"Marry me Bella" Kane said with a deep commanding rumble.
Bella went cold. The last of her composure was shattered by the words which hung in the air as a strange and terrifying proposition. The boldness and calculating coldness of his offer left her speechless. It was an insult and a mockery of everything she had just lost and gone through.
A marriage proposal? Here? Now? From him? Still in disbelief Bella's eyes darted from the glittering diamond in the velvet box to Kane's face. His dark eyes glinted dangerously, a silent challenge that dared her to refuse but his smirk persisted.
Bella finally managed to ask "Are you out of your mind?" in a harsh whisper that was tinged with shock and a new wave of rage.
The inanity of his proposal caused her body to recoil and she took an involuntary step back.
Kanes smirk remained unwavering.
"Marry you? You're Evies partner! You stood there and watched as Samuel was blackmailed! You're part of their world part of the reason my life is in ruins!"
With a gentle click that seemed strangely definitive in the still morning he closed the ring box. He put his hand down but his intense unblinking eyes were still on hers. He said Precisely in an unbelievably composed voice.
"I am a part of their universe. I am aware of how they function. I can help you for that exact reason Bella." His voice lowered to a low captivating tone that seemed to cut through her rage and speak straight to the wounded vindictive part of her soul as he stood closer, his presence suddenly overwhelming.
"Bella thinks. So far nothing has been accomplished by your heartache, tears or pain. You've been cast aside and humiliated. You recently saw the man you loved wed the woman who blackmailed him. She is a powerful woman whose influence you cannot subdue. To rebuild by yourself you want to flee. You will too. But the climb will be long and difficult. And they'll keep enjoying their ill-gotten wealth unabated."
Bellas mouth tensed. Despite their brutality his statements were unquestionably accurate. The harsh reality was painful but it also matched the icy determination that had started to grow inside of her on the way home.
"But with me" Kane added his voice casting a seductive perilous spell "...you have instant access to power. . To resources. To learn. I am aware of their shortcomings. I am aware of their weaknesses. I know how to take them apart one component at a time. They are not unbeatable Evie and Liam. However, fighting them alone is not an option. Not well. Not without putting everything at risk."
He took a moment to process what he had said allowing the appeal of his proposal to penetrate her desperation.
"Bella it's not about love. Not the way you think of it. It has to do with strategy. Regarding power. Regarding justice. I can provide you with the means to exact revenge. I can provide the platform for you. I can give you the power to reclaim all of the things they took from you plus more."
Bella's mind was spinning as she gazed at him. No, her heart cried out. The idea itself was met with resistance from her pride. It felt like entering a different kind of gilded cage and exchanging one captor for another when she married Kane, the man who exuded danger and was associated with the same individuals who had ruined her life.
"No" Bella shook her head and said her tone was firmer this time. "I am not able to. I want to. I will not exchange one prison for another. Marriage will not be a tool that I use to achieve my goals."
Kanes smile remained unwavering. His eyes held a knowing patience as if he had been expecting her to say no.
His gaze was intense as he stepped closer. "Remember Liams expression when he turned you down. Consider Becca's chuckles."
His words struck a chord, a dark resonant note in Bellas soul. "Do you really think that fleeing and starting your empire from scratch will be enough to satisfy that burning need for them to pay?"
"I can help you reclaim your company Bella." Kane added in a low commanding whisper. "Rodrigo Tech Solutions. Nexus Innovations. The Solstice Media. everything. I can also assist you in making sure Liam O'Connor and Evelyn Thorne suffer far more than just monetary loss. I can assist you in tearing down their foundations, their power and their reputations."
A sleek black business card was extended by him. It had a faint, nearly undetectable logo and was thick. "My number" he said in a composed assured tone. "Bela consider it. Examine the alternatives. a life of peaceful reconstruction while they carry on prospering unchallenged. Or a strategic partnership is a route to irrefutable real victory."
Before turning to face him Bella gazed at the card. Between her broken pride, her deep-rooted morals and the allure of his offer, her mind was a battlefield.
"I don't need your help" Bella said again but her tone was less determined than before.
Nearly instinctively her hand grabbed the card out of his hands. The swift angular motion was intended to express indifference and a rejection of his proposal. However she gripped the cool smooth card tightly with her fingers.
Bella turned her back on him, a whirlwind of opposing feelings roiling inside her. Her mind was still spinning as she walked back to her car, her steps heavy. She climbed inside, slammed the door and turned on the engine. She left Kane and his unnerving proposal behind as she backed out of the driveway and drove off without giving him another look.
He was still standing there, a silent watchful presence. The city lights were streaking into blur as she drove but she was not paying attention to the road. His words took up all of it.
It was ridiculous. It was frightful. It was enticing. She shuddered at the idea of marrying Kane, a man she hardly knew and who exuded cold calculation and danger.
She was also done playing the victim.
For a while Bella drove in a state of confusion as the city lights flickered. She was unable to return to the mansion just yet. Not when her humiliation raw wound is still so raw. She had to be by herself. She had to think.
Before long Bella was pulling into the parking lot of a classy unobtrusive hotel outside the city. She had previously stayed at this anonymous haven. She made a reservation using a fictitious name, her movements robotic and her voice flat. All she needed was a place to retreat to a peaceful nook where she could be herself without fear.
The elevator rose slowly and painfully as she entered. She moved through the quiet hallway, her footsteps muffled by the carpet as the doors finally opened onto her floor. When she opened her room's door and entered the cold impersonal air was a sharp contrast to the internal turmoil she was experiencing.
Bella didn't bother to unpack her bag and tossed it onto the luggage rack. She went to the large window and pulled back the heavy curtains to look at the lights of the city below. Like a million far-off stars they were lovely and unconcerned with her suffering.
The suffering. The painful jagged hole in her chest remained.
The cruelty of Liams words, the betrayal and the public denial. There was too much. She briefly experienced the cold resolve and hatred she had previously felt but the overwhelming wave of heartbreak briefly overshadowed it.
Her face was buried in her hands as she sank to the ground with her back against the cool glass. She sobbed. Not the violent sobs from before but silent resentful tears that came in hot unrelenting streams down her cheeks. I'm crying for the love she lost, the stolen future and the irreparably broken innocence.
The city was engulfed in darkness as night fell. Bella stayed up late. It felt too big and too empty in the bed. The image of Liams icy contemptuous face appeared in her mind each time she closed her eyes. She could hear Becca laughing triumphantly.
The humiliation was like a never-ending excruciating fire. With a sore body and a racing mind Bella got out of bed. The tiny black business card she had stolen from Kane caught her attention as she made her way to the bedside table.
With a slight shudder her hand extended and grasped the card. In her hands the cool smooth surface felt oddly heavy. She first glanced at it before turning to face her reflection in the window panes darkness. Her eyes were shadowed and her face was pale but they had a new icy sparkle. Tears had stopped.
She had a fixed determined expression. Bella reached over to the table and took her phone. Now that her fingers were steady she dialed the card number. As she listened to the rings on the phone she realized that each one brought her one step closer to making a choice that would change her life forever.
As soon as he did she took a deep breath strengthening her resolve as the air filled her lungs.
"Hey Kane. It's me. I've thought about it, I've made up my mind. Can we meet?"