Claimed By My Husband's Enemy novel Chapter 1

Chapter 1

(Eli)

Cameras flashed everywhere as soon as Landon and I stepped out of the limousine. My husband possessively wrapped his arm around my waist. His smile was dazzling and gentle, making me smile just as sweetly as we walked together towards the Caldwell Hotel where all the wealthy and powerful people gathered.

Landon stopped for a moment to tuck a stray strand of my hair behind my ear before dropping a kiss on my forehead and tugging me closer to his side. I heard the sighs of the female reporters as they glanced his way. Why wouldn’t they? Landon was every wife’s dream man. Gorgeous, hot, tall, gentle and a very devoted husband. And the cherry on top? He was one of the richest men in and out of the country. Every newspaper and magazine featured his success in the businesses he opened where he talked about his wife as his inspiration.

Wherever we went, people congratulated me for bagging the most eligible bachelor in America.

The media loved Landon Richards. Men envied him. Kids wanted to be like him when they grew up. The women went crazy over him despite his marital status.

Once upon a time, I was one of those women too.

“Smile, Elianna. Your mask is slipping away,” Landon whispered, concealing his warning with another camera-ready smile.” You are too damn beautiful to be locked up for a day or two in the attic.”

My stomach instantly recoiled at the memory of sleeping in that cold space for two days without food, just a bottle of water, as Landon insisted that he needed to do that for me to learn. And all that happened just because I refused to keep acting as his perfect wife during one of the parties we attended.

I married a psycho.

And it was too late when I found out.

The worst part was that I couldn’t escape. My stepfather had lost his construction company due to his gambling addiction. His debts piled up. Landon paid all of them and kept our company afloat. He was the reason why my stepfather and brother could continue their lavish lifestyle, why mom could still stay in the biggest hospital in the city after she had been comatose due to a car accident when I was still a teenager.

Landon made sure there was no way out for me. I couldn’t work. When I tried, he locked me in the attic. I couldn’t even ask for help. I learned my lesson after he easily twisted the story around, making me appear as the bad wife. One mistake on my part and he would threaten to cut off mom’s life support.

I forced myself to smile.

“There’s my good girl.”

I waved at our common friends, smiled brighter, and whispered back, “I can’t wait for you to rot in hell, Landon.”

When he burst into laughter, I caught the jealous expressions of the wives who looked either bored or miserable in the arms of their husbands. If only they knew.

“I need you to be in your best behavior tonight, Elianna,” Landon warned, although the dark amusement in his eyes remained. He had the look that could have fooled even me into believing that he loved me if only I didn’t catch him balls deep in his secretary six months after our marriage which changed everything between us.

“I heard that Black is also attending the gala. That son of a bitch destroyed another very important transaction of mine two days ago. I don’t know what the hell is his problem with me, but this has to stop. I will put him in his place tonight. Once we’ re done, I might be in a good mood and allow you to work again.”

I doubted that.

Landon was a very obsessive bastard. He would fuck around, but he wouldn’t let other people near his wife, especially men. That’s why he made me stop modeling. Back then, I indulged him not knowing it would be my biggest mistake.

I was at the peak of my career. I had just won the supermodel of the year when I met Landon. A year later, he proposed to me. Like any fool in love, I said yes, believing that he was a prince charming only to realize way too late that I married a frog. For the past couple of hours, I became Landon’s perfect puppet. I smiled, laughed, and socialized with the wives who believed I should bow down to them and feel grateful that I was included in their circle while their husbands regarded me like a tasty snack in my long, red silk sheath gown which hugged my curves.

Landon secretly loved it when his business associates eyed me with lust. It fed his continent-sized ego. I was his trophy wife. He was obsessed with parading me in public and humiliating me in private.

“Where the heck is Black? You said he’s coming!” Landon’s mask fell as he glared at his secretary while we were all sitting

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Chapter 1

on our table.

“Please calm down, Sir. I confirmed it with Mr. Black’s assistant yesterday. He said his boss will be here tonight,” Sophie answered, still staring at her boss with dreamy eyes despite the latter’s reaction.

Their gazes locked. I pursed my lips and excused myself for a while or else, I might end up throwing up at the sight of them together. When I returned from the ladies’ room, the two were gone. They were surely somewhere again, fucking each other like the rotten animals they were.

Just a week ago, Landon did it with a waitress he spotted when we were about to have our dinner. He made me eat by myself as he messed around. He stopped trying to hide who he really was as soon as I caught him cheating. In fact, it was like being caught was a blessing in disguise for him since he no longer had to act like a proper husband.

Despite the rage in my chest, I calmly strode towards the bar counter, sat, and ordered martini from the bartender. That was when I heard them. The murmurs and the gasps behind me. Something in the atmosphere had changed.

But I was too bitter to care. I ordered another glass of martini as someone took the seat next to me.

The earthy and rich scent of leather and musk filled my nostrils, tempting me to look at where it was coming from. I found the owner of the scent already staring at me with those stormy gray eyes. He lifted the wineglass with his tattooed hand and brought it to his lips, his eyes never straying from mine.

The heart that I thought was dead since I found out about Landon’s betrayal two years ago was now surprisingly alive, pounding fast and loud for the first time in a while.

Lucifer must have looked like this man when he was still in heaven. He was… the hottest man I’d ever laid eyes on. And I’d met countless of them in my former work. The man was that illegally attractive. His long and thick eyelashes, his sharp features, and striking jaw line would give the celebrities a run for their money. His build was larger than my husband’s. That must be the reason why something about him screamed danger.

Like he was another predator and more dangerous than my husband.

“You must be Elianna, Richards’ lovely wife. He shouldn’t have left you by yourself, Doesn’t he know the rule yet?”

Right there and then, I’d understood who he was.

Creed Black.

The man who had been messing with Landon’s business dealings, the source of his anger, and the subject of dinner conversations for a year now. His name suddenly erupted in the business world a year ago. There were no photos of him anywhere, even online, and only selected people were allowed to meet Mr. Black, In fact, Landon had only ever seen him once and it was from an auction where he’d forbidden me to attend.

I didn’t know that the billionaire Mr. Black my husband and his associates had been talking about would look like he was only in his late twenties.

And God, even his voice sounded like he’d just left his bedroom after spending a wild night with a woman.

“What rule?” I asked despite the lump in my throat, my eyes scanning the crowd for my husband. Something with the way Creed was looking at me was triggering my fight or flight instinct.

“Finders keepers,” he rasped as he emptied his glass and placed it on the counter. “Tell me, Elianna-”

“It’s Mrs. Richards,” I corrected quickly, terrified that if Landon caught me sitting this close to his sworn enemy and chatting with him, he would lose control. The punishment waiting for me made me shiver as I stood, but Creed blocked my path, cornering me between the bar counter and his massive frame.

“Not for long.” Creed smirked. “So, Elianna,” he repeated casually as he stared at my lips and then at my exposed throat. He ran his thumb from my jaw to my lower lip, making me shiver all over again but for a different reason this time. His mere touch made my knees weak. Or was I just feeling dizzy from the alcohol?

But wait. Did his eyes just change their color or was I too drunk to imagine his eyes had turned gold? I could even swear t heard a growl that came from a wild animal somewhere near us. I blinked and the sound was gone; his eyes were gray again.

“Are you happy with your husband?”

Nobody had ever asked me that. People automatically assumed they knew the answer. I frowned. “Why are you asking me this, Mr. Black? It does not concern you.”

“Oh, but it does, Elianna. Because if you aren’t, I am going to steal you from him.”

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