King of Greed (Kings of Sin, #3)

by Ana Huang

To knowing your worth and never settling for less than you deserve.

“I don’t have the money to buy you all the flowers you deserve yet,” he said, sounding so solemn and formal I couldn’t help but smile at the contrast between his tone and the jar of colorful paper flowers in his hands. “So I made them instead.”

“I’m asking you one last time,” I said quietly. Blood roared in my ears, nearly drowning out my words. “Where is my wife?

“You know I would choose you.” “That’s the thing. I don’t.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “Because you haven’t chosen me. Not in a very, very long time.”

“You honestly think we’ll be happier if we divorce? That I’ll be happier without you? This is us.” The word ripped from my throat, raw and loaded with emotion. “Você e eu. Para sempre.” You and me. Forever.

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.” We had to. Maybe I haven’t expressed it as much as I should have, but Alessandra was an indelible part of me. She had been since the moment I laid eyes on her eleven years ago, though I hadn’t known it at the time. Without her, there was no me.

Thayer was filled with beautiful girls, but there was beautiful, and there was her.

Learning foreign languages didn’t come easily for him, but the fact that he’d done it anyway because he wanted to make a good impression on my family… The ache deepened. God, I adored this man. “Maybe, but I wanted to.” Dominic’s face softened. “Faria qualquer coisa por você.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Dante said. “Let’s stop beating around the bush. You’re the problem, Dom.

“Ask me again on another day, and my answer might be different. I would stalk you if it meant you’d talk to me again.” “How romantic.” “I’m past romantic, Alessandra. I’m desperate.”

I’d been missing a vital piece of myself since she walked out, and it was incredible to think I’d somehow taken her for granted when I needed her more than I needed to breathe.

Was it worth it? a voice whispered. Yes. The answer came without thought. She was always worth it.

I hated the effect he had on me. I hated how my eyes always went to him in a room full of people and how I couldn’t stop thinking about him no matter how hard I tried. Most of all, I hated how I couldn’t hate him, not even a little bit. No matter how many times he broke my heart, there would always be a piece that belonged to him.

“You touch a single strand of hair on her head,” I said softly. “And there won’t be a place on earth where I won’t hunt you down and kill you so slowly you’ll be begging for death.”

I went into our first meeting determined to hate her, not knowing she would be the one who showed me what real love was instead. I might not have expressed it as often as I should’ve, but she’d always been the sun keeping my world in orbit.

“You can go on as many dates as you want, amor,” Dominic said softly. “But no one will love you like I do. Você e eu. Não tem comparação.

Success was his true north, but now he appeared lost, like he was adrift at sea without a compass.

“That’s the thing,” he said softly. “There is no moving on. Not for me.”

“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.”

“No.” He didn’t take his eyes off mine. “But you’re still my love. That hasn’t changed.”

It wasn’t our wedding, but seeing her up there, looking so damn beautiful I couldn’t believe she was real…it was an excruciating reminder of what I’d had. And what I’d lost.

Loving someone wasn’t enough if I didn’t show it. Appreciating them wasn’t enough if I didn’t express it.

“I don’t expect you to jump into a relationship with me again, or even go on a second date,” I said. “I just want to spend time with you for as long as you’ll let me.”

Temptation battled with self-preservation. I should keep my guard up, but it was hard when I was surrounded by the things I loved. Food. Sea. Sun. Dominic.

What I hadn’t accounted for were the things we’d needed that weren’t material. Time. Attention. Consideration.

She was the only person who’d ever truly mattered. Even if she didn’t love me anymore, even if all my efforts to win her back failed, she would always be the sun anchoring my universe.

“I was thinking…” My hand lowered and lingered by her cheek. “That you’re the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.”

Because when Alessandra angled her chin up and kissed me back, I finally understood, if only for a moment in time, what true contentment felt like. No yearning, no chasing, no worries. Just her and us. It was all I needed.

Actions spoke louder than words, and in that moment, I didn’t care about the things he’d done or hadn’t done during our marriage. I simply leaned into him, breathed in the comfort of his familiar scent, and let him hold me together.

“You broke my heart, and you weren’t even there to witness it.”

“If you need time, take it. If you want to date other people, do it. I won’t interfere. I didn’t appreciate you when I had you, and that’s my cross to bear. But you’ll always be the love of my life, and I’ll always be here, whether it’s a month, a year, or a lifetime from now.”

“There are probably hundreds of men who’d line up for the chance to be with you. I only ask that you let me be one of them.”

The thought of standing by and watching another man touch her without doing anything about it made it damn near impossible to breathe. But I broke her heart once, and I’d let her break my heart a thousand times in return if it meant that one day, she found her way back to me.

“I said I’ll stand back and watch you date whoever you want, and I will,” I said. “It’s not my place to tell you what you can and can’t do. But I will not stand back and watch you be disrespected.” Emotion roughened the syllables. “I’ll do anything for you, amor, but I can’t do the impossible.”

“I would destroy the world if it would please you. I would ruin every man who thought he could have you.”

“I left my office for weeks when I went to Brazil and I hardly missed it. But when I came home and found you gone…that night, and every night since, has felt like an eternity. Saudades de você.” I miss you. In the deepest, truest sense.

I had nothing except faith tethering me to his promises, but wasn’t that the foundation of any relationship? Trust, communication, and faith that the other person loved us and that we could weather any storm together.

but sometimes, the strongest things were those that had been broken and healed.

I would lay myself bare to her a million times for one more chance with the girl who never gave up on me. It didn’t matter if I was trying to pass a college class or build an empire in her honor, she would always be my driving force.