Chapter 20
The Game We Play
Andrew's POV
The world was built on power. That's what I have been taught, Not love. Not trust. Not foolish notions of morality. Power.
And that was what had made me who I am now.
And power was something I never gave away freely.
Despite the fact that I haven't always been like that, as they say "situations change people".
I stood in the dimly lit study of my penthouse, the amber glow from the fireplace casting flickering shadows across the room. A glass of whiskey rested in my hand, but I wasn't drinking, my mind was so full.
I was thinking.
Planning.
Controlling.
Mary had spoken to Elijah.
Or would I say Elijah spoke to Mary.
She hadn't lied about it, not that she could have. I had seen it in her eyes, the way she hesitated when I pushed her for answers. She wasn't afraid of me, not yet, but she was beginning to understand the reality of our situation.
The situation we both are locked in.
She was beginning to understand me.
I smirked to myself, setting the glass down on the desk.
She had asked me if she should be afraid.
She should.
But fear wasn't what I wanted from her. Not yet.
I wanted her loyalty.
Her trust.
Her submission.
Everything about her, I want to control her, tame her until she becomes mine.
And the only way to get that was to make her see the truth of everything.
Elijah was trying to poison her mind against me, but he didn't understand one thing.
I wasn't the enemy she should fear.
I was the only thing standing between her and a far worse fate with Elijah.
A knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts.
"Come in," I said.
The door opened, and Ezekiel Blackwood stepped inside.
He was dressed in a dark suit, his expression carefully neutral, but I could see the tension in the way his fingers twitched at his sides. The man was nervous.
Good.
I leaned back in my chair, studying him as he closed the door behind him.
"Ezekiel," I said smoothly. "To what do I owe this visit?"
"Again?"
He hesitated for only a fraction of a second before stepping forward. "We need to talk, our last meeting didn't have a fruitful ending"
I gestured to the chair across from me. "Then talk."
He sat down, exhaling slowly.
"I assume you already know about Elijah's offer," he said carefully.
"But what you don't get is that he gave me three days to answer him".
I didn't answer right away. I let the silence stretch, watching him shift under my gaze.
Then, I smiled.
"I knew he would give you a particular period of time".
Ezekiel's jaw tightened. "Then you know why I'm here."
"Do I?" I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the desk. "Enlighten me."
He swallowed, clearly choosing his next words carefully.
"Elijah wants control of my company, abd you just seem so really cool about it," he said. "He wants control of everything I've built."
"And?"
Ezekiel's fingers curled into a fist. "And I don't trust him."
I chuckled, shaking my head. "That's rich, coming from someone like you."
His eyes darkened. "I came here because I need to know where you stand, Andrew."
I stood up, circling the desk slowly, deliberately.
"I stand exactly where I've always stood," I said. "With control. With power. And I don't share either of those things."
Ezekiel exhaled, rubbing a hand over his face.
"He's giving me three days," he muttered. "Three days to decide."
I smirked. "And you're afraid you won't make the right choice?"
His gaze snapped to mine. "I'm afraid of what will happen if I do."
I stopped in front of him, looking down at the man who had once thought himself untouchable.
"Then let me make it simple for you," I said, my voice low and controlled. "If you accept Elijah's offer, you won't have to worry about him."
Ezekiel frowned. "What do you"
"You'll have to worry about me. Just do what I tell you to do. Then you would be okay"
His entire body tensed.
I leaned down slightly, so he could see just how serious I was.
"You signed your daughter over to me, Ezekiel. You signed yourself over to me. That contract wasn't just a business deal, it was a declaration of who owns who."
I straightened, adjusting my cufflinks.
"So if you think for one second that you can entertain Elijah's offer and walk away from me unscathed, then you're even more foolish than I thought."
The silence that followed was thick with tension.
Ezekiel slowly rose from his chair, his expression unreadable.
"Mary won't forgive you if you destroy me," he said.
I smirked. "Mary doesn't have to forgive me."
He exhaled sharply. "She'll hate you."
"She already does." I chuckled, stepping back toward my desk. "But hate and love aren't as different as people think."
Ezekiel's jaw clenched. "You don't know my daughter as well as you think."
I tilted my head. "Don't I?"
A flicker of something passed through his eyes, uncertainty.
I had struck a nerve.
Good.
He turned toward the door but hesitated before opening it.
"I haven't given Elijah an answer yet," he muttered.
I smirked. "You just did."
He stiffened, but he didn't argue.
Because he knew the truth.
There was no choice to make.
He knew deep down that when he signed that contract that were was no going back.
Never!!!!!
I was the only option.
The final option.
He walked out without another word, leaving me alone in the silence.
I picked up my whiskey glass and took a slow sip, savoring the burn.
Ezekiel was a fool.
But Mary…
Mary was something else entirely.
And if she thought she could outmaneuver me in this game, she was about to learn the hard way.
I don't lose.
Not in business.
Not in power.
And especially not with her.