Chapter 9 Mixed Feelings

CHAPTER 9

The moment Joseph's grip left his shirt, Dane's bravado cracked. He masked it in front of the crowd, but tremors coursed through his hands once the lobby cleared.

Hours later, at the dimly lit bar he frequented, glass after glass lined his table. His mind spun – not from the alcohol, but from the revelation gnawing at him. Lisa. An heiress. His Lisa.

"How the hell didn't I see it sooner?" he muttered, bitterness sharp in his throat. If he'd known and realized what kind of empire she carried in her blood, he would've treated her differently. Not like the disposable woman he discarded – but like the golden ticket she truly was.

Resentment flared, dark and consuming. If he couldn't have her, then ruining her would taste just as sweet. Revenge filled his eyes like fire.

Memories clawed their way back – the secretary he'd taken to bed, her tearful pleas, her swelling belly. For months, he had believed the child was his, bending over backwards to keep her close. Only to discover the truth: the baby wasn't his at all. She had been scheming with her real husband, pretending to belong to him while bleeding his wallet dry.

The humiliation still burned. The betrayal had carved him hollow. And now, staring into the amber swirl of his drink, a cruel smile curved his lips.

Lisa had become his new obsession.

And this time, he wouldn't be the fool.

Just then, his phone chimed on the counter. A single message lit up the screen.

"Do you want to play some games with your ex-wife?"

Dane's lips curved into a dangerous grin.

Revenge had just found its spark.

******

Back at the mansion, silence stretched between them like a blade. The air was too thick, too heavy – choking Lisa with unspoken words until she could no longer hold them in.

She flung her clutch onto the marble table, the sharp sound echoing. Her green eyes blazed as she spun toward him.

"Do you enjoy it?" she snapped. "Do you enjoy parading me in front of everyone like some weak little doll who needs her powerful husband to swoop in and save her? Because that's exactly what you do, Joseph. Every single time. You don't protect me – you humiliate me".

Joseph's dark eyes flicked to hers, cool and unreadable. "I protect my name", he said, voice clipped, precise. "Don't confuse that with charity".

Her breath caught, but rage only grew hotter.

She paced the length of the hall, words tumbling out sharp and fast.

"And what about me? What about how it makes me look? People think I can't fight for myself, that I'm nothing more than a spoiled brat. Do you know how hard I've worked to prove otherwise? But one move from you and it's all undone – I'm back to being the weak one".

He stepped closer, slow, deliberate, his presence swallowing the space between them. "You think they see weakness?' His tone was low, almost dangerous. "No Lisa. They see a Bronson. And a Bronson is never weak".

Her chest rose and fell flat, fury crashing against confusion "That's not strength – that's control. You control everything, everyone, like we're all just pawns in your hands. I didn't marry you to be your shadow, Joseph. I won't"

His composure shifted for the first time, his jaw tightening. He leaned down, close enough that his words struck like a blade.

"You want to survive in this world? Then learn the difference between pride and survival. Pride will get you eaten alive"

Lisa's lips parted, her fury warring with something else, something she refused to name. Because the truth was, for a split second out there, when he shielded her, when he threatened Dane, she hadn't felt humiliated. She had felt...safe. And that terrified her more than his control.

"Stop mistaking my protection for weakness, Lisa. Enemies are watching. The day you forget that will be the day you break". Then he turned from her, his voice clipped.

"Have the car made ready", he ordered.

Lisa's eyes flickered with concern, her anger wavering into something sharper, colder – fear. Her voice trembled despite herself.

"Where are you going, Joseph?"

He paused only long enough for his rage to lace the single word. "Out"

The sound of his footsteps echoed through the hall, leaving Lisa standing alone, torn between fury and the unspoken dread that whatever he was walking into – it wouldn't end clean.

********

Hours later, Lisa refused to touch dinner without him. She paced the room like a caged animal, her chest tight, anger simmering with something more dangerous beneath it.

The lock clicked. Joseph entered, his presence heavy, eyes dark as sin. He reeked of alcohol – and female perfume.

Her pulse spiked. "Where are you coming from?"

"Does it matter?" his tone was cold steel.

It cut through her like a blade. "What do you mean does it matter? I stayed up waiting for you! You ignored every call, every text – "Her voice cracked, then sharpened. "Were you with her?"

"I wasn't with anyone".

"Liar!" she bit out. "That perfume – you don't wear it. That isn't your scent".

A dark smirk ghosted over his lips as he prowled toward her "So...you know my scent?" Her knees weakened as she stumbled back. "You didn't answer my question".

He raked a hand through his hair, irritation flashing across his face. "I wasn't with anyone".

He turned to leave dismissive.

"No", she snapped, her hand darting out, gripping his wrist. The moment she touched him, the air thickened. His body went rigid, his eyes deadly still.

"Were you with her?" she whispered again, voice trembling but fierce. "I know this is a contract, but at least have some respect for me".

His gaze locked onto hers, a dangerous fire burning within. "She's nothing to me", he said. "That picture? Business. Since then, I've had her watched. Too flawless. Too genuine. And I don't trust genuine."

Her breath caught. He knew she had seen it. He wanted her to.

He yanked her closer, their bodies pressed flush, his heart searing through her. His breath fanned across her lips, so close she could taste the whiskey on him.

"Tell me", he murmured darkly, eyes flicking to her parted mouth, "did it make you jealous? The thought of me with another?"

Lisa's chest rose and fell rapidly. Her lips parted, anticipation trembling through her – waiting, aching – for a kiss she shouldn't want.

But instead of closing the distance, his mouth shifted, brushing the shell of her ear.

His voice, low and lethal, wrapped around her. "I won't touch you until you beg for it. And when you do, Lisa...I'll ruin you".

Her body trembled violently, her breath caught in her throat. And then – he was gone. Just like that.