Bad Boy (An Indecent Proposal)(29)

“But I thought we couldn’t leave for a week.” My throat closed up. As he cocked his head, his lips drawn into a tight line, realization hit me.

He had lied to me.

The disappointment at having been lied to yet again hurt me, but not as much as the fact that he was about to leave me. “I thought we were being honest with each other.”

“I’m working on it,” he said softly. “Would you have listened to my explanation if I told you I was only here to bail you out?”

He was right.

I wouldn’t have.

“You ignored my wishes, Chase,” I whispered. “I asked you not to go against him, but you went ahead with your plans. Why?”

He sighed and turned around. “I already told you that I don’t have a choice. I owe this to my family.” His footsteps thudded in the silence of the room. The bed moved under his weight as he sat next to me, only inches away.

“I owe it to my family, Laurie,” he repeated. “Please, you have to understand. Don’t you want your inheritance back?”

I fell silent. Did I want it back?

Waterfront Shore—the place had never been one of happiness. A place where I never had a father to grow up with, a place where my mom had killed herself.

Somehow, it didn’t matter either way. It held no importance to me.

“What if I don’t want it?” I asked, casting him a sideways glance. “Will that change anything?”

His lips tightened again. “I’m taking him to court. I’m going to fight for you, for us.”

“My mom set up a Will, Chase. I’m not the heiress. You’re going to lose.”

“No, I won’t,” he said firmly. “Your grandparents were the sole owners at the time your mom died. Your mom would have been their heir, followed by you. If that won’t win us the case, then her letters will.”

“In her will, she wanted Clint to have all her money,” I tried one more time. “There’s no way her letters will say otherwise.”

“How do know? Have you read them?” Chase asked, his tone challenging me.

His question rendered me silent for a moment. “No, but that’s not the point. What matters is that I’m not interested in the money.”

“This is crazy. You listen to your mom even though the law says you’re entitled to a huge estate. The estate has been in your family for a long time. Why do you want to give it away to someone who ruins other people’s lives?”

“Because my mom told me so.” I almost choked on my breath. He was right, of course, but—

“You said she loved you,” Chase continued. “Well, there’s no love deeper than a mother’s love for her child. I don’t believe she was in the right frame of mind when she made that decision, which is why I’ve applied for an order to get access to her medical records.”

I shook my head. “Stop talking as if you’re doing it for me,” I whispered. “You’re doing it for yourself. It’s all about you and Kade.”

He grew silent.

“I do care about you, Laurie.” He intertwined his fingers with mine. “I’m not lying. I really like you. But the thing with Clint, it needs to be done. For my family’s sake. I promised. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do this. But I sure I cannot let you go.”

I turned my head to him, marveling at the beautiful color of his eyes—the color of cloudy days and summer storms.

His words choked me up, brought tears to the back of my eyes.

“You’re really serious about destroying Clint,” I whispered, feeling weak as I took in his words. “Why didn’t you warn me?”

“I told you yesterday.”

“I thought I had time. Why didn’t you tell me before, so I could prepare myself?”

“It wouldn’t have served the purpose. Besides, I didn’t know you well. I couldn’t trust you.” His gaze darkened. “Twelve months, Laurie. That’s how long I need. After that, you can do what you want.”

“Please,” I whispered. “There’s always a choice. You don’t have to do it.”

He sighed. “It’s too late. I can’t go back on my word.”

In the silence of the room, I watched him stand and squeeze into his jacket. His broad shoulders looked amazing, just like every other inch of him.

“What do you mean?” I asked when his statement finally sank in. “We’ve been married for less than three days. How can it be too late?”

“Under the Inheritance Act, you’re entitled to make an application to the court for an order,” he said, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “As your husband, I have the same right as you, but as your lawyer I already applied for an order before we got married.”

I felt faint. “How?”

“While you were busy with your wedding gown, I flew ahead and pulled a few strings to get things moving. You can’t stop me, Laurie. I’m good at what I do, so don’t even try.”

I stared at him, stunned, my words failing me.

It made so much sense. Every single step had been a part of Chase’s plan.

“You will understand,” Chase said. “I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I want you to know that I’m doing it for us. I’m doing it for your mom, too, because in all honesty, I believe she wanted you to be happy. She wanted you to have everything.”

I kept staring at him. I couldn’t wrap my head around Chase’s words. My head was spinning. Everything was too much.

“What about us?” I asked weakly.

He took my hand in his. “We’ll come out stronger.”

I shook my head, both to deny his statement and to get rid of the tears stinging my eyes. “No.” In spite of the earth-shattering sadness inside me, I smiled. It took all my willpower to do so. “Chase, I get what you have to do.”

“I sense a but…”

I smiled again. “But I need to annul the marriage. There is no ‘us.’ There can’t be. What you have to do…I understand, but I can’t do it with you.” I squeezed his hand. “Please let me go. There’s no point in believing there could ever be more between us. My heart’s not in it. It never will be. You’re not the kind of person I’d ever want in my life.”

Which was a lie. The pressure behind my eyes intensified. I had to finish this once and for all before I broke down and he saw through the mess inside me, right into my bleeding heart.

He stared at me for one hard moment.

“Laurie—”

“No, I’m serious. I want to annul it.” I took a shaky breath and let it out. “You can have my inheritance. No hard feelings, but please, don’t expect me to stay married to you. Please,” I begged, closing my eyes. “Just sign the papers.”

“You can’t annul something you’ve consummated. Besides, I can’t,” he whispered. “We have a contract.”

My heart sank. “You can cancel it, Chase. No one forces you.”

“I could but I don’t want to,” he said softly. “The risk is too great. In order to win, I need you to be my wife. I need the situation to be…”

“Convincing.” I nodded. “I understand, but I don’t want to live with you.”

“Why are you doing this?” he asked.

I closed my eyes, feeling despair, hopelessness, and sadness washing over me. “I can’t live with you. I can’t see you every day.” I opened my eyes again.

“Why?” Chase asked. “There are so many things I want for us. I want to wake up next to you. I want to see you every day. I won’t let the past break us apart.”

I shook my head again. “I cannot deal with the pressure, nor a trial. I cannot face it. You’ll never be the person I—”

I fell in love with.

I broke off, keeping that part to myself.

“No,” he said forcefully. “I want to know why you want to stay away from me.”

“Because…” I struggled choosing my words. “I can’t get involved with you again.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to get more emotionally attached than I already am. Okay? Stop asking me such questions, I can’t answer them,” I said angrily. “Just accept that I wouldn’t be proud of myself.”

“Laurie.” He sounded genuinely shocked. “I won’t give you a divorce.”

“Yet,” I added.

“No.” He shook his head. “I won’t agree to a divorce at all. Not now, not tomorrow, nor when the trial’s over.”

I stared at him. “Why?”

“I don’t want to lose you.” His words came out low, and for a moment I wasn’t sure I had heard him right.

I frowned. “Look, you don’t have to lie, Chase. It was a business proposition. Nothing more. You wanted revenge, I wanted the letters. There is no need for you to pretend that there was more between us.”

“I don’t think you understand what I’m saying.” His lips swept over my cheek, his nose brushing mine, as he whispered in my ear, “When I said I like you, what I really meant isn’t that I want to fuck you, or that we’re great friends. I’m saying that I really want to be with you. Every minute I see you, I fall in love with you even more, and I know you can feel it, too. Don’t pretend there’s nothing between us because you’re lying to yourself.”