Chapter 6 My Harem Of Women?
“You can’t hide your feelings for her even if you tried.” That was what Ally had told me after returning from Onnika’s place.
I had stared at her for several seconds. “I know.” the slow admission numbing me and then swinging me back to reality. “But this is my matter to handle.”
I loved my privacy.
I guarded it like precious jade, and I wasn’t about to start discussing my feelings with my niece just because she’d become annoyingly perceptive.
I didn’t deny it, though. Not when those brown eyes watched me with a mixture of amusement and suspicion.
“Take it from me,” Ally continued. “If you want to confess your feelings, do it now.” I raised a dark eyebrow at her.
She wasn’t wrong and that was the problem. Something inside me had been restless ever since I’d seen Onnika crying.
I knew she had a thing for darker colors. Black, deep green, burgundy—colors that somehow suited her despite the softness she carried beneath them.
Onnika looked delicate at first glance, but I knew better. There was steel beneath that olive skin.
Still, she was fragile where it mattered especially when it came to her heart.
I bit my lower lip, thinking through my options before finally settling on a combination of gifts and the courage to finally ask her out.
My nerves were twisted into knots by the time I arrived at her grandparents’ estate. I waited patiently while the housekeeper went to announce my arrival.
When her grandmother finally appeared, her warm eyes rested on me for a moment.
Then the smile slowly disappeared from her face. “Hi, Grandma.”
I cleared my throat. “I’m here to see Onnika.”
I waited just like I always did, but her grandmother hesitated. “I’m so sorry, dear.” Something about those words made my stomach drop.
“Onnika isn’t here anymore.” My chest squeezed painfully as i stared at her.
“What?” She glanced at the flowers in my hand as a light drizzle began tapping against the stone pavement.
“She’s traveled abroad for her studies.” The words repeated themselves inside my head.
She’s traveled abroad.
The gift box slipped from my fingers and landed on the wet ground. For a few seconds, I couldn’t move.
I had imagined this moment so many times. Her reaction, smile and maybe the nervous little habit of biting her nails.
Maybe, if I was lucky, she’d say yes.
Instead, I hadn’t even gotten the chance to ask.
“I’m so sorry, dear.” Her grandmother stepped closer and gently patted the back of my hand.
There was pity in her eyes and I hated it.
She reached for the flowers—a mixture of white lilies and burgundy dahlias—and carefully took them from me.
“I’ll keep these safely for her.”
I forced myself to nod. “Thank you.” Then I turned around and I walked into the rain without an umbrella.
The drizzle quickly soaked through my clothes, but I barely noticed. I felt like a stray dog that had wandered somewhere it wasn’t wanted.
I’d finally gathered enough courage to tell the woman I loved how I felt and I’d missed her by days.
Someone bumped into me as I reached the road. I turned and then stopped. “You.” Recognition sharpened my anger instantly.
Thomas.
I grabbed his collar and his eyes widened. “What—?”
My fist connected with his face before he could finish as a sharp crack cut through the rain. He stumbled backward.
“What the—?”
I didn’t let him finish. Instead, i grabbed him again and drove him toward the ground. The rain came down harder, swallowing his cries beneath its relentless rhythm.
He tried to shield himself, but i kept hitting him with every punch carried the frustration I’d been carrying for years.
The opportunity I’d lost, the confession I’d never made and the woman he’d hurt.
Eventually, I stepped back as my breathing was heavy.
Thomas lay beneath the rain, stunned and barely able to move. I stared at him for one final second before turning away.
I climbed into my car and drove off, but after that day, something in me changed. I stopped waiting and expecting anything.
And most importantly, I convinced myself that I’d lost my chance.
Four years later, I stood in the middle of Onnika’s welcome banquet and realized how wrong I’d been, because she was standing in the center of the hall, surrounded by light and conversation.
And I couldn’t look away.
She was breathtaking.
The woman I’d remembered as a girl with dark hair and sketchbooks had grown into someone entirely different.
Yet somehow, she was still unmistakably Onnika. My traitorous heart skipped.
Why?
Why did some reckless part of me want to cross the room and claim her attention? I tightened my grip around my glass.
Four years.
Four damn years and apparently, I hadn’t moved on at all. The moderator tapped his glass, drawing everyone’s attention. “Tonight, we officially welcome Onnika Hawthorn home.”
The room erupted in applause.
“Heiress to the H&G Empire.”
Onnika stepped forward.
Her slender arm, covered by a long black glove, lifted the edge of her gown slightly as she walked beside the moderator.
I watched her and then I noticed him.
Thomas.
His expression had gone completely blank. He looked like a fish thrown onto dry land and my mouth almost curved.
Interesting.
I removed myself from the crowd and headed toward the balcony, my long strides carrying me away from the noise.
The small cross earring hanging from my ear brushed lightly against my neck with every step.
Then I heard it. Sharp, uneven breathing.
I stopped.
“You broke up with me.”
Thomas.
“You left me without any explanation.” I turned toward the voice.
Onnika was struggling to free her wrist from his grip. “Let me go!”
Something hot surged through my chest and I crossed the distance before I could think better of it.
My hand closed around Thomas’s wrist and I squeezed hard. Then I flung his hand away from her. “The lady said let go.” I stared into his eyes.
“I don’t want to believe I destroyed your ears last time.”
Thomas froze and then his expression hardened. “You?”
I couldn’t have cared less about his surprise. His gaze moved between Onnika and me.
“You two—”
I grabbed his collar with my other hand and his breathing immediately changed. I leaned closer. “Look here, cheese boy.”
His blue eyes widened.
“Stay the hell away from her.” i released his collar with a shove.
“Or I’ll break something else.”
Dread flickered across his face. It seemed he understood me.
I turned toward Onnika and she looked shaken. Without asking permission, I took her hand and led her away from him.
I stopped beside one of the heavy, painted white pillars lining the hall. “Are you all right?”
Her moss-green eyes lifted to mine and thick dark lashes fluttered as she stared at me. “Yeah.”
Her voice was softer now. “Thanks.”
She turned as though she intended to leave, but I caught her wrist. “Stay.” My voice came out darker than I intended.
Her breath hitched to my delight. She looked down at my hand before looking back at me.
“No.” Her lips pursed. “I don’t want to take you away from your women.”
I blinked twice.
“Women?” The corner of my mouth lifted. “I didn’t know I had that many fangirls.”
Onnika snorted and she folded her arms across her chest.
“Yeah.” Her eyes narrowed. “And I’m the tooth fairy.”
The sarcasm in her voice made something low and restless stir inside me. I stepped closer.
Close enough that our bodies nearly touched and her button nose scrunched slightly.
I wanted to kiss it. Instead, I held her gaze. “Jealous?”
She immediately turned her face away.
The movement gave me an unobstructed view of the small moles scattered along her slender neck. I stared longer than I should have.
Then I leaned toward her ear as i forced myself to keep my hands to myself. “You don’t have to be, darling.”
My voice dropped to a murmur.
“Because I never stopped being yours.”
