Revenge? Is that really what I want? Or do I just want my ex-husband’s younger brother? *•*•*•*•*•* The plan was simple—marry Maverick Sinclair, give him an heir, and in return, he’d help me destroy my ex-husband, Sebastian Sinclair. One year. One child. One deal. But then again, nothing is ever that simple. Because how do I give Maverick a child… when I’m already hiding his first one in plain sight? I should tell him, so Maverick can finally take his rightful place as CEO and have his revenge against his father and brother, right? Wrong. I will protect my daughter with everything I have. *•*•*•*•*•* DISCLAIMER❗❗❗ This book contains detailed sex scenes that will leave you feeling very hot and very bothered. If you can’t take the heat and tension, then this isn’t for you. If you’re single… Well, this definitely isn’t for you. Just kidding. Enjoy!
view moreIRIS
It was all I could do not to fall asleep behind the wheel as I drove home. It was a long day at the hospital and all I wanted to do was change out of the scrubs I was wearing, take a hot shower, and rest in my husband’s arms. I stepped my foot a bit harder against the gas pedal. I really hoped Sebastian was home. The past few days had been a rollercoaster, but I was ready to fix everything. He didn't need to apologize for the insults he’d rained on me a week ago. I deserved them. We’d been married for over two years and I couldn’t get pregnant. What kind of woman was I? I slowed down as I approached the parking garage, a feeling of excitement coursing through me despite my fatigue. I had good news for Seb. I’d officially obtained my nursing license. Dragging myself out of my car, I took out the box of cake I’d picked up at the bakery on my way over and headed towards the elevator. But as I approached, I saw a familiar figure walking towards me. “Malcolm?” I called out. Malcolm was our family lawyer and Seb’s best friend. He was dressed in a suit, holding a brown envelope which he tried to hide behind him as he saw me walking towards him. “Iris,” his eyebrows shot up. “Hey.” “Hey,” I said. “What are you doing here? Is there a problem?” Malcolm hesitated. Though it was brief—a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes— I caught it. There definitely was a problem, and it was my job to find out what it was. “Look, I-Iris,” he started to stutter, but the envelope he was hiding finally came into view. “We can’t do this here.” Feeling annoyed, I snapped, my voice sharp. “What is that? If there’s something wrong— which, clearly there is, or you wouldn’t be here— I deserve to know.” Malcolm exhaled resignedly, finally handing the envelope to me. “I wasn’t supposed to give you this here.” His voice was soft and filled with what I recognized as pity. My hand shook as I grabbed the envelope from him, and I dropped the cake box on the ground so I could open it with both hands. It felt too light to be anything important, but the moment I saw the words printed at the top of the paper, all the air left my lungs and I suddenly forgot how to breathe. Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. These were divorce papers. “What?” My voice was small, cracked. And as I looked up at Malcolm for some sort of explanation—maybe it was just a misunderstanding— the solemn expression on his face told me all I needed to know. “I’m sorry, Iris. I hate to do this to you. Seb…” But I couldn’t hear anything anymore except for the ringing in my ears. As I stumbled towards the elevator and pressed the button, my legs threatened to give way under me. “Iris. Iris, wait.” Malcolm sounded worried. “You don’t want to go up right now.” But it was too late. The doors had closed and I could feel the elevator ascending. I stared at the papers in my hand, my vision blurring. This had to be a mistake. It had to be! Sebastian wouldn't… he wouldn’t do this. Not like this. Not without talking it out with me first. The soft ding of the elevator informed me that I had arrived at our penthouse, and as the door opened, I said the one name that had been on my mind all day. “Sebastian.” Bile rose up my throat and it was all I could do not to throw up on the carpet. “Sebastian!” I called louder this time, storming towards our bedroom. I barely registered the pair of heels sitting by the door before I twisted the knob, opening the door to a scene that shattered my heart to pieces a hundred times over. Sebastian was in bed with another woman. Both were naked and they rushed to cover themselves with the duvet while I stood there, unable to process the situation before