Chapter 261
Chapter 261:
“Did you kill Anson?” she asked cheerfully, tossing a kernel into her mouth. “Please tell me you pushed him into a pond p>
Dallas ignored her. He pulled Eliza toward the stairs.
“Dad! Wait!” Azalea sat up. “I need five hundred dollars. Forrest wants to go to a concert next week. VIP tickets p>
Dallas stopped on the first step. He turned slowly, his expression one of supreme annoyance.
“You are interrupting,” he said.
“It’s an emergency — they’re selling out!” Azalea pleaded. “Please? I’ll do dishes for a month p>
𝖶𝗁a𝘁 e𝘷e𝗋𝗒oո𝘦 𝗂𝗌 𝗋е𝖺𝖽іn𝘨 𝗈𝗻 ѕ.𝖼𝘰𝗺
Dallas took out his phone and tapped the screen three times.
“The concert is cancelled,” he said. “Consider your social life on probation for interrupting p>
“What? Why?” Azalea shrieked, dropping a piece of popcorn.
“Because you are a mood killer,” Dallas said. “Go to your room. Read a book. Don’t talk to me until sunrise p>
“Eliza! Help!” Azalea gasped. “He’s a tyrant! He’s oppressing the youth p>
Eliza giggled, pressing her hand over her mouth to smother it. “Sorry, Azalea. He’s grumpy. Ask again tomorrow p>
Dallas didn’t wait for further debate. He scooped Eliza up into his arms, bridal style.
“Hey! Put me down!” Eliza laughed, kicking her legs.
“Not until tomorrow,” Dallas said, carrying her up the stairs as though she weighed nothing.
“Gross! Old people in love!” Azalea yelled after them, hurling a popcorn kernel at Dallas’s back. It bounced off his suit jacket without effect.
Inside the master bedroom, Dallas kicked the door shut and locked it. The click of the latch was final.
He set Eliza on the bed. The playfulness left his face at once. He loomed over her, loosening his tie.
“You are mine. Say it,” he said.
“I’m yours, Dallas,” Eliza whispered, looking up at him.
“Not Anson’s. Not the Hydes’. Mine.” He kissed her throat, his stubble grazing her skin.
“Only yours,” she breathed, arching into him.
And as she said the words, a small, treacherous voice stirred in the back of her mind — wondering whether he loved Eliza the woman, or only Eliza Solomon, the perfect weapon to wield against his family.
Dallas paused. His eyes caught something on the dresser. The velvet box from Jeannine.
He reached over and opened it. The tiara sparkled in the low light.
“Wear it,” he said.
“The tiara? Now?” Eliza looked at him, uncertain. “It’s silly p>
“I want to see my Queen,” he said, a wicked glint in his eye. “I want to see you wearing my family’s crown p>
Eliza reached for it. Her hands trembled slightly as she placed the heavy platinum band on her head. It felt ridiculous and extravagant and, somehow, deeply charged.
Dallas exhaled slowly as the diamonds settled into her dark hair.