Enthralled and Entangled

Chapter 7

The narrow confines of the car made me feel claustrophobic all of a sudden. I began struggling in a panic. “Mr. Braydan!”

Braydan propped himself up in the back seat on an elbow, and his huge body loomed over me. He grabbed my chin with his slender fingers and said, “Miss Riannon, I’ve been looking for you the entire night.”

Why was he looking for me? Did he find out about Sofia already? I was visibly flustered and too nervous to speak. I stopped resisting.

Braydan’s deep blue eyes were fixed on me. Danger and temptation swam in his eyes, just like the wolf I saw in my dream.

He then continued saying, “I thought about it and decided that making you my personal assistant wasn’t enough.”

Not enough? Why? A plethora of questions ran through my mind. I calmed down and said, “Mr. Braydan, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

His blue eyes crinkled up as he smirked at me. “I want you to be my lover.” I could hear the desire in his deep voice.

Lover? My eyes widened and I stared at him in disbelief. “Why would you want me to be your lover? I don’t find myself that attractive.”

Braydan gazed deep into my eyes. I could not tell what he was thinking. He was the chairman of a billion dollar company and had countless women dreaming about being his lover. We only slept together for a night and barely knew each other.

I was wondering if he had deliberately said that to tease me and teach me a lesson for lying to others that he was my boyfriend earlier.

The oxygen in the car was growing thin, it was getting harder for me to breathe.

Braydan’s tightened his grip on my chin. He leaned into my ear and said huskily, “I just can’t forget about that night from four years ago.”

I felt like he had crossed the line when I heard that answer.

I turned my face away and pushed him away. “Mr. Braydan, I admit that it was my fault tonight. I shouldn’t have used you like that, but please don’t joke about this.”

I did not know where I found the courage to speak my mind and defy him.

Braydan must be very angry right now. When I pushed him away, he grabbed my wrist tightly. To my surprise, he demanded in a rather imposing tone, “How did you know Eddie?”

Without thinking, I immediately answered, “I don’t know him! He’s just a stranger!”

“Do not see him again,” he warned me in a serious voice.

“Why, Mr. Braydan? Lover or not, I believe I have the freedom to make my own decisions,” I said while trying to free my wrist from his tight grip.

Braydan squeezed my wrist harder and hissed, “Because I don’t like it.” He made sure to emphasize every word to me.

His simple words sounded like both a warning and command to me. My wrist was hurting badly at this point, so I quickly complied and nodded my head in pain.

Braydan finally let go of me and got out of the car.

I grabbed my throat and broke out in a coughing fit while trying to get out of the car too, but Braydan pressed me down on my shoulders to keep me in the car.

“Take her home,” he told the driver.

“NO!” I was almost shouting at the top of my lungs. I could not have Braydan’s people take me home. They would find out about my daughter who was waiting for me at home.

“Mr. Braydan, I’ll take a cab home myself!” I had already forgotten about my fear toward him at this point as I pushed past him and rushed out of the car.

Good thing that a cab happened to pass by and I hurriedly waved at it. As soon as the cab pulled over, I quickly got into it.

My heart was still pounding when I was in the backseat of the cab. Braydan turned out to be a lot more terrifying than I imagined.

I sent a text to Darianna on my phone and told her that I was going home.

When I got home, Sofia was already asleep. I went into her room and touched her cheek softly before planting a kiss on her forehead.

After I left Sofia’s room, I fixed myself a cup of hot chocolate and sat on the couch in the living room, thinking about everything that had happened today.

Braydan wanted me to be his lover? Was he that interested in me?

This was quite a pickle. Braydan was indeed a lot more charming than other men but I knew very well that the closer I got to him, the more likely he would discover Sofia.

I must not fall for his advances. As soon as I fulfilled my one-month contract in B.D.Corp, I would immediately leave this country with Sofia.

I placed my mug on the coffee desk, then started checking for air tickets on my laptop.

My phone suddenly rang. It was a call from an unfamiliar number. I hesitated for a moment before deciding to answer it.

Eddie’s voice came through the other end of the line.

“Ria, when did you meet Braydan?”

Why was Eddie calling me now? How did he find out my new number? “Eddie, we’re through already. I have no obligation to answer you that question,” I answered him impatiently.

“It was all a misunderstanding back then, you don’t have to use Braydan to get back at me. He’s not someone you should be messing with.”

His words made me very angry. I sneered coldly and said, “Eddie, you’re really a narcissist. Don’t worry, I won’t waste any more time on you. Whatever there is between Mr. Braydan and I is none of your business.”

I was about to hang up on him after saying that but Eddie interrupted me, “Ria, I swear I never cheated on you back then. As your ex-boyfriend, I’ve got to warn you… Don’t get yourself involved with Braydan. He’s a dangerous guy! Also, I am the only one destined for you.”

“Enough, Eddie. I’ve heard enough!” I hung up on him in annoyance, then blocked his number on my phone. Of course I knew Braydan was dangerous, he did not have to tell me that.

