Chapter 4

• Adam:
• “What do you want?” She asked with a smirk.
• “Nothing. Don't worry,” I said and walked away.
• Gulping down on my second shot of whiskey, I started to grow impatient waiting for Aaron, my brother's personal psychiatrist.
• Re-reading the Letter my brother, Richard, had sent me years ago, the task of finding him a suitable wife lingered on my mind.
• With his mental condition, I had never considered Richard would want a wife.
• We'd managed to hide his illness from the world for so long and built a unique persona for him, bringing in a third party to the family made me feel uneasy.
• But maybe he did need a wife, he was dying anyway, continuing his bloodline legally wouldn't be such a bad idea.
• I put the letter back into the envelope and ordered a third shot.
• "Ugh" Someone bumped into me,
• knocking the letter out of my hand.
• My men, watching in the shadows,
• readied their arms in case she was a threat.
• Keeping my expression stiffened, I turned to look.
• "Oops,my bad!" She says, bending down to pick up the envelope.
• The mild flowery scent of peach stung my nose, it was... pleasing.
• Rather than handing it over, she opens to read and pretends to have understood the content.
• Her actions amused me. The letter was written in a specific coded language only my brother could understand, we'd made it up to bond and communicate in a special way–Richard's idea.
• But what was more intriguing is the fact that she knew me and wasn't afraid of me, even when I glared at her.
• Many women had used all sorts of tricks to approach me in the past, but none had dared be this bold.
• She seemed the perfect bride for my brother—Smart and beautiful!.
• With a hand at my back, I signalled for my men to be at ease.
• I wanted to strike up a conversation with her, but Aaron finally arrived. I painfully watched her disappear into the back door, I will have my men dig into her.
• "I'm not so sure about this, Richie, we could still tell them to leave, it's not too late." I look out at the gate through Richard's window.
• Walking back to his sick bed, I try to convince him harder.
• "And call it a wrap, what do you think?"
• "No" He manages to say, shaking his head.
• Refusing Richard has always been a difficult thing for me. I nod, and head out to interview the flocking guests one by one.
• I sighted the lady from the bar standing in line with the other women.
• I smirked, signalling my men to bring her forward.
• "Are you stalking me?" I teased, observing her demeanour.
• "Well, if you consider advertising your need for a wife as stalking, then yes."
• She smiled, taking the seat in front of me.
• "Witty, I like that"
• "Just for clarity, what's in for me" she leans back into the chair
• "For you? What makes you so confident?"
• She shrugged.
• "Nothing, I'm just a lucky butterfly I guess."
• "Then tell me, Why would you want to be married to a sick dying man?" Curiosity pinched my mind.
• "For the money of course, why else would I want to be associated with a viper?" She smirked.
• Daring. Outspoken. Confident. I never thought I'd meet a woman like herself in these contemporary times.
• Leaning into my seat, I signalled to one of my men behind me and whispered something into his ears.
• "What is going on?" She asked, turning to see the other women being ushered out.
• "We already found our bride."
• Observing her uneasiness, I decided to take her for a walk through the garden.
• "Your brother,what is he like?" She asks.
• Turning to my left side, I glanced at her past my shoulder . "My brother is ... different. You'd get to know once you move in. My men will escort you to get your things?"
• "Already?" She sounded surprised
• "Wasn't that what you hoped for?" I stopped in my tracks.
• She bumps into me again from behind.
• "Ouch. Sorry."
• Her sorry face made me chuckle.
• "Do you have a hobby of bumping into people?" I turned to look at her.
• "Sorry, I can be silly sometimes."
• "Your name?" I caught her stare at me, surprised. I flick an eyebrow, "You haven't told me your name yet."
• "Figured your men would've run a background check on me by now, or is that not so?"
• "Think of it as an official introduction."
• "I'm Elizabeth Hugh, twenty six years old, high school dropout who works at Christy's, the local restaurant downtown, as a waitress. Anything else you'd like to know?"
• "None, for now." I scoffed. "I also figured something out. You dared to approach me to get my attention first, before any of these women did, didn't you?."
• I caught her again, smirking.
• "Were you not afraid?" I ask, curious.
• "You were without your bodyguards, why would I be afraid? I saw an opportunity and took it." She shrugged
• "You were stupid" I chuckled. "I wasn't without security."
• "How so? There was no one by your side last I remembered. Harming you would've been so easy if I had that intention."
• "See, that is the trick. I own the club." Her eyes widened In surprise.
• Looking up at the East side of Richard's room window, I caught him staring at her before quickly covering the curtains.
• "You should go prepare your things, my men will come pick you up by the evening".
• ***
• "Closing the door to Richard's room, I walked over to him."
• "I would introduce her to you when it is time" I covered his body up.
• "She's the kind we need in our circle. She is also secretive, that is why we need to keep a low profile for now. We can't trust her motive, yet." I add.
• Richard struggles to say something, but only ends up nodding. His condition kept getting worse.
• He was diagnosed with Delirium, a mental condition that caused him to behave erratically.
• Even though I was the younger one, I'd taken up looking after him and cleaning up his mess every time.
• Aaron had said he only had a short time left to live. If only he had listened to me and stayed home on the night of the accident five years ago, a temporary anger that was about to cost him his life.
• I clench and unclench my hands as I go down the memory lane.