The Pretender and The Prince novel Chapter 16

Ondine quickly averted her eyes, staring at the table. “Seth, I’m done with the call. I knocked to give your phone back.”

“Mmm,” he grunted, walking over and leaning down to pick it up. He was standing right in front of her, and for a split second, her gaze fell on the opening of his robe. In the bright overhead light, she could clearly see the lines of his abs.

Ondine’s breath hitched.

After retrieving his phone, instead of returning to his room as she expected, Seth sat down in the armchair next to the sofa.

“There’s something I think we need to discuss,” he said, his gaze calm and unreadable.

“What is it?”

“Your boyfriend,” he began, his voice low and serious, “is not who he appears to be.”

Ondine looked up in surprise. She never imagined Seth would bring up Ellis. After a moment of stunned silence, she lowered her eyes, her lashes trembling. “I know.”

Seth raised an eyebrow. “You know he’s been lying to you about being poor?”

Ondine’s fingers curled into her palms. “Yes,” she whispered.

“And you know he’s cheating on you?”

She nodded again. “Yes.”

“And you’re not breaking up with him?”

“I was planning to pretend I didn’t know anything, and then just disappear when I go to Boreal City. A clean break.”

Seth was silent. Ondine kept her eyes fixed on the floor, not daring to look at him. His presence was overwhelming, and his questions felt like an interrogation.

After a moment, he spoke again. “Your mother is seriously ill. Has your boyfriend offered any help at all?”

He repeated himself, his thin lips barely moving. “Marry me.”

For a second, Ondine was sure she was dreaming. Her confusion turned to utter shock. “Why?”

Compared to her stunned expression, Seth was perfectly calm. His face remained a cool, indifferent mask. “My family is pressuring me to get married. I need a wife. You need money. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

A mutually beneficial arrangement?

On the surface, it made a twisted sort of sense. But this was marriage, not a business deal. How could anyone measure it in terms of mutual benefit?

Ondine bit her lip, her brow furrowed in thought.

“I’ll give you time to consider it,” Seth said coolly. “When you have an answer, you know how to reach me.”