Page 2 of Cruel Love
“I wasn’t expecting to be here either,” I muttered, doing the buttonsto my suit jacket up and ignoring Welch’s outstretched hand. “I need a girl.”
He gaped at me like I’d asked him to cut out his own kidney andhand it to me. “You…You need a girl? For what?”
I glared at him. Welch knew better than to question currentand future board members of Legion. His ranking in the society meant he wasn’t privileged to the information that went on in the inner circle.But I needed to keep him sweet. My attendance was outside of theauthorized graduation day, and Welch would be within his rights to refuse me access to the house, and I’d have to wait five more months until the next scheduled graduation.
I didn’t have time to wait until then.
“I need a wife,” I replied, keeping my tone neutral even though thewords tasted bitter on my tongue.
I didn’t want a wife, but I needed an heir. Don’t get me wrong, I metplenty of women, but none of whom I could tolerate for more than one date, and a night fucking their brains out. They were always too needy for my liking. Too spoiled, and demanding.
I had a rule. One night, and no repeats, no matter if the womanturned out to be a diamond in bed. I didn’t do feelings and relationships. Nothing my father could use to manipulate me.
It had worked for me, right up until a month ago when my fatherdecided he’d had enough of me fucking around, and delivered me an ultimatum; marry within the month, and get my new wife pregnant with my heirwithin three months.
If I failed to meet his terms, he threatened to cut me off from everything I’d spent my life working toward, vowing to hand the top spot in the organization to my prick of a cousin, Elijah, who paraded around like he was some kind of god because of the family name.
I wished I could say my father was bluffing, but he didn’t makeempty threats. I couldn’t let him hand the Carter legacy to Elijah. The prick would fuck it up within weeks, and every person linked to the society would either wind up dead, or in prison for the rest of their lives.
Reluctantly, I agreed to his terms, and for the next two weeks, Iwent on date after date trying to find a woman I could stand to be around for more than an hour. The problem was, most women saw a life with me as a way for them to live in the limelight. To have whatever they wanted without having to work for it, to have me at their beck and call, and to brag to their friends that they landed the millionaire bachelor who never wanted to settle down.
Every date left me in the foulest of moods. If I was being forcedinto a marriage I didn’t want, I at least wanted it to be with someone who wouldn’t bother me. Someone who would blend into the background, speak only when spoken to, and let me fuck her for my pleasure whenever, and however, I damn well pleased, and without argument.
And then it occurred to me. My father hadn’t specified that Ineeded to marry a woman from the society, or howlongI was to stay married. When I shook his hand and agreed to his terms, there was no mention that my future wife had to be a member of our world.
I knew the danger I would be putting her in by selecting a womanwho wasn’t from the society, but I didn’t give two fucks. I wasn’t marrying her to spend the rest of my life in love with her. I was marrying her for the sole purpose of her having my child.
What happened to her after that wasn’t my problem.
After several more disastrous dates, I finally accepted the answerthat was staring me in the face. If I wanted a wife who would be practically invisible, there was only one place I could find her.
Peartree House was my only hope. I was confident I’d walkaway with the girl who would become my wife, and if there wasn’t one who met my expectations, then I’d just have to pick one of the empty vessels and train her myself.
Chapter 2
Willow
Excited whispers filled the room as the girls rushed to make theirbeds, and ensure their allocated space was tidy. Each one knew of the consequences if Ms. Milligan found even the smallest item out of place.
Much like the girls, I wondered what the big announcement was.Unlikethe girls, I remained quiet. I wasn’t allowed to speak to them unless I was relaying an order from Ms. Milligan, the woman I was assigned to. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t desperate to join in with their wild theories as to what was happening.
The day started like any other. I woke before sunrise, dressingquickly, and heading down to the kitchen to prepare Ms. Milligan’s breakfast. After serving it to her in her quarters, I gathered her dirty washing from the day before, ready for it to be cleaned. When she disappeared to shower and dress for the day, I scurried around her room, making the bed, and ensuring the room was spotless.
I’d been Ms. Milligan’s assistant for eight years, although assistantwas probably the wrong word.Slave. That seemed more appropriate for what I was to her. Whatever she needed doing, I was the one who did it.
I didn’t mind so much. In ways, it could have been worse. I couldhave been one of the girls who were being groomed for a life of hell.
Halfway through the morning, Director Welch had summoned Ms.Milligan to a meeting, and when she returned, she wore a face of thunder. I was used to her foul moods, but I’d never seen her as outraged as she was then.
She ordered me to gather all the girls who would be attending thenext graduation, the girls who had turned eighteen, and would be chosen to go to their new homes thinking they were going to be living the rest of their life in luxury.
If only they knew the truth.
The truth that had haunted my dreams for years after I found outwhat really happened to the girls after graduation.
As instructed, I’d gone from class to class, gathering the girls andtelling them to prepare themselves for an inspection in their bedroom.
While there were around one hundred girls at Peartree House, onlytwenty of them were eligible. The rest of the girls were of different ages, the youngest being a group of girls aged ten, the age I was when I arrived at the house.
