Imperfect Affections Read online

  Imperfect Affections

  Beauty in Imperfection, Book 2

  Charmaine Pauls

  Published by Charmaine Pauls

  Montpellier, 34090, France

  www.charmainepauls.com

  Published in France

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Copyright © 2022 by Charmaine Pauls

  All rights reserved.

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  Photography by Wander Aguiar Photography LLC

  Cover design by Okay Creations

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  ISBN: 9782491833169 (eBook)

  ISBN: 9798831366778 (Paperback)

  ISBN: 9798831367423 (Hardcover)

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Foreword

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Sneak Peek of Beauty in the Broken

  Also by Charmaine Pauls

  Book Blurbs

  About the Author

  Foreword

  Dear Reader,

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  Imperfect Affections is the second book in the Beauty in Imperfection duology. You must read Imperfect Intentions (Book 1) to follow the story. If you’d like to read more about the glitzy diamond world of South Africa, browse the other Diamond Magnate novels and read a short synopsis of each in the Book Blurbs section at the end.

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  Here are the other books in order:

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  Standalone Novel

  (Dark Forced Marriage Romance)

  Beauty in the Broken

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  Diamonds are Forever Trilogy

  (Dark Mafia Romance)

  Diamonds in the Dust

  Diamonds in the Rough

  Diamonds are Forever

  Box Set

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  Beauty in the Stolen Trilogy

  (Dark Romance)

  Stolen Lust

  Stolen Life

  Stolen Love

  Box Set

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  I hope you’ll enjoy the conclusion of Violet and Leon’s story!

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  Happy reading,

  * * *

  Charmaine

  Chapter 1

  Violet

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  A commotion sounds downstairs. It’s only eight in the morning, but I’m already dressed in my standard jeans and T-shirt. After Elliot presented Leon’s program and claimed it as his own work at the office party, I haven’t slept all night. The guilt wouldn’t let me.

  I’m the one who stole the software for Elliot.

  I’m the one who betrayed Leon.

  I did it to protect my mother, not that it justifies what I’ve done. I simply didn’t have a choice, not when my stepdad would’ve killed my mom in the most painful way imaginable if Elliot showed him the evidence of her adultery.

  The flowers Leon brought last night when he picked me up for the party sit like a colorful accusation in the vase where my mom placed it on my desk. Like the coward I am, I’ve been hiding in my room until Elliot left for the office. I can’t face him. Or Gus. I can’t face my mom and her well-intended questions. I can’t even face myself.

  Voices come from downstairs. My mom says something in a high-pitched tone. A female replies in a voice I don’t recognize. Going to the window, I pull the curtain aside. A moving truck is parked in the driveway. A woman in overalls wheels boxes piled on a trolley down a ramp from the back of the truck.

  “Violet,” my mom calls, following it up with a knock on my door.

  I smooth down my hair and open the door.

  “There you are,” she says with a smile. “Did you have a sleep-in after your late night?” Hesitantly, she adds, “You didn’t tell me about the move.”

  My pulse jumps. “What move?”

  “There are two women downstairs.” My mom studies me with a frown. “They say Leon sent them to move your clothes.”

  Blood pumps through my veins and gushes in my ears. Why would he still want me to move in with him after last night?

  Not wanting to alarm my mom, I try not to sound as shocked as I am. “He mentioned something along those lines, but he said not before the end of the month.”

  She relaxes somewhat. “Well, someone is in a hurry.”

  “I’ll go talk to them.”

  “Don’t bother,” my mom says, laying a hand on my arm. “I’ll send them up.”

  Meaning she wants to spare me the trip downstairs. I wish she wouldn’t be so overprotective. Just for once, I want her to treat me like I’m normal.

  “Wait,” I say when she heads for the stairs.

  She pauses, her expression expectant as she faces me again.

  “Did you talk to Gus or Elliot this morning?”

  Her cheeks turn pink. “I was tired. I didn’t wake up until after they’d gone.”

  It’s not her blushing that gives away the lie. It’s the uneasiness with which she tells it, trying to shelter me from the truth. She can’t stomach her husband. If she can avoid it, she’ll rather not face him. Why can’t she just admit it? Pretending is so exhausting.

  “Why?” she asks, concern creeping into her features.

  “Gus introduced the new partner last night.”

  “He did?” She blinks. “I thought he was planning on doing it in March.”

  “It’s Elliot.”

  She gives a start. “What?”

  “He made Elliot a partner.”

  Her eyebrows pinch together. “It doesn’t make sense.”

