Strings Attached

CHAPTER NINE

Descending the stairs in a rush, I went straight to my office and dialed Father's number. When he picked up, I could hear a woman who clearly wasn't my mother giggling in the background. I rolled my eyes, swearing under my breath.

"Hello, son," he greeted and I heard him instruct his whore to be silent. "I didn't expect you'd call so soon. I thought you'd be too busy sampling your little wife. Was she everything you thought she'd be?"

Disgusting piece of shit.

"Everything I thought and more," I said with a sarcastic sneer. "Why the hell didn't anyone bother to tell me she was a goddamn virgin?"

The sound of Father's amused snickering travelled through the phone. "So you did fuck her..."

"Father!" I bit out with warning.

"What? I didn't think it was important," he revealed. "Besides, it would only spoil the surprise. I bet you didn't expect a woman who signed that contract to be that innocent when it came to men."

"So you knew all along?" I was infuriated with him and he didn't take it too well.

"What's the big deal, Sebastian?" he asked. "So, you broke her hymen. It doesn't change anything. She's still a despicable gold digger and you need to make sure she gets the hell out of our lives. Virgin or a whore—to me it doesn't make a difference."

The sight of blood on her thighs appeared before my eyes and I swallowed in anger. It makes a difference.

"You should have told me," I snapped at him. "Things might get complicated because of this."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I'd exposed her to some pretty rough shit," I confessed and an image of Isabelle's crying in that bathtub flashed before my eyes. "Let's just say her reaction wasn't too enthusiastic."

Father laughed like I'd said some kind of a joke. "So? You're not here to romance the bitch or to assume the role of a sex teacher. All you have to do is fuck her and get her pregnant."

"Father, I don't think it's that simple."

"Why not?"

"Because it doesn't make any sense," I voiced my doubts. "Why the hell would a virgin sign that contract?"

"It doesn't matter why, Sebastian," he said. "All that matters is that she did."

I exhaled, trying to collect my thoughts and think in a rational manner. Perhaps he made a good point. It wasn't my concern how she ended up in my life and what made her sign that contract. And there was still only one way out of this mess.

"You're right, Father," I relented. "I just thought it was strange."

I was about to greet him and hang up when I heard him call my name. "Sebastian..."

"What?"

"Don't think too much," he warned. "These sort of women possess the talent of working their way into a man's heart."

I shook my head. It was the one thing he didn't have to worry about. I was in no risk of falling in love; least of all with the little blonde gold digger.

"I already told you, Father," I said firmly. "As far as I'm concerned, this is only a business arrangement."

"If you say so, Sebastian." He sounded vague. "If you say so..."

I didn't take the time to figure out what the hell he meant, but greeted him and ended the call instead. Though I hadn't had a minute of sleep and I probably looked like hell, I chose to do some work because resting would only made me think about what had happened at that hotel. Everybody at The Goliath knew I was getting married and they expected me to take some time off, but I didn't intend to do that. Besides, I didn't even have a trustworthy replacement as it was evident Father had been too busy with his whores these days.