Page 72 of Filthy Hot Billionaire
Knox turned his head, met my gaze, then brushed my hair away from my face in a move that was uniquely Knox, a side to him that most people never got to see. “I’m not looking to replace you.”
I held his stare, praying that was true. Although I wanted to remain indifferent, I couldn’t deny I didn’t want to lose what we’d worked so hard to build even if I did want Emily to be part of it. The problem was, neither of us knew how she would react when she learned that we both wanted her. Or that we wanted each other.
“I need you,” I admitted, not ashamed to do so.
“I know you do. I’m not going anywhere.”
This was as close to a declaration of love as we ever got. Neither of us had admitted we loved each other. Again, a weakness neither of us was willing to succumb to, but it was still there between us.
I remained where I was when Knox got up, disappeared into the en suite bath. I took a moment, let my heart rate slow a little more. When I heard the shower come on, I sat up, got to my feet.
A second later, I joined Knox for another round, this one not quite as intense, but equally satisfying.
14
Saturday, November 5, 2022
Emily
My first thought when I opened myeyes the next morning was that I never wanted to leave this place.
Never.
Perhaps that was because the bed I was in was the most comfortable place I’d ever laid my head. I felt like Goldilocks sleeping on the mattress that was soft but not too soft, the pillows fluffy but not too fluffy, the comforter warm but not too warm. As though Knox bought his furniture from a magical place that the rest of us didn’t know about.
Unlike Goldilocks, I knew what would happen when the bears—or in this case just singular—returned home.
However, it wasn’t the bed that had me smiling. No, that was credited to the view out the wall of windows, revealed by the heavy drapes that hadn’t been closed the night before. Laid out before me was Central Park glittering to life as the sun ascended higher in the sky. From this height, it seemed to go on for miles, a sea of fall colors bracketed by buildings and the Hudson River on the left, more buildings, and the East River on the right. I wasn’t sure there was another building in this city with a view as spectacular as this one.
And it was in my bedroom.
Mybedroom.
Although I’d had time to sleep on it, I still wasn’t sure what to think about this place or the fact that Knox had bought it for me. Why? Why would he do something like that? Out of guilt? Did he feel bad because he stole everything from my father, leaving us out in the cold the way he had?
Just thinking about it had me pulling the blankets tighter, the pain and anger still fresh, still capable of making me cold to the core.
I remembered the conversation I’d forced my father into the day they served what I learned were the legal documents to take the house.
“Why do we have to leave, Daddy?”
Rhett heaved a heavy exhale that was rich with frustration. “I wish it was simple, Emily. I wish it would make sense to you.”
“It does make sense,” Kitty shouted from the doorway. “This is her fault. No matter how hard I tried, no matter how much effort I put into making her a lady—”
“Kitty, stop!” my father barked.
Never had I heard my father speak to her that way, and I suspected it’d never happened based on the way my stepmother’s face drew up with lines of rage and fury sinking into her skin.
I expected an explosion, but rather than unleash the wrath of hell on my father, Kitty spun on her heel and stormed out of the room. Rhett exhaled heavily again.
“Why does she keep saying that?” I asked my father, needing to know the truth, hoping against hope that she didn’t know what happened last night between me and Knox.
“She’s just upset. Knox is taking everything.”
“But why?” That was what I wanted to know. Why would he do something like that to his own mother? I mean, if he was upset with me, that was one thing. To take it out on them seemed a bit overdramatic.
“He’s a vengeful man, Emily. That’s something you should remember. He doesn’t know how to forgive. This is his way of punishing us all.”
