Chapter 17 I’ll Marry You

Alicia Davenport I stared at the glass in my hand, swirling the amber liquid inside before throwing back the shot. The burn that followed did nothing to numb the chaos inside me. I was trapped. No matter which way I looked at it, I was cornered like a pawn in Nicholas’s twisted game. I don’t want to marry him. I hate him. Every inch of my being despises him for what he’s doing to me, to Daniel. Nicholas is a bastard—a ruthless, heartless man who only cares about his own interests. He’s playing with my life like it’s some business deal, like I’m nothing more than a stepping stone for him to secure his precious position. And the worst part? He’s winning. I clenched my jaw, gripping the glass tighter as the bartender refilled it. I was Alicia Davenport, damn it! I wasn’t stupid. I wasn’t some naive little girl who didn’t know how the business world worked. I grew up in this environment, surrounded by powerful men who thought they could control everything. Nicholas might think he ha