me. My legs wobbled like noodles. I held on to the doorpost for support. “Iris?” “Seb?” I was breathless. “What is… what is this? Who is that?” Sebastian jumped out of the bed, picked up his boxers from the floor, and put it on. He started to approach me. “We should talk about this outside—” I tried to walk past him towards the bed to see who the homewrecker was but he reached for me, pulling me towards the door. Not before I saw the face of the woman on the bed. Eleanor Hayes, my husband’s one and only assistant. And my best friend. I was too stunned to speak as Sebastian led me out of the room, my gaze locked onto Eleanor’s wide-eyed stare. “I-I thought you had a double shift at the hospital tonight,” Sebastian lamely tried to defend. Slowly, I forced myself to meet his eyes, studying the expression on his face. On the surface, he seemed worried, probably because I looked like a crazed lunatic at the moment, but I wasn’t stupid— at least, not at that moment. I could see the underlying expression. Mirth. He was amused by what he’d just done to me, not worried or sorry. Shocked laughter escaped my lips. “So what? If you knew I was coming home, you wouldn’t have brought Eleanor home to fuck her?” “Iris—” “You wouldn’t have asked Malcolm to give me these fucking papers because of how much of a damn coward you are?” I shoved the papers in his face. My hands were shaking and my breathing had become erratic. I knew what was coming, but I was too filled with rage and adrenaline to calm myself down. Sebastian’s nostrils flared as the papers fell to the floor. He turned his back on me, pulling at his hair with exasperation as he scoffed. “You know fucking what?” He turned to face me. “Yeah, I did that. I fucked Eleanor, and I want a divorce. What are you going to do about it, Iris?” Tears clouded my vision as I bit out, “You’re pathetic.” Sebastian only laughed, but his gaze turned deadly as he moved even closer to me, forcefully gripping my chin. “No, you are. A fucking sorry excuse for a woman, that’s what you are,” he spat. “Been married to you for so fucking long and I have nothing to show for it! But guess what? Eleanor and I have been fucking for only a month and she is pregnant. Don’t you feel silly? Don’t you feel fucking stupid?” I couldn’t breathe. No matter how hard I tried to take deep breaths, my lungs wouldn’t let me. “You’re lying,” I whispered. The fire was gone, all that was left was a hollow ache where the anger used to be. “That’s not true. You’re lying.” I opened my mouth to speak again but a voice cut in. A raspy voice. One that I used to love listening to as we laughed and cried together. Now all it reminded me of was nails scraping on a chalkboard. “It’s true,” Eleanor said as she came into view. “I’m pregnant, Iris.” The force of her words made me stumble backward. This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t fucking happening to me. Eleanor wouldn’t do that to me, would she? Sebastian stretched a hand out to her and she sauntered over to him dressed in his shirt. “We didn’t plan it,” she continued, smirking at me. “It just… happened.” “We’re done, Iris,” Sebastian sighed. “You’re a liability to me. There’s no way I’m becoming a CEO with you in my life. So, just sign the fucking papers and leave, okay?” A wet, shaky laugh escaped me. Just sign the fucking papers and leave. Like I was nothing but dirt under his shoes. But I did it. I picked the papers up and signed them at the kitchen counter. One last blow to my dignity. And then, my chest caving in, I stumbled out of the penthouse. I kept my back turned to the elevator doors because I couldn't watch the smirks on their faces as it closed shut. I felt humiliated, used, stupid. I dug my nails into my palm as I approached my car. Each breath I took was more shallow than the last and my pulse continuously pounded in my ears. As I turned the key in the ignition, I knew I was doing the one thing I wasn’t supposed to do during a panic attack, but at that moment, I couldn't bring myself to care. I had to get away from that environment. And so I drove. And I drove and I drove until I couldn’t make sense of the dark roads in front of me. I drove until my vision blurred and I was unable to see, but I couldn’t stop. I was worthless. I deserved to die. Why couldn’t someone just— Bang! I felt my body move forward due to the force of the car that hit mine, but it was all over before it even started. It wasn’t enough. I was still okay. I heard the sound of a door being opened, and I watched in darkness as a figure resembling a man approached me. Perfect. I couldn’t even die right. I felt the tears start to pour again and this time I didn't hold it back. I screamed like a mad woman.MAVERICK She was so small. Amethyst lay curled underneath the thin hospital blanket, and I watched the way her chest rose and fell with every breath she took, watched the way her lashes fluttered lightly against her cheeks. They were thick. So thick. And I never even realized until this moment how much she looked like my mother. Like me. