Todos los capítulos de BROKEN BILLIONAIRES: Capítulo 31 - Capítulo 36

ADRIAN The words were delivered so calmly. So matter-of-factly. Like he was turning down a lunch invitation instead of condemning my father to death. “You’re joking.” “I assure you I’m not.” He picked up his pen again and went back to his paperwork. “Mabel wants to marry into your family. You want to save your father’s life. It seems like a mutually beneficial arrangement to me.” “Mabel is—” I stopped myself. Tried to find words that wouldn’t make this worse. “She’s not someone I could ever marry.” “Why not? She’s beautiful. Well-educated. From a good family.” “She’s cruel.” The word came out hard. “She treats Lolette like garbage. Goes out of her way to make her miserable.” Something shifted in Theodore’s expression. “Ah yes. Lolette. My charitable project.” The way he said her name made my skin crawl. “She’s not a project. She’s a person.” “She’s an orphan I took in out of the goodness of my heart.” He set down his pen again and looked at me directly. “A troubled girl

LOLETTE.The tequila burned its way down my throat.We ordered two more shots after that.Then two more after those.Evlor tried her best to keep the conversation light and away from dangerous territory. She told me about her job at the gallery and about some artist who'd apparently thrown a complete tantrum over the lighting setup at his opening last week. She told me about her roommate's terrible boyfriend who kept leaving the toilet seat up and his dirty dishes in the sink.I laughed in what I hoped were the right places. I nodded when it seemed appropriate. I let her words wash over me like background noise that kept my brain from going to the dark places it wanted to go.The alcohol was helping. It made everything feel further away from me somehow. Softer around the edges. Less sharp and cutting.We switched from shots back to wine. Then back to shots again. Then wine one more time. At some point I lost track of what we were drinking and how much of it we'd already had.Evlor's v

ADRIAN.She took my arm.Her fingers wrapped around my forearm and she leaned her weight against me like her legs might give out any second.The smell of tequila and wine came off her in waves.I should have seen this coming. I should have known she'd hit a breaking point eventually. The phone hack revelation had been the final straw and I'd just let her walk out and go drink herself into oblivion because I didn't know what else to do."Come on," I said quietly. "Let's get you upstairs."She nodded without looking at me. Her eyes were unfocused and glassy in a way that made my chest tighten with worry.I guided her toward the elevators, keeping my pace slow and steady so she could match it. She stumbled once and I caught her immediately, my other hand coming up to steady her waist."Sorry," she mumbled."Don't apologize. I've got you."The elevator doors opened and I helped her inside. She immediately slumped against the back wall, her head falling back against the mirrored surface w