a trust that has been earned between us.
“Te amo, Daniel.”
That jealousy from moments ago springs up once more. I imagine Isabela whispering those words to me. Just the thought of it makes my cock twitch in my slacks.
“Right back at you, Izzy,” he responds with a smile.
Once Daniel exits, the tension in the room thickens to the point it affects the air. I watch every move she makes. She slowly sits back down, taking a couple of minutes before looking at me.
“You don’t like me. I don’t like you. Why are you even doing this?” she finally asks.
“Correction. We don’t know one another, Isabel. I think it’s past time that we do.”
“Why? I’m not staying married to you.”
“The contract, which has your signature, says you will. You freely agreed to everything in it, Isabel.”
“Nothing involving my father was freely done, Samuel.”
I frown, tapping down any emotion I feel. “Regardless, you signed the contract. I think we should see if we can work this out so that both of us are happy.”
“It’s impossible. I’d be miserable in Russia. I love being a doctor. I’ve worked hard to get where I am with my career. I don’t want to move to another country, trying to scrape my way to the top once more. I also refuse to leave my brother.”
“You had to know this day was coming, Isabel.”
“I didn’t. I figured when the year was up, we’d meet and agree to end everything. At the very least, I thought you would agree to keep going like we have been. I still don’t see why you’re trying to insist you’re here to claim me. You don’t like me. We both know that. The feeling is quite mutual in case you were wondering.”
“I’m here to propose a deal,” I respond, not taking my eyes off her. “I’ll be here to pick you up tomorrow. You’ll live with me for the next six months. If we can’t find common ground, then and only then, will I agree to this annulment.”
“Are you not hearing me? I don’t want to be married to you.”
“Too bad. You already are. You agreed to that with your signature. If you fail to uphold your end of the contract, I can and will seek retribution. Doing that will affect your brother directly. I don’t think you want that, Isabel.”
“This isn’t my brother’s fault. Besides, he has as many alliances as you do—if not more.”