Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
My head swiveled to the billionaire with surprise. He just took it? That didn’t seem like the Mr. Lincoln I knew. The man I knew would have crushed his opposition, grinding them into smithereens.
But Evan knew what I was thinking. Slowly, that strong jaw nodded.
“Charlie’s not normal,” he growled. “Even way back then you could tell. Charlie was off his rocker with weird hallucinations, saying shit that just didn’t make sense.”
I continued to stare.
“Why didn’t you say something in your own defense though?” was my question. “Why didn’t you say something to clear your name, if you actually had nothing to do with it?”
Those blue eyes were clear as they took me in, blunt finger tapping the tabletop thoughtfully.
“Because Charlie was a victim. Even though he was spewing all sorts of lies, it was clear as day that he was a victim as well. A victim to the demons in his mind, the voices in his head. And I didn’t want to compound the issue. Everything was going to get figured out, it just needed time to unwind.”
I sat silent, flabbergasted. Because this wasn’t the Evan I knew. This was a man with heart, one who sympathized with people those who needed help. Here was a man who treated other people with kindness and empathy, who didn’t use his position to squeeze out every last drop of advantage.
Here was a man I could love.
After all, the evidence was mounting. How his staff adored him, ever since he was a little boy. How his sister relied on him to care for Bowzer last minute. And now, how Mr. Lincoln showed mercy to someone with mental issues, refusing to throw Charlie under the bus even when it was his right.
I was thunderstruck.
At fifteen, I would have blurted anything to clear my name.
But instead, Evan had done the mature thing. He’d waited for events to turn, sure that Charlie’s mental illness would reveal itself soon enough.
And the alpha had been right.
Confident.
Sure and strong.
I turned wide brown eyes to my lover, filled with turbulent emotion. Because for the first time, I felt I could accurately call Mr. Lincoln my lover. Not someone I had sex with, letting him rule my body. Not someone that I physically craved, helpless at those clever hands.
But someone who was worthy of loving.
Worthy of my adoration.
My praise.
Everything my heart had to give.
And the rest of the meal passed in a blur. I tried to pay attention, saying yes and no when expected, smiling sunnily with my legs demurely crossed.
But there was a change in the air. Because seeing Evan in this setting shed a whole new light on the situation. I thought that observing the prince in his castle would turn me off. I thought that meeting the King and Queen would make my heart ice over, underlining the chasm between us.
But I was wrong.
Seeing the alpha here, in his natural setting, made my head spin. My heart turn. My breath go fast.
Because he’s perfect.
Kind.
Charming.
A man with a heart, who cares about others.
So what do I do now?
I can feel myself falling, spinning, tumbling into the vortex. My soul leaning towards his, like a flower turning towards the sun.
But this can’t be happening.
He can’t be my Prince Charming, not for real.
Because there are no Cinderella stories in real life. In the real world, women have jobs, 9 to 5’s where they come home exhausted to two kids and a dirty house. And everything in my background pointed to that. I used to work in housekeeping at the Chromian palace, scrubbing floors and washing dishes. My family is humble, and I was destined for a humble life myself.
I was definitely not destined for this.
Not an elegant dinner in a castle with rich people.
Gourmet food, prepared by a chef called Cook, waited on by a butler called Butler.
These were dreams, nothing more.
But what do I do? The worst has already happened. Because I’m falling for my prince … and there’s no going back.
8
Evan
I sighed with satisfaction and sat back in the limo as it zoomed towards Maggie’s place. Today was a good day because damn if the dinner with my parents didn’t go off better than I ever hoped.
Maggie was absolutely perfect. She charmed my parents so well that they didn’t even know what hit them. Of course, Evelyn loved Maggie from the get go because my mom’s pretty easy to get along with. But even Henry was eating out of Maggie’s hand by the end of the night, nodding with approval.
I’ll be Lincoln Conglomerate’s CEO in no time.
Even crazier, it was so easy.
Why didn’t I think of this years ago?
But the answer is obvious. It’s because Maggie is the right girl. With the right female on your arm, everything rolls along smooth. Hurdles that appeared to be major obstacles fall by the wayside, no longer enormous mountains to scale.