CHAPTER TWO -NO DIVORCE

"You must be cold in only that skimpy little thing you're wearing,"Lorenzo observed idly, heading to the fridge for a carton of orange juice. His short black hair was damp and standing up in tufts

where he had carelessly towel-dried it after his shower. He wore nothing but a pair of black shorts. He looked as gorgeous as always, and Sarah hated him more than ever for that masculine perfection.

"I'm fine."Sarah got up abruptly and headed toward the sink to rinse the mug, but Lorenzo grabbed her elbow to halt her movement. She tensed, shocked by the touch...Lorenzo never touched her outside of the bedroom. In the eighteen months they had been married, married not bonded, this was the first time that she could recall the alpha touching her without it being a precursor to sex.

Lorenzo leaned closer to her and lowered his lips to her left ear. She felt Lorenzo’s hot breath on the side of her face before he spoke.

"There'll be no more talk of divorce,Sarah ...ever," the alpha told her with a sickening air of finality.

"You can't stop me from divorcing you,Lorenzo," she responded bravely.

"You really want a divorce, cara?" he asked.

Sarah nodded stiffly.

"If you get that divorce, your cousin loses her business, and she can't afford that now, not with a new baby on the way. She and her alpha need all the capital they can get."

Somehow Sarah hadn't expected that, she should have, but she hadn't.

Lorenzo had loaned her cousin, Elisa the start-up capital for her bookshop.

Sarah didn’t know what the specifics of that loan were, but she had always assumed that it was done out of generosity. Staring up at Lorenzo now, the omega couldn't believe her own naïveté.

Lorenzo Matteo did nothing out of sheer generosity, and that loan was merely another weapon for him to use against Sarah.

"You wouldn't," Sarah responded.

"Elisa has done nothing to deserve this."

"Cara, I will do whatever it takes to get what I want from you."

"I have money too, I can help her..." the omega began desperately.

"No, you have a rich father, and he had the opportunity to help Sarah , but he made his contempt of the idea more than obvious to everyone at the time, and you know that he would never support you through a messy divorce,Sarah."

"I still don't believe you would do it! You have a reputation to uphold. You're an honest businessman, and you wouldn't destroy a small business just to prove a point. What kind of message would that send?"Sarah asked.

"That I'm not to be trifled with."

Lorenzo shrugged. "Do you honestly think I care what people think of me,Sarah? Do you think I care what you think of me? I never have and I never will. You're weak and spoiled."

"I'm not..."Sarah tried to defend herself, but Lorenzo made a scoffing sound in the back of his throat before continuing as if Sarah hadn't spoken."

"You'll get your divorce eventually, but there's something I need to get from you first. You wanted this marriage, remember? You begged for it, I'm sure.

So if you want a divorce right now, it'll come with some heavy penalties. Are you willing to gamble with your cousin's future?"

Sarah wouldn't do it, and Lorenzo knew it.

Lorenzo had her exactly where he wanted her. There would be no divorce not when Sarah was terrified of disappointing her father. Not when so much hung in the balance.

But there would be changes... Sarah Malik was done being a doormat! She said nothing, choosing to turn and walk away instead.

Lorenzo watched her go, and she could feel Lorenzo’s eyes burning into her slender back but Lorenzo did not call her back.Sarah did not return to the bedroom they had shared since the first day of their marriage, opting instead to head for the library, knowing that she could not sleep another wink.

Not in that room, not anymore.