Chapter 5

Kate's POV

My mind went blank, the reeled with shock as it finally processed what I just heard. His wife? What was he thinking.

“No way!” I blurted out. It wasn't a conscious thought, just words that fell off my lips.

But I regretted them the instant they fell, because the look in Mr Benedetto's face could have frozen all seven oceans. For some reason, I shivered and avoided meeting his gaze.

“Look at me!” he commanded.

Like a puppet, I slowly raised my head to meet his eyes. The exasperation and mockery I saw made me angry. I held his gaze stubbornly.

The war of stares raged for almost a full minutes before I finally gave him. But I refused to look down once more. I simply focused on his face, rather than looking directly into his eyes.

Once again, I wondered how anyone could be so handsome.

“What do you mean no way?” Mr Benedetto asked, his voice clearly reflecting his exasperation. “The press already thinks we're married. You saw the news.”

I swallowed. Ordinarily, the thought if being married to such a handsome piece of man was the subject of my fantasies.

But faced with this one that clearly didn't care for anyone but himself, I could already imagine how the marriage would be like.

That wasn't something I was willing to condemn myself to.

I looked up his face with new resolve. “We can simply tell the press it was a misundersta –”

A loud bang almost made me jump off my feet. Mr Benedetto had just slammed his fists on his desk.

“Look, we have gone over this, haven't we? That simply is not an option. Not a smart option anyway –”

“But –”

“No buts! Look, you either do this, or you will disappear. It's your choice,”

My eyes went wide. I stared at him, refusing to believe he had just said he would kill me. But the resolve on every line of his face told me he meant it.

Here was a man who was used to getting what he want, and would kill for it. Burning rage welled in me. The fact that he wasn't even trying to be reasonable to someone that would be his wife…

“How would my death solve the problem?” I tried to keep my voice level, to keep the rage from leaking. But it was a futile struggle.

The ass seemed to enjoy my rage. He stared at my face for some time, his cold expression replaced by an amused one.

“Well, I do have many enemies. Any of them might have decided they didn't want me to stay married. Who knows?”

“So, death or my wish, which do you choose?” he asked.

God. This was ridiculous. I gritted my teeth in anger. I could see his mind was made up.

I wasn't going to win this argument.

Angrily, I stood up, almost breaking the seat in the process, and stomped to the door.

‘You will have to find me to kill me,’ I thought to myself.

But I had clearly underestimated Mr Benedetto. He seemed to read my mind.

“Don't bother running. For one, I have my men trailing you. For another, no airport in the country would give you a ticket,”

“Bastard!” I called over my shoulder as I slammed the door of his office.

No matter what he said, I was determined I wasn't going to give in to him. I decided Maxwell wasn't the man for me and left him at the altar.

I've decided Dante di Benedetto isn't the man for me too, and I'm sure as hell going to dish him the same.

In the elevator, my phone pinged. It was a text from an unknown number, but the text itself made it clear who it was from.

[Some business associates and friends would be coming over to my house around 4 to celebrate the marriage. Use the money for some nice dress. Take the rest of the day off. I expect you ready and waiting by then. I will pick you]

I huffed and stuffed the phone back into my handbag. The more he acted domineering, the more anger I felt.

My phone pinged again. I took it out. My eyes went wide as I glanced at the credit alert on the screen.

Who the hell spent that much on a dress? Or was he thinking money would sway me?

‘And now the hell did he know my account number?’ I wondered. But I remembered I worked in his business, so it wouldn't take much to dig it out.

I clenched my fists as I got off the elevator. No one has ever really gone against him, huh? Well, he would soon find out Katherine Ivanov is not just no one.

*****

Author's Note:

Hellooooooo :)

So excited to finally have this story here. I was supposed to start on the 1st of the month, but I've been kinda busy with school. I had to take some time off to write today, so the chapter is a little short.

However, expect more chapters in a few hours time. I aim to update four chapters everyday. If it turns out I can't meet up any day, at least two chapters is guaranteed.

So….hang on tight, will ya?

Ps: votes, comments, and honest reviews would be very much appreciated.