THE BILLONAIRE'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE

Warning

Adrian found her in the garden.

Elena sat on a stone bench that faced the beautiful roses. His footsteps stopped behind her.

"You lied to me."

She didn't turn. "About what?"

"Don't." The word cracked like a whip. "Don't treat me like I'm stupid, Elena. Don't treat me like I can't see what you're doing."

She stood and Faced him. The late afternoon sun cut across his face, highlighting the tension in his jaw, the tightness around his eyes. He wasn't calm.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

"You came back from your father's house with something. You've been carrying it for two days. You don't sleep. You don't eat. You look at me like you're waiting for me to.." He stopped. His hands curled into fists at his sides. "What did he tell you?"

"Nothing."

"Elena."

"He told me nothing!" Her voice broke, sharp and desperate. "He yelled. He told me to stay away from you. He told me you married me to destroy us and then he threw me out. That's it. That's what I got."

Adrian stepped closer, close enough that she could feel the heat coming off him, the barely contained energy that made the air between them vibrate.

"Then why did you lie?" he asked. "The other night. When I asked if you were investigating Marcus. You looked me in the eye and you lied."

Elena's heart hammered against her ribs.

She lifted her chin. "Because it's none of your business."

His laugh was short and disbelieving. "None of my business? You are my wife. You are standing in my house with secrets about my brother written all over your face, and you have the nerve to tell me it's none of my business?"

"I'm your wife on paper!" The shout tore out of her. "That's what you wanted. A contract. You don't get to demand my thoughts, Adrian. You don't get to own my silence just because you bought my name."

"I didn't buy you."

"You did!" Her eyes burned. "You bought me, you used me, you married me to hurt my father. Don't pretend this is about trust. Don't pretend you care what I think or what I know. You only care that I'm not looking in the direction you don't want me to see."

Adrian went still.

"Is that what you believe?" he asked quietly. "That I don't care?"

"I believe you care about your revenge," Elena said. Her voice was shaking but she didn't stop. "I believe you care about whatever happened to Marcus. I believe you care about controlling me long enough to get what you want from my family. But me? The actual person? You don't care about me at all."

He moved Fast before she could flinch, his hand was on her arm, pulling her around to face him fully. His eyes were wild, gray storming into black, and for the first time since she had met him, Elena saw the wall c***k completely.

"Marcus's death is not a story you can read and put down," he said, his voice low and fierce. "It is not a puzzle for you to solve because you're angry at your father. It is dangerous, Elena. The people involved, the truth of what happened"

"Then tell me!" She jerked her arm, but he didn't let go. "Tell me what happened! Tell me why my father is afraid of you! Tell me why you look at me sometimes like I'm the weapon you've been waiting to use!"

"Because you are!" The admission ripped out of him. He released her arm like she'd burned him. He stepped back, his chest heaving, his composure in tatters around his feet. "You are the weapon. You are the key."

Elena's breath caught. Adrian dragged a hand through his hair. When he looked at her again, the fury was gone.

"You think I want revenge," he said. His voice was rough "You think I built this marriage, this fortress, this life around hurting the people who took him from me. And you're right. I do want revenge. I want it so badly I can taste it in my sleep." He swallowed.

"If you dig," he whispered, "you won't just destroy your relationship with your father. You will uncover things that will make you wish you'd never been born a Vale.