Page 50 of Safer Together
~ Chapter Twenty ~
Elliot
When Angela confessed that my foreman Dylan was the abusive ex from her past, my thoughts about the man swiftly changed. I wanted to cause him as much physical pain as possible.
Then, tonight she tells me that that poor excuse of a human being raped her too, and I saw red. I walked away from her, busying myself with the DVD cover and television remote, to ensure she didn’t see the caged animal from within, clawing so desperately to get out of me at that very moment, ready to kill someone.
I had such a need to rip into someone’s flesh and feel the blood pouring down his neck, to feel as though justice had been done, to defend my woman’s honor, to seek retribution, and to let all this rage out on that worthless piece of scum
I no longer wanted to hurt him, no, no, no. The feeling had morphed now, I needed to kill him, and it was going to be by my own two hands, that was for sure.
Then my Angel, sent to me as a gift from the big man up above, begged me not to hurt him, and I almost flipped out. Why the fuck was she defending him, protecting him even?
Then she explained the reasons why, and she had a point. That dirtbag wanted her money and look what he did to her in his effort to get his hands on it.
And if it’s money that he is after, he definitely wants mine, and I now believe one hundred percent that he hoped Angela would tell me the night of the Christmas party, in the hopes that I would lose my head and go after him. With so many witnesses around, he would have an open and shut case, then he had his reason wrapped up in a pretty little fucking bow to go after what’s mine.
And let me tell you, if I had found out during our time on the boat, I would have had an extremely hard time letting him be. I like to think that I would have been above throwing a punch and locking him in one of the rooms onboard, calling the local authorities to pick up his worthless ass as soon as we docked. But I know that it wouldn’t have gone down that way. There would have been punches thrown and blood drawn, and all of my employees would have seen a side of me that they hadn’t seen before.
But see, I’m smarter than that, and I’m smarter than he would probably give me credit for. You don’t build a company from the ground up into a multibillion-dollar empire without knowing a thing or two about holding out. I do it all the time during negotiations, making sure it’s the perfect time to strike. And during those dealings, I’ve come to know several people who could come in handy during this situation.
Drake will be the first person who will be hearing from me at the first opportunity I get. He has the technological know-how to bring him to his knees, and he owes me favors; favors that were at the perfect time to collect when the time comes. And when he begins begging for mercy, I’ll let Angela land the final blow, give her back something that he stole from her.
My heart aches for the woman who I love so much, snoring ever so softly beside me, her raven hair splayed out on the pillow around her like a halo. How someone could hurt her is beyond my comprehension.
I just want to hold her and make her safe. Oh, and make love to her, nice and slow, all night long. And I will, when the timing is right, and when she is ready.
Today hadn’t at all gone like I had planned, except for her accepting my marriage proposal. The minute I heard her say yes was the best moment of my entire life.
When Angela and I went in separate directions during Christmas shopping, I returned to Tiffany’s and saw Beverly. She had been given the task to sneakily get Angela’s ring size for me. She began to show me the different styles of rings, and I was immediately drawn to the heart-shaped diamond. She already had my heart, so it made sense for her to wear it on her finger, so everyone else knew, too.
I went with the largest stone they had in the store, the two-and-a-half carat, because only the best for my wife-to-be would do. If there had been a four-carat, I probably would have purchased that instead. Never mind the several hundred thousand price tag I paid for the token of my love, it would reside on her finger for the rest of our lives, so it was a worthwhile investment.
She was worth every single dollar I had in my bank account, and I would give it all up just to see her gorgeous carefree smile, one that I would endeavor to make appear every day of the rest of our lives together.
I saw red once again, when my mother had the audacity to insinuate that Angela was a gold digger. Even though I knew it was her protective instincts coming out, only wanting to make sure that the woman I did end up falling for, wanted me for me and not my money, I wanted to lash out at her, and tell her exactly how wrong she was. But thankfully before I had the chance, my ever-calm bride-to-be came over and smoothed things out, telling them things about herself that until that moment I didn’t even know. Proving why she is a perfect fit for me. The yin to my yang.
In complete honesty, her later confession of her net worth shocked me. From the way she lived in Nashville, I hadn’t given a second thought to her possibly having more, even though she carries herself as someone with money does. But it in no way changed the way I felt about her. I don’t think anything ever could.
Her confession to being Ernest White’s granddaughter was also a shock. Anyone who knows anything about New York real estate has heard of the great man. He owned so many properties, it was often joked about that he owned something in every building in central New York.
I’ve worked with her father, John, so many times that once she confessed her relationship to him, I could see the family resemblance. We get along fairly well, and so we should, considering all of the money I’ve lined his pockets with over the years, most recently my penthouse in the city. So, I doubt there will be any conflict from her parents when we tell them our happy news.
I want to tell them that I’m marrying their daughter as soon as possible. I want to publish it in the New York fucking Times, for Christ’s sake, that’s how happy I am. But Angela deserves her privacy. It’s something that she obviously craves, hence she distanced herself from her family and hid her net worth and property portfolio from me.
Once we are married, though, a semblance of that privacy will be gone. That’s what happens when you’re in the papers and gossip columns online as much as I am, and I want them to print the truth, for once. I’m no longer one of the city’s most eligible bachelors. Instead I want to read that I’ve found my soulmate, and that we will be together forever.
Beth liked Angela, I could tell that by her warmth towards her, and her hug before she left told me everything I needed to know. She had welcomed her into our family with open arms, literally.
When I asked her prior to her leaving, she confided in me that Mom and Dad had told her a little about Angela after we last saw them for a meal. They didn’t think it was anything serious, so they were all shocked when I announced our plans today to get married. Beth, however, was over the moon for me. Knowing how happy she is with David, it’s all she has ever wished for her big brother, and now that it was happening for me, her heart was full.
We have some logistics to work out, Angela and I, but I don’t care where I lay my head, if she is there beside me every night.
I will ensure Belle Meade is completed as quickly as possible so we can move in there, if she decides that it is where she wants to call home. Then another idea forms in my mind: we can be married there, in the place where we first met.
And I smile happily looking at my beautiful woman, thinking about the future ahead of us, and the day she will walk toward me, all in white, and I can finally claim her as mine in front of everyone.
