Page 19 of Cruel Revenge

“That doesn’t matter, Sky. You know that you would have to move in with this man at some point. You’d have to make sure that nobody outside of me, you, and Joshua knew that the marriage was fake, otherwise this entire thing could fall apart. Don’t you think that’s a bit much to be dealing with?”

“If you’re actually asking what I think for once, then I think this is too good of an offer to pass up.” I sigh and hold out my hand for the bottle, taking a swig when he gives it to me. “I’m thirty-three, Aid. I’m old enough to make my decisions, and I want to make this one.”

His tone is cold and distant as he glowers at me. “Look at what happened with Ellie and Sean. I’m not going to have you go through the same thing.”

“Ellie and Sean are happy now. They have their entire lives together and from what I’ve seen, it’s a great one. They love each other.” I put the bottle to the side and stand up, pacing to the window and back again to get rid of some of the pent-up energy building. “This is just business.”

“It’s not just business, though. This requires something personal. Something that you shouldn’t have to give up.”

Aiden stuffs his hands deep into his pockets, giving me a stern look that does absolutely nothing.

I stop and place my hands on my hips, quirking an eyebrow.

“This is the best chance we have at getting the family back to being as successful as we were. This isn’t the Dark Ages either. You don’t get to decide who my fake husband is.”

The corner of his mouth pulls into the ghost of a smile. “I can’t believe we’re standing here and having this argument right now.”

“I can. When have we ever had a discussion that didn’t end in arguing?” I grin before turning and striding over to one of the shelves with pictures of us as kids on it. “We used to get along more back then.”

“Yeah, well, that was well before we had siblings to raise and an empire to run. It certainly didn’t turn either of us into the most pleasant people in the world to be around.”

I snort and grab one of the pictures with our mom and dad in it. “You know, sometimes it’s hard to think that this is what they wanted for us. I know Dad always wanted us to take over for the family business, but with everything the Rinaldos have put us through in the last few months, do you think he would’ve ever thought about throwing in the towel?”

“Not a chance,” Aiden says, his tone gruff.

I put the picture down and turn back to him. “Do you?”

Guilt flashes across his face. “Every now and then. Mainly when I think about what could happen to Summer or Jade. They’re both young and relatively sheltered from all this.”

“I think you’d be surprised to find out how much the two of them actually get into trouble.”

“I’m sure I wouldn’t. They were little hellions when they were kids.” He sits down back behind his desk, shuffling more of thepapers to the side. “Now, back to this deal. What’s really in it for you? I know it’s more than just the family business.”

“Logan finally gets what’s coming to him. You know nothing is going to enrage him more than realizing I’m married to his brother and our family is untouchable. Forcing him to close the case will definitely make him look bad and then, on top of everything else, he’s going to lose the massive promotion he’s been gunning for over the years.”

“So, this is about revenge for you.” He gives me a flat look, steepling his fingers beneath his chin. “I don’t like this, Sky. I think you’re leading with anger again, and you should be taking the time to think this through.”

“Iamthinking this through.” I sit down across from him. “You see that, too. You need to be okay with this, because whether you like it or not, I don’t need your permission to pretend to be married to a man. Hell, even if I wanted to run away with that man to Vegas tomorrow, I still wouldn’t need your permission.”

A dark cloud takes over his expression. “That’s where you’re wrong. You do need it. I’m still in charge here.”

“And this family wouldn’t have become anything without me helping you build it up after Dad died. Don’t you dare forget everything I’ve given up for this family either.”

He studies me for a moment before leaning back in his chair and kicking his heels up on his desk. “Fine. You want to go through with this, then it’s on your head when it fails. Every mess that this brings is going to be your responsibility to fix. I’m not getting involved with any of it.”

“Really?”

This isn’t what I was expecting at all. I was sure that Aiden would put up more of a fight. He’s not the kind to give up easily at all.

Wait. Does he believe that I can do this, or is he just waiting for this to go up in flames so he can step in and say I told you so?

Either way, I’m not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Aiden sighs, feet dropping to the floor. “If this starts going south and you get out of the marriage immediately, then I will step in and clean things up. But if you’re not honest about everything going on with this, you’re on your own.”

“That’s fair.” I stride over to his desk and ruffle his hair.

He swats my hands away, glaring up at me. “If this is only about revenge, Sky, then you better make that bastard pay.”

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