Читать книгу A Traditional Daddy - Arabella Kingsley - Страница 8

“I am firing you. I am taking Scarlett away from you so she can have a better life with me. You don’t deserve her.”

Ross just laughed and potted one of the red balls on the snooker table.

“I knew you wanted her. I shouldn’t have let you near my wife. She belongs to me.”

“And you think that is going to stop me from taking her,” Alexander told him calmly walking around the table to determine the angle he should pot the next ball.

He drove it easily into the pocket in one shot. Ross whistled.

“You are one hell of a snooker player, Alexander but you are way off on this one. Scarlett stays with me. I am too close to mending the rift between her and her father. She stands to inherit a fortune and I want to be the one controlling it. Do you even know who he is?”

“The Billionaire Media Mogul, Lance Bartlett. My biggest rival. I don’t give a damn about him or his underworld connections to London gangs and the Russian Mafia. I don’t want Scarlett back in the arms of a father like that. He’s dangerous. Don’t you realize, she blames him for killing her mother?”

Ross gave a heavy irritated sigh, pausing to take another gulp of his whiskey and took another shot.

“It wasn’t just her mother but her baby as well.”

Alexander stiffened, gripping his cue a little tighter.

“Her child? I didn’t know.”

“When I found her working as a lawyer under a different name she was a wreck. Her father wanted her married to the son of his Russian Mafia friend and pregnant with his child to cement a business relationship between them. Scarlett didn’t want to go through with it. She tried to run from her father many times but he always found her and brought her back. The son Ivan Litvenko got impatient with her resisting his advances and raped her. She fell pregnant and was made to go through with the marriage.”

Alexander felt his throat go dry. All he could think of doing was holding her. He wanted to carry her out of the house right now and lock her in his own home with him to keep her safe.

“It’s your shot, Alexander,” Ross said a satisfied smile lightly playing on his fair features.

Alexander mentally checked himself and lined up another shot. Ross continued.

“Her mother helped her escape. Her father put out a hit on the mother and ordered Scarlett and the child brought back but the baby was caught in the car bomb with the mother. Scarlett was thrown clear and taken to hospital and the police helped her with a new identity. Lucky for her, shortly after, Ivan was killed when a rival Mafia family took him out for encroaching on their protection business. Scarlett gave the police details of some of her father’s operations and what she knew of the Litvenkos but they were never able to implicate him in the murder or fully trap her husband’s family. I met her and we were married three years ago.”

Alexander took the shot lining the ball up.

“And he never found her? Until now?” Alexander asked trying to keep his temper reined in.

“When she finally told me who she really was, I decided to look him up. He loves his daughter despite what has gone down and he wants her back but more than anything he wants an heir. I make her pregnant and I become a very rich man and Lance Bartlett gets everything he wants.”

The bastard sounded pleased with himself. Alexander gripped the cue again wanting to impale Ross on it. But he simply smiled.

“I always thought it was strange you both never had any children. Scarlett dotes on your niece’s children. Now I know why. And I suppose you have been trying your damn hardest to make her conceive?”

“The woman is barely interested in having sex with me.”

“Can you blame her after the way you treat her? Not to mention your constant adultery. You know how to pick some charming women, Ross.”

Ross laughed.

“Yes, I heard you had a run in with Amelia, this morning.”

Ross lined up another shot and stretched across the table to aim the end of the cue at the ball.

“You don’t even fucking love Scarlett.” Alexander retorted.

“True but I love the money she and the child will come in to. Lance has offered to put me in charge of it and I can do what I want as long as the child is male and brought back into the family fold whether Scarlett wants it or not.”

“How long ago was this?”

“Five months ago. Scarlett doesn’t know a thing and neither do the police or the witness protection program. I want her pregnant first.”

He laughed making Alexander’s stomach knot.

“She doesn’t even know I am trying to make her pregnant. She thinks her contraception pills are keeping her safe but I changed them for something else in secret. She just has sex with me because I constantly pester her and she feels guilty.”

“You’ve broken her down and made her feel like your failure of a marriage is all her fault. But it looks like you aren’t having much success in making Scarlett conceive, are you? I don’t think you have what it takes. If she’s had a child before, it clearly isn’t a problem on her side.”

Ross’ eyes narrowed.

“She will fall soon and on the surface, for her father, our marriage will appear perfect. She will toe the line. One thing you need to know about Scarlett is she is a traditional woman. She believes in marriage vows and whether she likes it or not exhausting every possible avenue to mend it before she walks away. That works well for me and you are not going to interfere. What you don’t understand about Scarlett, Alexander, is she likes the firm guidance of a man of authority. She’s such a submissive thing. She needs a traditional man to be in charge of her. When I demanded she give up her job to stay at home to pursue her art she loves so much and where I could keep an eye on her, she did. She was reluctant but just before she did she became ill with this FND thing so it suited us both. Has she told you about it? Man, it looks like she is having a stroke. Do you really want to be with that?”

Alexander snapped. He threw the cue on the table and took a swing at Ross landing a blow against his nose and mouth. As Ross staggered shocked by his reaction, Alexander took hold of the lapels of Ross’ suit jacket and pushed him back against the wall.

“Don’t talk about her like that.”

Ross sniffed the trickle of blood back up his nose.

“You’ve really got it bad for her, haven’t you?”

He tried to laugh but Alexander slammed him back against the wall and he stopped.

“You are not worthy of her. She belongs to me now and you can tell that to her father. I will be ready for him when he tries to come for her. And if you come near Scarlett again, I will kill you.”

He let Ross slide down the wall, picked up his suit jacket and left the room.

Alexander made his way upstairs to Scarlett’s bedroom making a call to his security chief to keep Ross in check and away. He knocked loudly on the door.

“Scarlett, let me in. It is time to go.”

“I told you, Alexander, I can’t go with you. I won’t ruin your life. Whatever you think is between us, try to forget it, please.” He could hear the tears behind her voice.

“No way. Now open this damn door or I am going to knock it down.”

“No, please. You don’t know what you are getting into. I won’t have you hurt. It would kill me.”

Alexander shook his head and took a few steps back from the door.

“Scarlett, I know everything including the fact you are Lance Bartlett’s daughter and what he did to you. I will keep you safe, Scarlett. I won’t let him or anyone else ever hurt you again. Stand away from the door, I am going to break it down.”

“What? No…”

Alexander ignored her plea and raised his foot. He gave the lock area of the oak door two powerful kicks and it swung open.