Chapter 44: Don’t force me.

Elowen shook her head. "That’s not what happened. "He told me we were going to meet the investor for the project."

She sounded desperate to establish her point. "He said the investor might want to discuss the project with me, that my presence as the chief designer was crucial. So I agreed."

Soren let out a sharp, bitter laugh that didn’t reach his eyes. He pulled the car to a sudden stop at the roadside and turned toward her. His movement made the car’s interior feel even smaller.

"He was lying."

Elowen’s heart jumped to her mouth. "How can you be so sure?"

"Tonight wasn’t an architectural meeting or project planning session," he explained, his voice fierce. "It was a private event between the business leaders and the investors."

Elowen stared at him, her mind reeling.

"Business leaders were there to pitch their ventures, discuss investment opportunities, and persuade wealthy investors to fund their projects. They talked about business strategies, expected returns, and how much capital their projects required. They were not there to discuss project designs or technical plans."

Elowen pressed her lips tightly, trying to absorb what he had said.

"There was no need for you to be there," Soren continued, his voice growing colder. "Even if the investor wanted to know something about the design, Theron could have arranged a separate meeting with you at his office. Bringing you to an event like this wasn’t necessary."

Elowen still couldn’t bring herself to believe it.

Theron was her boss. He had given her the opportunity to work on such an ambitious project of her career. She had no reason to suspect that he would deliberately mislead her. She thought Soren was too furious to see the situation clearly.

"Why would he do that?" she asked, still doubtful. "What would he gain by bringing me there if I wasn’t needed? If it were completely unnecessary, he wouldn’t have insisted that I accompany him."

"He is doing that because..." He almost blurted out. But he stopped himself at the last moment.

Soren looked ahead. His expression turned grim, a storm of emotions raging inside him.

Elowen watched him curiously, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

But he never said the rest of the words. Instead, he asked, "Who is the investor?"

"Alex."

"Alex?" Soren repeated sharply.

Elowen nodded. "I didn’t know he would be there. If I had known we were meeting him, I wouldn’t have agreed to go."

Soren’s features settled into a hard, unforgiving mask. His jaw worked silently, teeth grinding against each other as he muttered under his breath, "That bastard actually managed to convince Alex to invest in his project."

Elowen caught only part of his words. She was too busy worrying about his reaction to understand what he had said. She was panicking, realizing he was too furious to listen to her explanation.

"I know I made a mistake. But I never intended to upset you. Please believe me."

Soren’s chest rose and fell in controlled breaths. The coldness in his eyes was replaced by something much more volatile—a raw, burning rage that made his eyes darken to near black.

"You made a mistake." He leaned closer, invading her space, his shadow looming over her in the dim light of the dashboard.

"You should be punished."

Elowen’s heart lurched. "What punishment?"

Soren watched her quietly. The anger was still there. But it was shifting now, morphing into something primal.

"You will find out when we get home."

Without wasting another second, he stepped on the gas pedal.

The engine purred, and the car moved forward.

The rest of the journey passed in suffocating silence. Elowen sat stiffly in her seat, her mind consumed by his words. She couldn’t stop thinking about what punishment he would give her.

By the time they reached the villa, her nerves were stretched to their limit.

Soren stepped out first and opened the door for her. Elowen got out of the car hesitantly.

"Soren, we can talk about..."

She didn’t get to finish.

He scooped her up and carried her in.

"What are you doing?" She almost shrieked, instinctively grabbing his shoulders. "Put me down. I can walk."

Soren ignored her protest and carried her into the villa. He didn’t stop until he reached their bedroom. The moment he put her on the bed, he leaned down and captured her lips in a fierce kiss.

Elowen tried to push him away. But he was too heavy. He barely budged.

He pulled back slightly enough to look at her. "Stay away from Theron," he warned. "That man is not good. Resign from Aurevia and join my company."

Elowen braced both hands against his chest, her initial shock giving way to disbelief.

"Why are you doing this?" Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Mr. Knox hasn’t done anything to hurt me. You are overthinking."

She tried to slip out from beneath him.

Soren shifted his weight, blocking her escape.

"Are you doubting me?" he hissed. "When I tell you that man is trouble, you should believe me. You don’t need to keep questioning everything I say."

"How can I believe you when you don’t explain what your problem with him is?"

Soren didn’t answer her.

His mouth found hers again. The kiss was desperate and demanding, filled with jealousy and fear he had struggled to contain since discovering she had been at the party with Theron.

His hands roamed over her body with a feverish possessiveness, reclaiming every inch of her.

"You have no idea," he growled against her lips, his voice rough and barely contained, "how I held myself back there. I just wanted to rip his soul out of his body."

His possessive words frightened her.

Elowen had seen Soren angry before, but the intensity of his jealousy sent chills through her.

"He is my boss," she protested. "I work for him. You can’t expect me to stop speaking with him just because you don’t like him. And you certainly can’t keep fighting with him."

Soren held her chin and tilted her head, deepening the kiss until it was all they could breathe.

"He won’t be your boss for a long time. You are going to resign."

"Soren, listen to me..."

He devoured her lips, cutting off her words. His hand slid down from her neck, his palm flat against her ribs, tracing the swell of her breasts.

She gasped, momentarily forgetting what she had intended to say.

"You will join my company." That was not a statement. It was an order. "Don’t make me repeat myself."

"You can’t control me like this," Elowen retaliated. "I don’t know what problem you have with Mr. Knox, but that’s between you and him. Don’t drag your personal issues into my professional life. I worked hard to get where I am. I’m not resigning just because you have issues with my boss."

Her eyes flashed with defiance.

"I am not leaving Aurevia. And that’s final. If you try to force me, I’ll leave you."