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I was seated beside the hospital bed, my elbows on my knees as my hands hung uselessly between my legs. My fingers were twitching. Itching to touch her. To hold her in my arms. But I didn't move, for fear that I was going to break her. Or maybe I was just scared that she was going to break me. Break what was left of me. My daughter. I had a daughter. Somehow, the first night that Iris and I had together had led to us having a child. And I was too fueled with rage and my need for revenge to even realize the resemblance she bore with me. Under my nose. It all happened under my damn nose. “I didn
IRIS “What are you going to do?” That was Megan’s question after Dwayne had stormed out. There had been an uncomfortable silence in the room for a while, both Megan and I lost in our thoughts. Me thinking about Maverick and Amethyst, and Megan?Well…“I don’t know,” I answered honestly, crossing my arms in front of my chest as I leaned back in my seat. “Maverick wasn’t exactly clear on what he was going to do to me.”I hated that I sounded bitter when I said that, but I couldn't help it.Maverick was about to do away with me. I was sure of it. This was going to be the end. That, maybe I could deal with. Maybe I could forfeit all the drama and the plans for revenge that we hadn’t even started to go into yet.But, Amethyst?How was I going to beg Maverick not to take her from me? The look in his eyes, him wanting to be alone with her…My greatest fear had come to life. Maverick was going to take Amy from me, and he was probably going to marry Layla because of how attached they were
IRIS The first thing I heard as soon as I opened the door to Megan’s room was the soft, steady beeping of the heart monitor.Other than that, it was quiet. Dwayne sat beside her bed, his elbows on his knees, head in his hands. His entire body was tense. Too still.The doctors said that Megan had woken up earlier, but now, she was asleep.“Hey,” I whispered.Dwayne’s head snapped up, and he looked at me warily, then shifted his gaze tp the door like he was expecting someone to come in.“Where’s Maverick?”I took a seat across from him. “With Amethyst.”That answer alone multiplied the tension in the room. Dwayne heaved a sigh, his hand moving to the back of his neck. And when his eyes met mine, he gave me a sheepish smile.“Sorry for my outburst earlier,” he muttered. “I was just—”“Dwayne,” I interrupted. “There’s no need to apologize, okay? I should be the one apologizing.”His eyes widened slightly and I swallowed nervously. “And you were right. This happened because of me. If Me
IRIS I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that the moment things went south, Layla would swoop in and try to “fix” things.But that still didn’t soften the hurt that I felt. Seeing Maverick wrap his arms around the girl that so obviously wanted him, was heartbreaking, to say the least. It pulled at something inside of me that shouldn’t have been pulled at all.But I had to remind myself that Maverick wasn’t mine. And that even if he was, I deserved whatever he was dishing out at me right now.Dwayne gave me a short glance, and I could see a hint of… worry or pity in his expression.And then, shaking his head at the scene before us, he disappeared into the corner, heading toward Megan’s room.I should’ve turned around. Should’ve taken one look at Maverick’s arms around her and left without saying a word. But I couldn't.My legs had frozen in place. My lungs refused to work.And my heart?God, my heart was cracking wide open.Layla turned slightly in mavericks arms, noticing me stan
