Chapter 5 - The Proposition

ALEXANDER

He knew he had made the colossal decision when he ditched his engagement party yesterday.

But, once again, he got ambushed.

By his father, by his family name. The Browning held an invincible string toward his future.

His anchor, who grounded him from this family insanity, had already departed from this fucked up world. His mother left him, and now he no longer cared if he acted rashly or unhinged.

Just half an hour before his engagement party started, Alexander decided to give a big middle finger toward his father.

So he ran away and dealt with the consequences later.

There was another important agenda to set his freedom in motion.

On the black sedan he deliberately rented for this purpose, he pushed the pedal and went above 150 km/hour on a highway.

Based on the GPS, he should reach the target place around 15 minutes after he exited the highway.

Yes, he came to the small and humble bakery shop after he took a left.

A cute one, if he might add.

The signage was written as 'Iris Divine Cupcakes'.

Alexander threw a small smile while seeing the pink and lilac frosting symbol. Such a girly and feminine logo. Just like the owner.

"Iris..." he whispered, his body instantly hard every time he could remember how soft and pliant the girl inside his hug was when they met in the ballroom.

'She will be mine!' His mind already took ownership, and he decided the girl's fate.

She will be completely and thoroughly ravished under his body, and wilfully his. Eventually.

But when he put his mind on something, it most likely became his at his bidding.

Alexander texted something to his own shadow, the private investigator he paid exclusively to do such dirty work, which he ordered to him right now via text.

'Investigate this person to me, Iris Patricia Denvier, owner of Iris Divine Cupcakes. I want detailed information about her. Dig deeply, and I want the information by tomorrow.'

He sent the text and put his phone inside his jacket before he went to another destination.

Her home.

Called him a stalker, but it did not matter.

Iris Patricia Denvier would be his, and she would be a piece of chess that he could move on his chessboard to tackle the enemy's king.

His father.

He arrived at her home thirty minutes after he inspected her bakery store.

Her home was a definition of homey.

A small home, but it had a tiny yet beautiful compact front garden with sets of colorful flowers and a lot of herbs that she took care of with love.

Alexander could believe that a fairy lived in this very home.

The home was still dark. Maybe Iris had not yet come back from his mansion.

He could wait until she came back. He was that patient to get his endgame.

While waiting, he contemplated opening his phone to call his right hand and one of his best friends to brief the situation.

But he knew his father and his goons would likely bombard him with hundreds of calls, voice calls, and texts.

So he put this bad idea back into his mind.

He needed to take his trust fund and sold his and his mother's shares in a company. He might need to resign from his position as a Chief Operating Officer after the antic that he did today.

Or should he fight his position and force his father to step down instead?

Alex entertained that idea, and he tried to form a formula and plan to realize this plan.

His father, as the CEO of Browning Corporation, would likely give him hell after he ruined the party.

But Alexander Roman Browning cultivated his reputation as a ruthless bastard and a crazy devil through his actions. Now, his father would taste what it felt like to get fucked by a crazy devil himself.

A black van soon arrived in front of Iris's home.

The black van had the same logo as the bakery shop.

Alex smiled widely when he saw Iris get out of the car.

"It's showtime, baby!"

***

He rang the bell twice and waited until Iris came to open the door.

He saw minimal light and was almost sure that Iris went to bed early after she arrived home.

Alex tried to ring the bell once again.

Still empty ... and quiet.

Because he did not want to return to his apartment empty-handed without touching Iris again, Alex grumpily took his phone and turned on the device.

Yeah, hundreds of messages and voice calls flooded his phone, but he ignored all of that. He focused on calling the number from the name card Iris gave him tonight.

Faintly Alex heard the ringtone inside her home. It meant his call was gone through.

"Uh ... hello?" Iris' husky voice directly pierced through his heart. A woman's voice when she was just waking up interrupted. So warm and inviting.

"Iris, open your door," said Alexander.

Iris gasped when she heard his voice.

"Who are you?" She became alert, and Alex detected a hint of fear in her voice.

"Alexander," he replied shortly.

"C'mon, I am already in front of your door," Alexander added impatiently.

"No!" she replied in a panic.

"Yes," Alexander chuckled.

"Alexander Browning?" she asked doubtfully.

"Yes, the one and only." Now Alex smiled widely, hearing their banter.

"What are you doing here?" Iris was full of doubt and fear.

Yes, a sensible woman needed to be wary of him.

"I will talk to you when you open the door," Alex said, with a tone full of authority.

"No, please go from my home. Or I will call the police, Sir!" said Iris.

"Open your door, or you can kiss your bakery shop goodbye! I mean it, Iris." Alexander played dirty and did not hesitate to resort to some kind of blackmail if it could give him what he wanted.

Silence greeted them for a moment.

"What are you going to do?" she whispered.

He knew he made Iris scared. But he needed to meet Iris right now!

"Just want to talk to you. I promise there's nothing to be scared of, baby," he explained.

The connection went off. Iris disconnected the call.

Less than three minutes later, the front door opened slightly. She still put the chain to stop the door from opening completely.

Alexander tried to hide his smile.

"Mr. Browning?" her eyes scanned Alex behind the door. Thinking she was safe behind, out of reach from Alexander.

"Hi, Iris. Please open the door," Alex tried again.

"Let's talk like this," Iris argued.

Alex exhaled his breath.

One moment Alex was outside the door, and a moment later, he took off the chain door, put his shiny loafer to avoid the door closing, and pushed off Iris gently while he came and bulldozed his way inside.

"This is much better, baby ..." Alex closed the door and put his hands on her waist. Turned her body so her back was touching her door.

It was extremely easy to subdue and trap Iris.

She looked at him with fear. Her eyes dilated, and her mouth opened. She was scared shitless of him.

"Shh ... it's okay. I won't hurt you." Alex gave her reassurance.

He traced Iris' face softly, full of desire and insurmountably lust. He basked in the warmth and softness of her body.

"What do you want?" she asked with a small voice, almost whispering.

"What I want is you, Iris."

"Or, to be precise, I want you to be my wife," Alex said the sentence with full emphasis and a wide smile.