King of Greed (Kings of Sin, #3)

by Ana Huang

When was the last time either of us had smiled at the other the way we used to?

I thought you were done with work for the day. Isn’t that why you’re home?

Dominic was never done with work. It was the world’s most demanding mistress.

At the end of the day, I was married to one of the richest men on Wall Street, I lived in a beautiful house most people would kill for, and I owned a small but thriving business doing what I loved. I had no good reason to cry.

They were always there, filling my head with doubts like how I was one bad decision away from losing everything. How I was and always would be the butt of every joke, the foster kid whose own biological mother abandoned him and who flunked sixth grade twice.

I finally had a good reason to cry, but no tears came. I just felt…numb. A part of me had expected him to forget or postpone, and wasn’t that the saddest part?

Our anniversary probably meant as much to Dominic as a random Friday night dinner.

A solitary tear turned into two, then three, then a whole flood as I sank to the floor and cried. Every heartbreak, every disappointment, every piece of sadness and resentment I’d harbored poured out in a river of grief edged with anger. I’d bottled up so much over the years that I was afraid I’d drown beneath the waves of my own emotions.

Then I finally did what I should’ve done a long time ago. I left.

I’d nearly had a heart attack the first time Alessandra went clubbing with Vivian and didn’t tell me. I came home early, didn’t see her, and pictured the worst. I’d called every damn person in my phone book until she finally called me back and reassured me she was okay.

I’d forgotten our goddamned wedding anniversary.

Dante Russo was a friend, a longtime client, and the CEO of the world’s largest luxury conglomerate. Most importantly, he was married to Vivian, whom Alessandra had gotten quite close to over the past year.

“Where is my wife?”

My breath stuck at the mental image of Dominic wandering the streets in the rain looking for me. It was so incongruous with the cold, disinterested man I’d become used to that it almost sounded like he was spinning a fairy tale instead of telling the truth.

Maybe I didn’t understand because I came from a well-off family and therefore could never fully empathize with the obstacles Dominic had to overcome to get to where he was.

I was already a shell of myself. If I didn’t get out while I could, I’d dissolve into dust, nothing more than a collection of lost time and unrealized dreams.

“I want a divorce.”

We’d been married exactly one week, two days, and twelve hours, and I still couldn’t believe she was mine.

We’d been together for so long; we didn’t need to constantly reassure each other of our relationship.

Poverty. Failure. Sabotage. I’d endured plenty over the years and survived, but seeing Alessandra cry was the one thing that could bring me to my knees. Every damn time.

“We’ll work this out.” The thought of living without her was incomprehensible, like asking a heart to stop beating or the stars to give up the night. “I promise.”

Without her, there was no me.

If she wants to see me, she sees me. Don’t ever prevent her from doing so again or the only part of a New York office you’ll see is

the outside when I throw you out. Understand?”

I usually got a small brush of his lips or brief, blissful moments of our bodies connecting in the middle of the night, but he hadn’t touched me like this—casual, familiar, intimate—in ages.

I needed to take control of my life again, and I couldn’t do that without closing this chapter with Dominic. No matter how much it hurts.

Gifts. Calls. I’d even booked a damn session at Manhattan’s top marriage counselor, which she hadn’t shown up to.

“She’s your wife. She’s obligated to pretend.”

“Heard she served you divorce papers at work.” Unlike Kai, Dante possessed the tact of a socially inept bull.

The anniversary was the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak. You can’t buy your way out of it.”

The fact that his friends understood more.

“Your obsession with work is good for my portfolio, so I’m not complaining about that. But you can’t be surprised Alessandra’s fed up.”

“She’s not.” A hand rested on my lower back, followed by the brush of a soft wool suit and the scent of a familiar cologne. “My wife and I have plans.”

“That poor boy was hitting on my wife.” Dominic’s eyes blazed. “What did you expect me to do? Pat him on the back?”

“I’m past romantic, Alessandra. I’m desperate.”

because what I feared wasn’t her hate; it was her indifference.

I signed our divorce papers.

Why had I been more afraid of losing everything else instead of losing her?

After all, he was the one who’d inspired part of my Win Alessandra Back plan.

A shrug. “I love Brazil.” His simple reply didn’t conceal the intimacy of his meaning. I love Brazil. I love you.

“What were you thinking?” I whisper-shouted. “Borrowing sugar? Seriously? You fell for that?”

I sighed, exhaustion outpacing adrenaline. “What do you want, Dominic?” “I want you back.”

“By not pushing me away.” His throat flexed. “That’s all I ask. A chance for us to talk and get to know each other as we are now. I want to know what makes you laugh, what makes you cry, what your dreams look like when you sleep and what keeps you up when you can’t. I’ll spend however many lifetimes I need to rediscover those parts of you, because you’re it for me. In every iteration of every life. Things may have changed since we got married, but you and me? We were always meant for forever.”

Alessandra was always stunning, but here she glowed in a way that made my chest ache—partly because she was so beautiful, I couldn’t believe she was real, and partly because it took her leaving the city, leaving me, to find happiness again. Out of everything, that hurt the most.

“It’s fine. I was used to it.” Alessandra’s tone was matter of fact, which cut deeper than if she’d spoken out of anger. Hatred, I could battle. But indifference? That was the death knell for any relationship.

I didn’t know what I’d done in my past life to deserve her. I wish I did so I could repeat it on a loop and ensure we found our way to each other in every lifetime.

No matter how dark it gets, you can always find a light.”

But intentions couldn’t replace actions, and somewhere along the way, I’d mistaken the former for the latter. Loving someone wasn’t enough if I didn’t show it. Appreciating them wasn’t enough if I didn’t express it.

always reminisced about the good old days, but we never appreciated living in those days until they were gone.

Some journeys were meant to be taken alone.

Abandoning my goals in favor of someone else’s wasn’t healthy. Replacing my hobbies with societal obligations because the latter were better for my husband’s business wasn’t healthy. Taking a supporting role instead of a main role in what should’ve been an equal partnership wasn’t healthy.