  Oh, but it does. Perfectly. I just can’t tell her. The lies are piling up, spinning tighter around us. We’ve long since crossed the line of coming clean. There’s no backdoor, no other way out of the reality we created for ourselves. The only way is forward, continuing with the charade until I’ll never be able to dig myself out from under the mountain of untruths that define our lives.

  “I guess Gus had a change of heart,” I say.

  Her voice holds a note of panic. “What about your wedding?”

  “I guess that’s down the drain too.”

  She glances toward the stairs. “Then why did Leon send a moving company to collect your things?”

  “I have no idea.” Stepping from my room, I push past her. “I’ll go find out.”

  The tightness of my stomach hasn’t eased since last night. My tension only grows as I walk down the stairs with my mom following on my heels.

  Two women wait stoically at the entrance.

  “Good morning, ma’am,” the blond one says,
checking the clipboard in her hand. “Miss Starley?”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m Susan from Peters International. We’re here to pack up your clothes and personal belongings.”

  “There’s been a mistake,” I say.

  The women glance at each other.

  Susan takes a phone from her pocket. “I’m sure we’ll sort it out.” She swipes a finger across the screen and lifts the phone to her ear. “Let me dial Mr. Hart.”

  “That’s okay,” I say quickly. “I’ll call him myself.”

  The woman is undeterred. Turning her back on me, she says, “Yes, Mr. Hart? It’s Susan from Peters International on the line. There seems to be confusion with regards to the move you booked for this morning.”

  She falls quiet, shooting me a look from over her shoulder as she listens to his reply.

  “Let me talk to him,” I say, holding out my hand for the phone.

  Ignoring me, she faces forward again. “Yes, Mr. Hart. No problem. I’ll tell her.” She hangs up, pockets the phone, and faces me again. “Mr. Hart says he’s on his way.”

  Just as I open my mouth to tell her that won’t be necessary, the intercom by the front door buzzes.

  My mom goes over and answers with, “Yes?”

  Leon’s deep voice booms through the system. “Hi, Gia. It’s Leon.”

  My throat closes up. He’s here? Already? He must’ve been planning on meeting the moving company.

  Looking at me, my mom raises her palm in a helpless gesture. I shake my head, but she’s already pressing on the button to open the gates.

  “Come on in, Leon.” When she’s hung up, she says, “We can’t not let him in. Even if he’s no longer your betrothed, he’s still a colleague of Gus.”

  “Wait here,” I say, shaking a little as I open the door. “Leon and I need a few minutes.”

  My mom brushes her palms over her skirt before motioning to the lounge. “Ladies, why don’t you wait in here? Can I get you something to drink? It’s already so hot outside, isn’t it?”

  The women’s reply is lost on me as I step outside and close the door. All I can focus on is the blue Aston Martin that comes to a stop behind the truck. I stand rooted to the spot, watching Leon with growing dread as he gets out of the car and makes his way over with long but unhurried strides.

  He’s wearing dark jeans, a faded T-shirt, and a leather jacket—his signature work attire. Only, he’s not at the office where Elliot must be moving his precious Johannesburg Country Club mug and coaster to his new desk. He’s here, pinning me with a stare cold enough to freeze the sun. It’s a violent kind of cold, the kind that only dangerous men possess. They don’t make threats or raise their voices. They pull the trigger calmly and quietly. They’re efficiently deadly.

  He stops two steps away from me, measuring me with that cool gaze. “Violet.”

  I swallow around the lump in my throat. “Leon.”

  “The moving company employee said there’s a confusion.”

  Lifting my chin, I try to look confident instead of scared. “Yes.” I wave a hand at the truck. “What’s the meaning of this?”

  He looks over his shoulder at the vehicle, studying it for a second before turning back to me. “You’re moving in with me.” His words are flat, toneless. “We’re getting married.”

  The word pops out of its own accord. “No.”

  He raises a brow, an unfriendly smile playing on his sensual lips. “No?”

  My mouth is so dry it feels as if my lips are glued together. I have to wet them before I can speak. “That’s what I said.”

  He advances on me, closing the small distance between us and putting our bodies flush together. “Once again, you’re mistakenly assuming I’m asking.”

  I back up, my heel hitting the step behind me. “Gus won’t force me.”

  His smile turns mocking. “Because I’m not his new partner after all?”

  Not sure how to answer that without provoking his anger, I remain quiet.

  He cups my head, his fingers gentle on my scalp while his gaze bores into mine. What I see in his eyes makes me shudder. In contrast to his light touch, he looks at me like he wants to crack me open and break me apart.

