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My family was worth billionsand, one day, it would all go to me. But right now, at the tender age of twenty-two, I was worth three-quarters of a billion dollars. My net worth was going to reach a solid billion once I graduate from Hales University. Then that one billion was going to multiply as I moved up in The Order and my plans began to all fall into place.
“What the fuck do youmean, what prenup?” he asked, his voice low and his words exact, a sure sign that he was about to pop a blood vessel.
“She’s not signing a prenup,” I said, delivering the blow.
“Jesus Christ,Stone,” he swore. “Is her pussy made of Californium or something?”
My back snapped again. “I won’t tell you again, Dad,” I told him. “Watch how you speak about her.”
“Stone, for God’s sake, you are handing over access to billions of dollars to a girl you just started dating!” he thundered over the phone. “Are you insane?!”
“I’m inlove,” I corrected.
“That’s the same fucking thing,” he spat.
I took pity on the man. “Dad, I know what I’m doing,” I assured him.
“It doesn’t sound like it, son,” he replied with his honest opinion of the situation.
“Think about it for a moment, Dad,” I said. “What’s the point of a prenup?”
“To makesure any gold-digger smart enough to slide under the radar doesn’t make off with all your money,” he answered easily.
“And what’sthe point of a Hera contract?”
He didn’t answer right away, but when he did, his voice no longer carried those tinges of outrage. “To ensure there’d never be a divorce between the married couple.”
“I’ll never be divorced, Dad,” I vowed.
“Stone, you can’t know that,” he immediately replied. “What if…one day, she wants out?”
I thought about that, and I felt the same way about that as I did about her reluctance to marry me now. “It doesn’t matter,” I told him. “I’ll never let Rylee go.”
I couldhear him sigh over the phone. “Son, what has this girl done to you?”
I thought about that question, too, and I still didn’t have a believable answer to give people. Besides, the sad truth was that my dad wouldn’t have a clue where to begin to even understand what I felt for Rylee. While he was still in a marriage with my mother, they stopped being married years ago. Dad had his flings, and Mom had hers. Their commitment to their brand as The Lexingtons was the only reason they were still together. It was the only reason no one else would ever come between them. I honestly didn’t know if they’ve ever been in love.
“Dad, Idon’t know what to tell you, other than my decision is final where Rylee is concerned, and I don’t expect you to understand.”
He took the jab in stridebecause he couldn’t argue against the truth. He knew it, and he knew that I knew it. “Just…just watch yourself, Stone,” he replied. “Be careful.” He sighed. “I’ll deal with the panel.”
“I will,” I assured him. “And I’ll do better to keep you in the loop.”
We said our goodbyes, but I had a feeling I’ll be getting a call again soon.
Chapter 18
Rylee~
All weeklong had been a mix of Stone’s overbearing presence and Laney avoiding me, and I felt exhausted. While I hadn’t removed the ring, I had turned it inward, so that the band was usually the only thing showing, giving me some unrealistic measure of control. However, Stone making our relationship real all over the internet, and the way he had intercepted me on Monday and Tuesday, made me feel like my life wasn’t my own anymore. It was like living inside a fishbowl where everyone got to see everything.
I had also made it a point to call my mom Monday evening and tell her I was dating someone new. She had been excited and had demanded details. While I had told her his first name, I had purposely left out his last name. There wasn’t anyone in the country who wouldn’t recognize the last name Lexington, and I didn’t want to have to explain to my family who he was until I absolutely had to.
I also knew my parents and brother would be upset once they found out I’d gotten married without them, but I was hoping I could manipulate that in my favor. I could always marry Stone at the end of the four weeks but have a church ceremony next year on our anniversary. We could always just lie to everyone about that being our wedding after being engaged for a year. It could work, right? Well, except for the whole lying in front of a priest in a church thing. That was a bit tactless, but I had no other ideas on how to sell this to my family. Thank God my parents didn’t do social media and Bishop was deployed.
And while Stone had agreed to give me space, we talked on the phone a lot. He also walked me to my classes whenever we were on campus together, and date night had been perfect. We still needed to learn a lot more about each other, but I’d learned a lot about Stone that night. Plus, even though I’ve not been to his condo, I knew the address. He’d given it to me in the event of an emergency.
Speaking of emergencies, I had also received a text from Alexis with Jennifer and Kincaid’s phone numbers and a message that we’d be getting together soon to discuss our roles as supporters, and how we could help one another in those roles. I wasn’t sure how she ended up the point person, but something told me that Kincaid would end up being the person in charge if it ever got to that.
