He Made Me His Mistress, I Married His Rival

Chapter 3

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang.

Spencer opened it.

Ethan ignored him. He pushed past Spencer and walked straight to me. His gaze swept around the room. Finally, it landed on a brand-new cello in the corner of the living room. Spencer had taken me to a luthier's shop that afternoon to pick it out.

Ethan stopped and stared at it for a long moment. Then he turned to me, his voice carrying a condescending kind of guilt. "If you really love playing that much, I'll have a master luthier in Italy custom-make the best one for you tomorrow."

He walked toward the cello and reached out to touch the strings. I stepped in front of him. "Don't touch my things."

He didn't get angry. He spoke to me in that indulgent tone. "I had your cello destroyed because you were neglecting your health practicing. And Vivian needed that university spot more to secure her place in society. You didn't need it to stay in the Grant family."

He looked me straight in the eye.

"Come back with me now. I'll give you everything except the title of Mrs. Grant."

Spencer came over from the kitchen with two glasses of water. He handed one to me, then turned to Ethan. "Mr. Grant, this is private property. Leave now."

Ethan looked at Spencer. "Don't use my family's private matters as leverage in your business battles. She's just a naive girl. She doesn't understand how dangerous people like you can be."

He still thought I couldn't think for myself. That I was just a tool Spencer was using against him.

I didn't take the water from Spencer.

"I didn't say yes to Spencer's proposal to spite you. I'm not his pawn, either. Go home and plan your wedding with Vivian. Don't come bother me anymore."

Ethan's chest rose and fell sharply. He composed himself quickly, then pulled out a black card and placed it on the coffee table.

"You're in too deep. Take 3 days to cool off. If you need money, use this."

He turned toward the door.

Spencer picked up the black card and tossed it out the door.

The door closed behind him.