Page 52 of Claimed By the Ruthless King

This will affect her just as much as me.

Jealousy hits me as I wonder who was driving the car. Who else is telling her to stay away? I should be the only one protecting her.

I kill the thought for now, focusing on what is in front of me. Ophelia has suggested leaving the company a few times now. I don’t want to see her go, but her leaving might be the safest thing for both of us.

When people get too close to me, bad things start happening. And the only one who survives is me.

“Email me a copy of your resignation,” I say to her.

“What?”

“Sweetheart,” I say, catching her eyes. “You have suggested leaving several times now. I think it would be for the best if⁠—”

“You don’t get to make that decision for me.”

“All due respect, Miss Bennett, I’m your boss.”

“I changed my mind about quitting.”

I stare at her hard. “Why?”

“I… just,” she stutters, her mouth opening and closing as she finds the words. “You’re not the person I thought you were.”

“No. I’m worse.”

Ophelia tilts her head to the side, her blue eyes shining in the overhead lighting. “The person your assassin overheard…” she says, trailing off.

“Enforcer,” I correct her, and then continue. “What about them?”

“Who was the person?” Deep lines appear between her brows as she figures out the answer herself. “Was it Wilson?”

I grind my jaw. Lying is always the easiest thing to do… except when it comes to Ophelia. She draws the truth out of me every single time.

“Yes, it was Wilson.”

“And you killed him,” she states, her eyes spacing out. “The memorial…”

“Was someone else’s idea,” I say, pausing at the other end of the conference table. “Look, Ophelia, I understand this is a lot to take in⁠—”

“You murdered someone to silence them?”

I grind my jaw. “Yes. Like I said, Miss Bennett, I think it would be best if you resigned and got as far away from me as possible.

“Why?” she laughs. “Before you kill me for knowing too much?”

“I would never hurt you, sweetheart.”

“Why?” she asks, arching her brow. “Because I’m still useful to you?”

“No, Ophelia, it’s nothing like that.” I shuffle closer, working my way back to her. “Like I said before, I’m a bad person who has done bad things. I wish I could say I regret my decisions in order to win you over, but truthfully, I’m very proud of my past and who I have grown to become.”

Ophelia studies me intently. “You’re proud of murder?”

I nod. “And everything in between, including hiring you to be my assistant.” I slide my hands into my pockets, wishing I could change things so that she would see me in a different light, but in truth, my sins are what brought us together in the first place.

If I played by the rules, I would have walked a very different path.

“Someone wants the Crows to be powerful again?”