THE CONTROL: An Arranged Marriage Romance by Elena Monroe (ebook reader android .txt) 📕

around guns. Elias is downstairs.” I didn’t like Elias still being here or the gun being so close—I could feel myself flinching already.

Fluffing his pillow, he laid down like it wasn’t there at all. “Grimm hates everyone. He doesn’t threaten to kill anyone outside of Clave’s demands. That means Elias is worth killing, and now I want to know why.”

Trying to fall asleep was pointless when Bowen was curled up with a book in his hands and a gun under his pillow.

Picking at the leftovers while comfortable under a mountain of blankets, I checked my phone for any evidence of Elias. As soon as I opened the text, I felt my skin crawl with invisible spiders at his words.

ELIAS: Everything you thought it would be?

Erasing the message, I kept myself aware of Bowen. He was going to kill Elias if he didn’t give up on torturing me.

This wasn’t Denmark, and I wasn’t under their thumbs anymore.

BOWEN

Her mom’s words rang through my head about being damaged goods and not being able to provide me an heir.

Those words kept me up all night even though I discounted having kids long before now. Braeden being the asshole he was is enough to make up your mind and yet I had a pile of reasons.

Watching her sleep, wrapped up in a soft blanket, still under a pile of the duvet made me laugh. Eve used me as a heater our whole childhood, constantly stealing my warmth but now I would guess it’s for different reasons.

Her frail frame and untouched food was becoming a habit I noticed.

Kissing her shoulder, I found a shirt and some joggers to put on while I rounded up the people who didn’t live here. It was 7 AM and I was prepared to kick everyone out.

Closing the door softly behind me, I started with Grimm and Abigail who were already up and gathering their stuff which I appreciated.

Holding his hand up, I stopped waiting for more. “Anything I need to take care of on the way out?”

By anything, he meant bodies and by bodies he meant Elias.

Shaking my head, I moved on to Khaos who was still fast asleep when I dipped my fingers in the glass of water and flicked it over his face.

Khaos didn’t spring up the way I wanted, instead he simply rolled over into Grace, whispering about how dirty she was. My face twisted in horror, and I let my open hand slap across his face at quarter strength.

Rocketing up, he scrubbed his cheek and gave me every profanity fueled insult he could while I shouted over my shoulder. “Hit the road, Khaos. Don’t make me find creative ways to wake you up again.”

Last was Vic, best friend and the only one who understood my nuisances. Pushing the door open, the room was devoid of people or even the duffle bag he brought.

Shrugging to myself, I jogged downstairs almost putting the brakes on myself when I remembered Elias was on my couch and her parents were in my guest house.

Fuck.

 

My couch was empty when I glanced that way only to find Vic and Justice on one side of the kitchen while Elias pushed food between his lips like a starved child.

Finding their wide eyes, they looked like they had just seen a wild animal rummaging through my trash.

Gliding past Vic, his hand pressed against my chest and stopped me. In a low tone, making sure only I could hear him, he whispered, “I’ll help you burn the body.”

Good to know, yet completely unnecessary.

Pushing past his hand, I tallied up the amount of dislike when I dropped the ingredients into my blender and decided against pussyfooting around this like everything else bad in my life. “Elias, why doesn’t anyone like you?”

I was nothing if not blunt and too impatient to do things the polite way.

Elias stopped eating, patted a napkin to his mouth and straightened up. He went from wild animal to poised without trying.

Now I see where Eve gets it.

“I used to have a simple answer for the minuscule of the world: money, power, heir to a throne. Guess that doesn’t work here considering you have it all but a crown.” His features were soft, almost boyish, and his body should be a tower of awkwardness yet he was graceful.

I hated him too.

Who the fuck gives a shit about crowns? We have elitism out the ass.

Cursing myself for leaving my gun upstairs, I would have shot him right here in my kitchen just for being an asshole. I didn’t have anything to say; I didn’t care about his privilege, I cared about why Eve looked paralyzed when he whispered in her ear on our wedding day.

“Who are you to Evey?” I held up a finger, not my middle finger like I wanted, when I pressed the mince button on my blender.

Once it was done, I twisted off the top and poked a straw into the muddy-colored liquid, waiting for him to speak. “Brother by marriage,” he quipped, the words short of any details.

Brother not stepbrother like she had been saying. He had a twist on the title.

“And?”

He stood up, breezing his way to the island between us, staring at me like he was challenging me to tell him what I knew. He was on edge thinking I knew shit I shouldn’t have already. “And what? And am I the best brother she’s ever had?”

Elias didn’t want to get caught saying the wrong thing so he kept it simple. He wasn’t as stupid as he seemed and that alone would make this fun.

Ignoring him, I pushed past Vic and Justice with their ready to comment and left the way I arrived, shouting, “I want everyone out in fifteen or