Page 62 of Always

“I just don’t trust you!” Anika cried.

She hadn’t meant to say it, but there it was.

“You’re charming and you’re complimentary, and you do and say all the right things. But I don’t think you know me, not really, and I don’t know you. I can’t see inside of you.”

“Youdon’t trustme,”Marco said in disbelief. “When I’m the one that bumped into your lover outside your office this morning. Don’t tell me there’s nothing between you, because I saw his face when I told him that you and I were going to be married.”

“What?” Anika cried. “When did you say that?”

“I spoke to him,” Marco said, “before he went inside. I told him I proposed, and he looked devastated. So don’t lie to me and tell me that you’re just friends.”

“You had no right to say that,” Anika said, her voice low and furious.

Marco laughed bitterly. “I’ve told my father too,” he said. “Should I go upstairs and tell him you’ve changed your mind? What a lovely thing for him to hear in his last moments.”

“That’s not fair,” Anika said, tears welling in her eyes. “I told you I needed time. I never promised you.”

“Well, you might want to rethink that,” Marco said, “because I don’t think your billionaire boyfriend is quite the fallback plan you seem to think he is. He only wants revenge, you know that don’t you? He wants to prove he could have you back if he wanted. It won’t last. He’ll drop you the minute he’s got his fix.”

“You don’t know anything about him,” Anika said.

“Of course I do!” Marco said. “He’s a man!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Anika said. “I told you, this has nothing to do with James. You and I aren’t right for each other.”

“You need to reconsider,” Marco said.

“I know how I feel,” Anika replied.

“Fine, but circumstances change,” Marco said cryptically.

“What does that mean?”

“You may not be in a good position soon. I know what your family’s finances are like.”

“Are you threatening me because you’ll own the majority of Bennet Knight soon?”

“I already own it,” Marco said. “My father signed it over to me as soon as I came to the city.”

“That doesn’t change anything,” Anika said.

“It changes everything. I was going to keep this quiet until after the wedding, until after my father passed...but I’ve sold it.”

She stared at him in disbelief.

“You can’t,” she said.

“It’s already done. In the articles of incorporation, it states that anyone with more than eighty percent ownership can unilaterally initiate a sale. Your father passed that mark five years ago when he kept selling stock to us.”

“I thought you wanted to make the company great again. I thought you wanted to impress your father.”

“I did,” Marco said, “I did make it great. I streamlined the staff, I secured brand ambassadors, I doubled profitability, I have two more stores ready to open. All in all, I raised the value of the company by nearly thirty percent. Which makes it the perfect time to sell.”

“That’s not what Dominic would want,” Anika said.

“He wants me to make a success of myself,” Marco said, “and I have. He’s only clung to Bennet Knight for so long out of pity for your family. I wasn’t planning to tell him about the sale, but it doesn’t matter now. His doctor said he won’t last the night.”

Anika sat in stunned silence. She couldn’t believe what Marco was saying, but she also didn’t think he was lying just to hurt her.

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