His Wicked Obsession (Archer and Virginia) novel Chapter 506

"I'm Julian Vanderbilt." He crossed his long legs, pulled a cigar from the box on the coffee table, and gave it a sniff beneath his nose without lighting it, simply rolling it between his fingers. "How about I tell you a story?"

Though phrased as a question, Julian didn't give her the option to refuse.

In the dead quiet of the living room, an old, buried secret was slowly brought to light.

The tangled history between Dominic and the real Gemma Harrington began with their very first meeting at the Harrington estate...

Dominic was an orphan personally brought home from the orphanage by Gemma's father, Grant Wentworth.

Grant had taken a liking to his extraordinary intelligence and his reckless, cutthroat fighting ability, intending to mold him into the Harrington family's sharpest weapon.

Meanwhile, Gemma was the little princess, raised in the palm of the family's hand.

She was arrogant, domineering, and looked down on absolutely everyone.

When she was wearing a custom red dress freshly flown in from Paris, Grant brought this dirt-poor boy before her and told her to call him brother.

She hadn't even spared Grant a glance. Stepping forward in her diamond-studded leather shoes, she walked right up to Dominic and flat-out refused.

She scoffed coldly, "Hah, a piece of trash picked up from an orphanage who still reeks of the sewer, and you want me to call him brother?"

Gemma had been so vicious she intentionally circled him just to mock him.

She glared at his faded, frayed clothes and the knockoff sneakers with the soles practically worn flat.

Then she stopped right in front of him, pointed at his shoes, and announced in front of all the household staff, "You're actually wearing fake brand shoes. How pathetic. Even our dogs dress better than you."

She watched in shock as Dominic fought like a man with nothing to lose, taking down five or six guys with a brick.

She also saw him take a brutal beating in return—he suffered two broken ribs and a nasty, bleeding gash on his head from a baseball bat...

Even though Dominic was ultimately rushed to the hospital, the high-and-mighty princess actually suffered a rare bout of insomnia that night.

She showed up at the hospital carrying a shoebox.

In her typical arrogant fashion, she tossed the box onto his hospital bed and lifted her chin. "The latest limited edition authentic sneakers. Consider this your reward for saving me yesterday. We're even."

Dominic refused them.

The pale boy lay in his hospital bed, his head wrapped in bandages, and replied, "Mr. Wentworth took me in. Protecting you is simply my duty."