  “Here’s the thing you don’t understand, Violet. It doesn’t really matter what Gus says. Tonight, you’ll be sleeping in my bed. Tomorrow, you’ll wake up in my bed. And the next day, and the next.”

  A shiver runs through me.

  He searches my eyes, but he’s not looking for emotions. He’s not interested in my feelings. He’s evaluating them like an artist studying a subject to assess the color. “Tomorrow, my darling, you will say I do.”

  I pull away and step to the side. “Why will I do that?”

  He doesn’t break our eye contact as he takes his phone from his pocket, activates it with his thumbprint, and holds it up to my face.

  My heart stops beating. A flush heats my body. A video of me that’s been taken from a webcam plays on the screen. The poster on the wall behind me is a dead giveaway. I’m sitting at Leon’s desk, the recording damning evidence of my crime.

  My gaze snaps back to his. My throat is raw, my voice hoarse. “What do you want?”

  He pockets the phone. “I told you what I want.”

  “Why?” I exclaim. “You have nothing to gain. If you think Gus will give you preferential treatment because you’ll be part of his family, I have news for you. Gus has never seen me as his family.”

  “Only a pawn?”

  I don’t reply.

  “What do you think will happen if you don’t marry me?” He utters a humorless laugh. “Do you believe your stepfather will let you do what you want? He’ll sell you to someone else, making sure he gets some value for the money he’s invested in you.”

  The statement is like a slap in my face. He’s referring to the expensive operations Gus paid for. Although, it’s not as if I don’t know that or if it isn’t true.

  “You can have any woman you want. Why me?”

  His grin is cruel and arrogant. “I don’t need a reason.”

  No, I suppose not. But I’m not stupid. If blackmail is the motivation, the only reason can be revenge, and the only revenge he can get if he won’t tell the truth about what I’ve done is to hurt me like I’ve hurt him.

  The revelation turns my knees weak. He’s forcing me into a relationship to punish me. What a sick objective for tying someone to you—for life. Unless he plans on killing me, which I doubt. If he wanted to kill me, he could’ve done so already. No, he wants to make me pay for my crime. He wants to make sure I suffer. This is infinitely worse than marrying me for a partnership.

  He delivers his next words like the lash of a whip. “If you want your family there to witness the exchange of our vows, you have twenty-four hours to inform them. Department of Home Affairs. Randburg. Tomorrow at three. If there’s anything personal you don’t want the moving company to pack, you have ten minutes to get it.”

  Speechless, I can only stare at him. This can’t be happening.

  “I’ll take your silence as meaning you have nothing you’d like to pack.” He turns toward his car. “In that case, we can leave straight away.”

  “Wait.”

  He stops, looking at me, waiting like I asked.

  If he shows Gus the footage and tells him what I did, Gus will confront Elliot. If Elliot is busted, he’ll give Gus the photos of my mom. Which leaves me with no choice. My knees wobble under the weight of the knowledge.

  In the end, Leon wins, just like he said he would.

  I feel like breaking down and crying, but I can’t show weakness. I can’t let him know how rattled I am. I’m vulnerable enough as it is.

  “I have some things to pack.” My stomach bottoms out as I say the words, because uttering them is as good as verbally agreeing to his terms. “I can’t just leave like this. I have to tell my mom.”

  “Then you better get started.”

  Unable to look him in the eyes any l
onger, I climb the steps to the porch. I’ve never felt smaller or more ashamed. Humiliated.

  He reaches the door before I do, opening it and standing aside for me to enter.

  Just as we walk inside, my mom exits the lounge with a tray in her hands.

  “Leon,” she says, looking between us with concern. “If you don’t mind me saying so, this is a surprise. What’s going on?”

  He wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me against him. “Violet and I have happy news.” Hooking a finger under my chin, he turns my face to him. His lips tilt up, mimicking the happiness he mentioned, but the smile doesn’t melt the ice in his eyes. If anything, those dark pools turn colder, the deep brown color looking like black frost on a winter’s day as he says, “Isn’t that so, my darling?” before pressing his lips on mine.

  I freeze, turning into a stickman in his embrace.

  My mom’s gasp reaches me as if from afar. I’m disconnected from reality, unable to process what’s happening.

  “Violet?” my mom says, putting the tray on the nearest table.

  Leon’s bitter gaze holds a challenge. A warning.

  “Yes,” I croak, tearing my gaze from Leon’s face and forcing brightness into my tone. “We decided to get married.” The words choke me. “Tomorrow.”

  “Oh my goodness.” She places a hand over her heart. “Really?”