Chapter 495-The Unexpected Proposal

Chapter 495: 495-The Unexpected Proposal

Verity:

"Why would you want to do that?" I mumbled, narrowing my eyes slightly as I watched his back.

He approached the side cabinet and retrieved two glasses and a bottle of wine.

"That douchebag didn’t have good taste," he remarked, inspecting the bottle before turning to show it to me.

He rolled his eyes and made his way toward the table.

I slowly lowered my feet to the floor and settled properly on the edge of the couch.

Ragnar returned to the armchair opposite me and placed a glass on the table for each of us.

"Not talking about you," he mumbled very softly when trying to clear that taste comment.

He uncorked the bottle and poured us both some wine.

"Because, let’s just say, I don’t want to put you behind bars, but I can’t exactly let you walk away knowing you’ll keep coming after us," he replied rather cockily, nudging my glass closer before picking up his own and leaning back.

"Why can’t you arrest me?" I questioned.

He merely shrugged and took a sip of his wine.

Judging by his expression, he didn’t particularly enjoy the taste.

I reached for my glass and took a small sip myself, hoping it would soothe my throat, which had begun to ache from all the crying.

"Is your problem that I’m not exposing you or putting you in handcuffs?"

My ears practically perked up at his words.

What had he just said?

He wasn’t going to expose me either?

But why? What was he hoping to achieve by keeping everything a secret?

"Do you suspect Gigi, too?" I asked.

He merely shrugged.

"Whatever it is, tell me. I’m ready to make a deal."

He set his glass down and began bouncing one leg in a slow, deliberate rhythm, his eyes never leaving mine.

Even his head bobbed slightly in time with the movement of his foot.

"Depends. What kind of deal?" I questioned, attempting another sip of wine, only to pull the glass away from my lips with a grimace.

"Bad taste, huh?"

"Yes." I nodded, setting my glass aside.

"But I can get you wine unlike anything you’ve ever tasted before."

His voice took on a low, seductive quality as he slowly traced a finger around the rim of his glass.

"What kind of deal?" I repeated, watching him chuckle and shake his head before reclining in his chair again.

"I’ll help you uncover the truth about Gigi, and in return, I’ll keep everything you’ve done, all those little games you’ve been playing, between us. Nobody else will hear a word about it."

He paused, but I knew there had to be more to his offer.

What exactly was he getting out of this arrangement?

A deal was supposed to benefit both parties, and so far, he’d only told me what he was willing to do for me.

There had to be something he wanted in return.

So I remained silent, waiting to hear what he would say next.

When he made no attempt to break the silence, I realized I would have to ask him myself.

"So, what would I have to do in return?" I finally questioned.

He looked rather pleased with himself as he rose from the armchair, and my eyes followed him toward the window.

He glanced outside before turning around and leaning sideways against the window frame, both hands tucked into his pants pockets and one foot crossed over the other.

It was quite a sight.

I got up from the couch and approached him, stopping on the opposite side of the window to face him.

"What?" I pressed.

"Marry me."

Those two words left his mouth so casually that I felt as though the ground had been pulled out from beneath my feet.

For a moment, I couldn’t bring myself to ask anything.

Ragnar had lowered his head slightly and was watching me from beneath his lashes, his eyebrows raised.

"One second. I don’t understand," I finally managed, probably sounding stupid because what he was proposing was fairly straightforward.

"I want you to reject both my brothers and choose me. In return, I’ll help you uncover the entire truth."

He spoke so casually, as though there was nothing unusual about his proposal.

As though it was perfectly normal for an Alpha King who was already engaged, and whose brothers happened to be my mates, to ask me to marry him.

"And what if I say no?" I questioned.

The corner of his mouth curled upward again, as though the possibility of my rejecting him didn’t bother him in the slightest.

"Then your fight to get justice for your brother ends here tonight. Because I have more than enough evidence against you."

He whispered those last words as he leaned down toward me.

I didn’t move away.

His hands remained tucked into his pants pockets, and with him towering over me like that, his already imposing figure seemed even larger.

"I have a lot on you, Verity."

The threat sent a chill down my spine, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

He straightened and returned to the table, picking up his wineglass.

Keeping his eyes on me, he took another sip, only to nearly gag.

"What the fuck? Why did I do that?" he muttered to himself, setting the glass down again.

"So, you’re going to give me your answer right now because, well, we’re not leaving until you say yes or no."

It was becoming increasingly clear that Ragnar was up to something, although I couldn’t figure out what he hoped to accomplish by marrying me.

What about Gigi? What about his brothers? What about everyone else?

And what kind of punishment was this supposed to be?

I’d been caught playing a nasty, elaborate game with him and his brothers, yet instead of exposing me, he was offering to marry me.

"So?" he prompted, standing beside the couch with his hands tucked into his pants pockets, his chest puffed out and his muscles visibly tense.

Well, it wasn’t as though I had much of a choice.

If anything, the final stage of my plan had always been to trap Ragnar eventually.

I just hadn’t expected him to be so willing to walk straight into it himself, allowing me to skip all the difficult steps of getting through his brothers first.

"I’ll marry you."

The moment I gave him my answer, I noticed the tension slowly leave his body.

It was almost as though, despite having more than enough evidence against me, he hadn’t been entirely certain that I would choose him or agree to his deal.