Beautiful Revenge (A Good Wife #1) - Sienna Blake Page 0,18

her father only keeps me as a brood mare to deliver him a son. I will never tell her.

“And you…” Emily turns towards me. “How are you?”

If she wasn’t so damn sweet, I’d hate her for being his daughter. But I know she’s practically a prisoner here too. The world is a wild and terrible place, he said. It’s my duty to protect you from it. She was homeschooled growing up. Now that she’s finished school, I’m certain that my dear husband will come home one day with a husband for her. And she’ll accept it. Despite his coldness towards her, she has this desperate need to please him.

Speak of the devil…

My husband enters the dining room and takes his seat, no apology for keeping us waiting. Thank God. I’m starving. The smell of the roast chicken and baked potatoes has been torturing me. I pick up my knife and fork. For a few minutes, the air fills with the sound of knives scraping plates and of chewing.

“I’ve invited a Mr Wolf to stay with us next week,” my husband says between large bites of food. “You’re both to make him feel welcome.”

I force down the bite of food in my mouth. The men my husband associates with are as bad as he is. My husband’s friends leave Emily alone because she’s his daughter. They know who I am and exactly how much my husband paid for me. They treat me as such.

I’ve never heard him speak of Mr Wolf before. I want to ask but Emily beats me to it. “Who is Mr Wolf?”

“He’s an investor here from America. I met him in London. He’s looking for a business to invest in. I’m hoping it’ll be mine.” My husband operates a finance company specialising in shares management. He didn’t share the details with me. I had to look them up.

“What’s he like?” Emily’s face is alert, her eyes sparkling with possibilities. “Is he young?”

My husband shrugs, helping himself to more potatoes. “Mid-twenties, I’d say. Tall fellow. Has a foreign accent so I don’t think he’s originally from America. Although his English is very good.”

Emily is smiling with her chin resting on her hand. I know in her head she’s half in love with Mr Wolf already. You can hardly blame her. She’s an eighteen-year-old girl who has never been kissed, who is barely let out of this gilded cage. I hope he’s not handsome enough to break her heart. I ignore the twinge of nerves over Mr Wolf’s upcoming arrival.

I’m still feeling weak from my miscarriage, so I’m the first to leave dinner. My slippered feet barely make a sound on the marble floor as I pass into the main foyer.

I flinch as I take in the figure of the man who’s standing just inside the entrance, brushing the collar and shoulders of his coat from the English drizzle. Terrance Hagerty, my husband’s business advisor, a man in his mid-forties with a rat-like face and spidery hands. I gulp back a gasp. Of all my husband’s associates, I hate him the most. My skin breaks out into goose bumps.

I don’t want him to see me. Maybe if I back up slowly into the shadows—

As if he has heard me, he looks up, his beady grey eyes locking on mine. A smile crawls across his face. “Alena.” His voice is nasally and barbed. “How lovely to see you again.”

I wish I could say the same for you.

I force my features into an expression of placid politeness and nod my head in greeting. “My husband is still in the dining room. Excuse me. I’m not feeling well.” I start for the staircase, my movements jerky in my haste to get away from him.

His fingers close around my arm before I can escape, my skin crawling at his touch.

“Come now, Alena.” His sour breath curdles around my cheeks. “Are you really going to run away so quickly? We really must catch up.” He smiles, revealing a set of yellowing teeth.

I tug against him. His grip tightens so hard that I wince. I see the flare of pleasure in his eyes.

“Let go of me or I will scream,” I hiss.

“Alena?” A soft feminine voice startles us both.

Emily is standing at the corridor from the dining room. She’s staring at his hand wrapped around my arm.

With his plans thwarted, Terrance lets go of me and takes a step back. I clutch my red wrist to my chest. He smiles at her. It’s poisonous underneath