I could not catch a wink of sleep that night. My thoughts kept me awake. I did not expect so many things would happen in such a short time. Braydan’s proposal took me by surprise too. I did not expect he would ask me to become his lover and I had no idea what his intention was either.

From the looks of it, my priority was to keep Sofia well hidden. Otherwise, not only Braydan, but also Eddie would be involved in this mess.

The next day, I went to work normally. The moment I walked through the office door, Arthur handed me a document. “Riannon, please give this to the chairman.”

I looked at the document for a moment then asked, “Mr. Arthur, can I resign?”

Arthur smiled and shook his head. He pushed the document to me and said, “You better send this to the chairman quickly, or he’ll get mad.”

I gritted my teeth then reluctantly took it and made my way to Braydan’s office.

Braydan’s office was also on the top floor, but a little further in. The design of his office shared the same vintage aesthetics with the conference room. The corridor leading to his office gave off this eerie feeling.

I stood in front of his office and knocked on the door. “Mr. Chairman,” I announced my presence.

Braydan’s deep voice came from inside the huge wooden door. “Come in.”

My hands that were holding the document trembled slightly at his voice. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down before pushing the door and entering the room.

The first thing that greeted me was the strong aroma of coffee. He was standing in front of a floor-to-ceiling window with his back facing me and holding a cup of coffee.

The golden morning light cast a long shadow on him, making him seem taller than he actually was.

I cautiously approached his desk, then set the document down on it. “Mr. Braydan, this is a document from Mr. Arthur. Please have a look.”

Braydan turned around slowly, then gazed at me deeply. “Riannon, have you already given a consideration to the proposal I brought up last night?” he asked in a demanding tone.

I immediately felt a panic-inducing pressure. I abandoned the document and kept my head lowered. “Please excuse me, Mr. Braydan. I have other matters to attend to.”

“Riannon, you need to understand that answering my question is also part of your job.” Braydan put his coffee cup on the table and slowly walked over to me.

“Mr. Braydan, I really have other work that requires my attention,” I told him, then turned around and headed toward the door without his permission.

Braydan did not stop me. He just continued walking toward me calmly.

I could hear his approaching footsteps getting louder and louder in this quiet office room. They sounded rhythmic, like the ticking hands of a clock and my heart beats.

I gripped the door handle and tried to open the door, but the door would not budge no matter how hard I tried to pull it open.

What was going on?! Why could I not open the door?

I pulled the door handle harder, thinking that I could force it open but it was to no avail.

The footsteps behind me drew closer and closer. While I was pulling the handle, I looked at the mechanism of the door and realized that it had been locked at some point.

“Mr. Braydan, the door!” I was extremely surprised and nervously turned around to look at him.

He was already standing right behind me. The moment I looked up, I saw his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “Miss Riannon, no one is allowed to leave my office without my permission. So please, answer my question honestly.”

Braydan sounded really arrogant. His palm hit the door right beside my ear, effectively trapping me between him and the door behind me.

His overpowering dangerous aura filled the air once again. I looked up and held his gaze boldly. “Fine, I’ll answer you honestly if that’s what you want, Mr. Braydan. I am not interested in becoming your lover.”

Braydan’s tall figure blocked my view. All I could see was him in front of me. He lowered his head and stared at me. I could see the anger and confusion that filled his eyes.

Fear seeped into my mind again. That was right, Braydan was the chairman of B.D.Corp. Someone his caliber probably never received such a blatant rejection from a woman in his life before.

Was he going to grab me by the shoulders and throw me out of the window?

I lowered my gaze, suddenly finding his dark gray tie and black shirt very interesting to look at while I waited for him to explode.

“Riannon…” His icy voice suddenly rang out above me.

He suddenly grabbed my chin with his huge hand. I flinched at the pain. Before I could put up any resistance, he lifted my chin and forced our gazes to meet. “Why do you refuse? I can give you everything you want, like money…” he asked angrily.

As the chairman of B.D.Corp, I had no doubt that Braydan was a filthy rich man. I was sure that as long as I could name him a price, he would be able to pay for it. Too bad for him, I was not about to stoop so low or risk my well being with such a dangerous man like him just for money. I had to admit though, aside from money, he was indeed a very attractive-looking man.

He removed his hand from my chin and caressed the side of my neck lovingly. His hot fingertips left a trail of blaze on my skin, slowly making me feel even more sensitive than I already was. He tempted me like a predator would to this prey, trying to make me change my mind through another method.

My entire body heated up along with my cheeks. I could feel a ball of fire burning deep in my chest, as every pore in my body opened.

It was at this moment, Sofia’s face suddenly appeared in my mind and extinguished that ball of fire.

No, I must not give in to temptation.

Getting too close to Braydan would only put Sofia in danger.

I calmed myself down then told him very firmly, “Mr. Braydan, I am only interested in becoming your employee. Please do not push my boundaries again.”

When Braydan heard my answer, the anger in him suddenly dissipated. His hand stopped and he stared at me in silence for a moment.

“If you don’t want to be my lover, can you consider becoming my wife then?”