Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
“This … I …” I stutter, but then my voice trails off, unable to form the words.
Axel’s lips press into a hard line.
“I will not be a part of this charade Gavin,” he says finally. His voice is low and controlled, but the disgust in it is palpable. He gets up abruptly, his chair skidding across the polished wood floor. He ignores it and strides towards the door.
“Axel, wait,” Gavin starts, but the words die in his throat when it becomes obvious Axel isn’t listening.
The door slams shut behind him, reverberating through the room like a gunshot. My heart pounds, my chest is tight, and my breath is coming too fast. I feel like I am on the verge of having a full-on panic attack. I feel as if I can’t move, and I remain frozen, staring at the door; the enormity of what I’ve just heard is like a vice around my chest.
The implications are staggering. Axel and I are both bound to each other in ways I never imagined. Our fortunes, our actions, even the continuance of our lineages are entwined. And Axel, the man who is every bit as infuriating as he is beautiful, has just walked out. Maybe I should do that too. I don’t think my legs would hold me right now, though.
I press my hands to my face, trying to steady myself. The weight of Joseph’s final instructions presses on me like a physical force. Every thought I had about his inheritance, about connection, about legacy, suddenly seems twisted into something I never signed up for, something I have no idea how to navigate, and honestly, after hearing these conditions, I am glad that I was never really that interested in inheriting Joseph’s money anyway. For the first time, I start to wonder if my mother was right when she said he was cruel.
I can feel Sheldon’s gaze on me. I turn my horrified face towards him. His lips are pressed into a thin line as he glances away from me towards the door, as the slamming of it echoes through the room. He doesn’t say anything, but his presence is comforting in its steadiness.
I sink back into my chair, letting out a shaky breath. My mind is spinning. And somewhere in the back of my mind, a small, stubborn spark ignites. I won’t let this define me. I won’t let this break me. I will hear Gavin out for the rest of my father’s instructions because that’s the polite thing to do, but I know that this isn’t really my life and I can walk away at any point.
Chapter
Eleven
JO
Isit in stunned disbelief in Gavin’s suddenly silent conference room. Sheldon is equally still beside me. The leather of the chair beneath me suddenly feels hot, and the air thick and oppressive to breathe in. Axel’s door slamming exit still echoes in my ears while the stipulations of my father’s burn through my mind on repeat: He and I must both live in my father’s mansion for a year. I am supposed to clean priceless paintings while Axel continues running the business, and both of us must produce heirs, or we forfeit it all. Surely these sorts of unreasonable demands can’t hold up.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but those specifications are something. Was my father actually of sound mind when he wrote this will?”
Gavin nods. “Yes. And if you’re wondering, these terms are perfectly acceptable in the eyes of the law. Your father was no fool. He had a doctor pronounce him to be of sound mental health, and he has a written record of his clean bill of health. As such, he has every right to do as he pleases with his money.”
“But how is it fair that Jo loses out if Axel refuses to do his part?” Sheldon blurts out angrily.
“I said it was legal, not fair,” Gavin says. “Joseph had his reasons, and he was very specific and sure of his actions, but he did not share his thoughts with me.”
My hand drifts to the surface of the table, and the tips of my fingernails tap out a nervous rhythm against the cold glass. I feel a sudden, irresistible urge to stand up, to turn on my heel and to walk out too. Just leave. Go back to the life I had, where the most complicated thing in my week was choosing which cleaning chemical to use on an old master, or what to wear on the weekend. Even the thought of this bizarre will, and the obligations imposed on me by a man I never knew, is suffocating.
But I can’t leave Gavin’s office. Leaving now would feel like admitting defeat even before the game starts, plus I hate to lose. I lean back in my chair, staring at the floor through the tabletop. The highly polished wood reflects the room in distorted fragments, each piece feeling like a jagged reminder of the insanity I’m entangled in.