HIS DOE, HIS DAMNATION(An Erotic Billionaire Romance) novel Chapter 26

CHAPTER 0026

Meadow’s POV:

I nursed my cup of coffee, my mind spinning, thoughts unraveling faster than I could piece them back together.

Alaric hadn’t come back downstairs since he’d so sternly shut down my request to release Juniper, Like I was a child asking for candy during bedtime.

I scoffed.

I couldn’t stop replaying it–the way he’d said no without any hesitation. As if it was final. As if my opinion didn’t matter. Juniper had made me feel that exact same way more times than I could count,

The truth was, it wasn’t that I didn’t want her to suffer the consequences of her actions. I did. Juniper deserved to be punished for all the vile things that she had done to me over the years.

I just couldn’t stomach the thought of her in that facility. Alone. Scared. Or maybe she wasn’t. Maybe she was exactly where she deserved to be.

But all I could hear was her voice, echoing in the corners of my skull.

‘It’s all your fault,‘ she kept saying repeatedly.

‘If I die, it’ll be your fault, you know? You killed mom. And you’ll kill me too.‘

That was her favorite line. The one she used every single time I tried to get away, focus on my own life, or breathe without her in my lungs. Every time I packed a bag and tried to make something of myself, Juniper would find a way to pull me back in.

Tears burned the back of my eyes, and I tilted my head backward, blinking them away.

No. I wasn’t doing this. Not right now.

I reached for my cup of coffee, but before I could lift it, a sharp slam cracked across the counter.

My body jolted as I registered Alaric standing across from me, dressed impeccably in a suit, his expression unreadable, eyes darker than ever.

And then my eyes dropped to the folder on the counter.

He didn’t say a word at first. Just let me stare at it like it might bite me.

“What is this?” I asked, my voice thick. I already knew the answer to that question, but I wanted him to confirm that it was exactly what I thought it was.

“Read it, sign it. Or don’t,” he finally muttered as his gaze pierced through me. “But don’t ask me to take on the people who never took mercy on you.”

I looked away from the folder. The contract.

“You think this is just about mercy?” I sputtered, letting out a mirthless laugh.

mercy

“I think,” he replied, his voice going deeper as he stepped around the counter, “that you have a habit of making excuses for people who hurt you. Most especially, your sister.”

He came to a stop beside me. He was too close. Way too close. His woody, musky scent assaulted my senses and jumbled my thoughts as I tried to figure out what to say in response.

1/3

CHAPTER 0026

+25 BONUS

Alaric’s voice softened. “You dropped out of college,” he murmured. “Why?”

I froze.

He didn’t ask that question because he wanted to know, he asked because he already knew the reason and he was just trying to prove a point.

But how did he know?

How did Alaric Ashford, a man whom I’d never met before in my life, know so much about me even before I met him? What else did he know?

“That’s none of your business, Alaric, “I snapped, hating the way my voice cracked toward the end.

“It will be, Meadow.” Alaric kept his ink–blue eyes trained on me, narrowed, like he was trying to figure out how someone could be so stupid. So soft.

This was his game. He wanted me to admit that Juniper was the reason I dropped out.

But I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

Because how do you explain years of being psychologically chained to someone you loved? How do you explain constantly being woken up by a phone call, sobbing sounds on the other end?

‘I’ll do it right now, Meadow.‘

How do you explain that your own sister manipulated other people into thinking she was you? The professors that she-

Juniper made sure that I knew exactly how much of her life was my responsibility. Made sure I carried the weight of her chaos like a second skin. And the worst part?

I believed her. I let her do what she wanted. Because she was right. I was guilty.

It was my fault our mother was dead.

I looked down at the folder and flipped it open with shaking hands. Skimmed over legal jargon, skipped the part I didn’t care to process. Until I got to the numbers.

The numbers I had no idea were involved.

A hundred million dollars.

That was how much Alaric was putting on the table for me. For a contract marriage. For my own revenge.

“Alaric, this is a lot of money,” I stuttered. “I–I can’t take this!”

His mouth twitched. “I promise you, Meadow,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “A hundred million doesn’t hurt a single hair on my head. I want you, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes.” And then he lowered his voice. “Don’t pretend you don’t want it, Meadow.”

I swallowed thickly. What on earth was I going to do with this amount of money? Going back to school was not even an option I was ready to consider, but that had to be why… why he was giving me this much.

“You really think I’m worth this much?” I asked quietly.

“No, Meadow. That’s what I’m giving you for staying,” he replied, voice lower and deeper now. “What you’re worth? I haven’t even scratched the surface.”

2/3

CHAPTER 0020

+25 BONUS

A shiver ran down my spine, and heat creeped up my neck. I looked away from him, letting the silence hang for a second before grabbing the pen.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify