Page 73 of Twice as Forbidden

“Now, she’s his wife,” I say, my voice tight. “Back then, she was my girlfriend. Burt was in love with her. She was the one thing he wanted more than anything. I guess part of his plan was to figure out how he’d get her.”

Georgia stares at me, confusion clouding her expression. “What do you mean?”

I sigh at the weight of the memory. “Let’s just say, once she found out I was no longer going to be rich, she wasted no time jumping into bed with Burt.”

Georgia’s eyes widen, and she gasps. “She didn’t.”

“She claimed she was pregnant, and they got married in a lavish estate in the Napa Vineyards, courtesy of his first payout.”

“What a conniving bitch,” Georgia mutters, the anger in her voice stirring something inside me. “What happened next?”

I rest my back against the dresser. “While he was making millions, I watched, waited, and studied his every move. The program was engineered with built-in milestones—specific points at which the system would become outdated and require critical updates. We meticulously prepared for future technological advancements, ensuring our expertise remained indispensable. By embedding scheduled update intervals into the system’s design, we guaranteed clients would continually need our services, forcing them to invest more in maintenance and upgrades over time.

“It was always a matter of time before he’d require the next phase. Without it, his program would become obsolete. I kept a close watch on him as he poured his money into hiring coders, all of whose attempts ended in failure. As I wrapped up my master’s, he reached out, claiming he wanted to make amends. In reality, all he needed was for me to complete phase two. We both understood he couldn’t move forward without my expertise.”

“I hope you told him to fuck off.”

I hold her gaze, a surge of pride mixed with satisfaction in my eyes. “I did more than that, Peach. I sold the code to his biggest competitor, crippling his business in one fell swoop. His program had become outdated and resistant to progress, unable to adapt to the fast-paced demands of our industry. In this field, if you can’t innovate, you drown. Meanwhile, I launched Blake Industries. My program not only creates designs for raw materials but also manufactures them with a speed and precision no human could match.”

She raises an eyebrow, impressed but curious. “Did Burt ever try to come after you?”

He shakes his head. “He couldn’t. He hasn’t. Until now.”

“He has Vince doing his dirty work.”

"Seems that way," I confirm. "It’s not just that, though. Someone’s been tampering with our software. Everything’s been fixed, but the machines were glitching, and let me tell you, that’s nearly impossible—unless you know what you’re doing.”

“Burt?”

“Vince. Turns out, he never went to Harvard.”

“What do you mean?”

“He lied about it all. He’s been learning code, trying to sabotage me to level up his father’s system. I guess he thinks getting access to the ledger will revive his father’s company.”

“But if the updated program was sold, the ledger shouldn’t matter.”

“You’re correct. But Burt and his son don’t know that.” I slip my hand into my jacket pocket and retrieve the drive.

“What is that?”

“It holds the master files for the coding, but more importantly, it contains extremely sensitive information. The kind that, if it got out, wouldn’t just ruin me… it would take down a hell of a lot more than that.”

“Oh, God. I—I didn’t even know about the drive.” Panic rises in her voice. “He just spoke about the ledger. I would’ve never done it if I knew—”

“Shhh… I know. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Jackson, it does. He may not have gotten what he wanted, but he meant what he said. He’s going to follow through with this threat.” Her eyes meet mine, worry still clouding her expression. “He’s going to tell Noah about us. He’s going to hate you. And this will all be my fault. I’ve caused all—”

I’m on her in seconds, cupping her jaw and forcing her eyes to mine. “Don’t say that.”

“But it’s true. I’ve caused such a mess—”

I press against her shoulders, guiding her to lie back. I settle over her, brushing my hand up her side, reveling in the way her body shivers at my touch. My cock instantly swells, pressing against her leggings. I desperately want to thrust deep inside her sweet pussy, but I have to force myself to focus. She has to hear everything I have to say. “You’re done blaming yourself, you hear me? I won’t listen to another word of it. This will be the last time I say this: this isnot—on—you.” She averts her gaze, but I stop her with a touch to her chin, pulling her eyes back to me. “Do you hear me?” She doesn’t immediately respond, so I tighten my grip. “Answer me, Peach.”

“I hear you.”

“If I had the chance to rewind time, I’d make the same fucking choice. You’ve become my lifeline.” Her mouth rests in a gasp, and I fight not to kiss it. “This started off as a game—an erotic game I was willing to play because I couldn’t stop fantasying about shoving my cock in every one of your holes. I’ve wanted to own you since I found you in my bedroom. To ruin you, make you mine. Now that I’ve had a taste of your body, your beauty, your mind, I sure as fuck don’t plan on letting you go.”

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