Forced To Marry My Adoptive Sister

l settled over her like an iron shackle. The room smelled of aged paper and polished wood, a stark reminder of the empire she stood to l

that day

ly close. Even as children, there had been a cold distance between them, an unspoken wall built from years of misunderst

uit from their father's funeral, his broad shoulders carrying the weight of expectation with an ease that ma

eyes revealing nothing. "H

sing her arms over her chest.

he sound of liquid hitting crystal unnervingly calm. "You do," he said, swirling the amber liqui

t someone else take everything my fat

ink, his expression unreadable.

ne. He was so composed, so infuriatingly indifferent. Did none of

inner turmoil. "If we do this, it's just business. A con

if he found her words amusing. "Yo

jaw. "Good. Then we'l

away. The scent of his cologne-dark and sophisticated-wrapped arou

e wouldn't let him intimidate her, wouldn't let him think he

defiantly. "But don't think for a s

ning with something she couldn't quite

d left, his footsteps e

nd the armrests. She had just made a deal with the d