MAVERICK Fucking hell.I stood outside the hospital, staring at the hood of my car like it had personally betrayed me.My pulse thundered nonstop in my ears and my knuckles ached from how tightly I’d been clenching my fists.I was going to fucking lose itI had a daughter. My own flesh and blood. And Iris Blake had kept her from me.It was funny, really. I didn’t even know if I was mad at her for hiding her in plain sight, or mad at myself for not figuring it out sooner.Before I could realize what I was doing, my fist was coming down against the roof of my car. Hard. I felt the impact from my fist down to my shoulder, but I didn’t care.So fucking stupid. That’s what I was. Too fucking stupid and lenient to dig into a woman who was important to my plan.But then again, maybe I just didn’t want to find out.With a sharp grunt, I started to punch down on my car again, but a voice stopped me short.“Careful there, bro.”I turned to see Dwayne walking toward me, hands in his pockets. He
IRIS The expression on Maverick’s face was either going to make me lose my breath, or ruin me. Either way, I was going to die. I shouldn’t have said that. Definitely shouldn’t have included Maverick in the list of the Sinclairs that I didn’t trust, but I couldn’t help it. I just… couldn’t trust him. But I couldn’t also help but feel like I’d made a horrible mistake. Not a mistake as horrible as keeping his daughter from him, but horrible nonetheless. Maverick sneered at me, and in a flash, my back slammed hard against the wall with my hands above my head. Maverick had pinned both my hands against the wall with one of his. “Give me one instance,” he seethed. “One instance where I made you feel like you couldn’t trust me. Where I caused you damage like you say the Sinclairs do.” I didn’t respond. Not because I didn’t want to, or because I couldn't. But because I didn’t have an answer to Maverick’s question. My lips remained parted, but no words came out. His jaw
MAVERICK I knew. Of course I fucking knew. I’d suspected for a long time, but I just didn’t want to find out. Didn’t want to believe that Iris would keep something as serious as this from me. My own daughter. Even after everything that Iris and I had been through, she had kept her from me. Had even fucking begged me not to dig into her. I should’ve. Respecting Iris’s wishes was a decision that I was going to regret for the rest of my life. “Maverick…” Iris’s voice cracked as she trailed off. That was all she could manage at this point. My name. Because there was nothing she could say or do to fix this. Dwayne arched his brow at me. “Yeah,” he muttered through his teeth. “That’s the fucking reaction I’ve been looking for.” Last week, Dwayne had told me that Megan had slipped and said something that hinted at Iris being Amethyst’s mother. I’d though it was a ridiculous mistake because there was no damn way that it was true. That didn’t mean I was able to stop thinking
IRIS Megan.My baby.My baby. My baby. My baby.I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t even speak.I was a zombie when Maverick led me to his car. A zombie when he drove, but not oblivious to the worried stares that he kept throwing my way.But before Maverick had even parked the car in front of the hospital, I was already out. Already running inside. The ground was cold beneath my bare feet. At some point, I’d taken my shoes off, and I hadn’t even noticed. I had no idea where they were.“Iris!” I heard Maverick call behind me, but I was already disappearing through the doors. “Wait!”I was a zombie when I walked over to the reception. The nurses looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to say something.Anything.But I couldn’t. Even though my mouth opened, no words came out. My throat, my breathing. It was all constricted. Fear and panic wrapped themselves tightly around my chest, gripping me so harshly. Rendering me speechless.“How can we help you, Miss?”“My…m–my b—”“A w
IRIS “You know, it never really made sense why Layla would dye her hair until I saw you in this dress,” Ryan said as we turned into a corner.His gaze assessed me from top to bottom, and he had a slightly amused smirk on his face. “You look gorgeous, by the way.”I cleared my throat, shifting on my feet. “Thank you.”“I really wish my sister wasn’t so obsessed with that fucking guy. I hope you’ll excuse her shortcomings, Iris.”My brows shot up as I scoffed. “Shortcomings?”Ryan’s perfectly white teeth showed as he grinned, and I realized with a start that he had dimples on both cheeks.There was no doubt about Ryan’s gorgeousness. His blond hair was tousled stylishly and he had on a black button-down shirt that was tucked into same colored slacks.He was handsome in a way that was… rugged. Carefree.And I… was noticing way too much about him.Well, forgive me for being blinded by his smile.“Maybe a little more than shortcomings.” He let out a chuckle. “My sister can be… intense.”I
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