Beautiful Revenge (A Good Wife #1) - Sienna Blake Page 0,46
“let me remind you of all that I have spent on your upkeep. Let me remind you of the horrible place that I plucked you from. I will not be happy if you ruin this deal for me. In the long term, neither will you.”
Edgar needs this deal. I heard him admit as much to Terrance. I study my husband’s face. It’s as cold as I’ve ever seen it. He and I don’t love each other. Despite his coldness, he has been something of a companion for me. He has made life comfortable for me, despite my occasional punishments. I have never wanted for anything material, at least, while I’ve been here. And he loves Emily, even if he has trouble showing it, which will always endear him to me.
I nod my head. “I’m grateful for all that you’ve done for me.”
“Good. I’d prefer you to do this willingly.”
He’d prefer? He was prepared to force me if I didn’t? My blood begins to drain from my limbs. “Do what?”
In my husband’s grey eyes is a flash of broken pride. “Dimitri wants to spend a night with you.”
38
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Dimitri
I sit in the backseat of one of Edgar’s cars, his driver in the front, Javier beside me. We are driving to London today to meet with Edgar and his lawyers. He is already there preparing our contract. Satisfaction coils underneath my skin. Almost there. Almost.
I remember the day when I strode into his office and made one final proposal to seal the deal. One night with Alena. I couldn’t believe it when Edgar said yes. He barely blinked, just a single bob of his Adam’s apple before he gave away his wife.
I wanted to pump my fist in triumph. Right after I bashed his face in.
Heat coils in my belly. When I return to Worthington Manor, I will have her. She will be mine.
Mine.
For only one night, an insistent voice reminds me.
Outside the tinted window the Yorkshire countryside rolls by. I’ve never been here before this trip, but there’s something so…familiar about these lands. Rolling hills of low brush and fading pinky-purple heather, craggy crops of rock jutting out like old ruins. When the sky is grey and thick like today, the wildness of the moors feels lonely and desolate. The wind that whistles through all the cracks and caverns feels like it blows straight through my heart.
This single lane gravel road that we take away from Worthington Manor passes a low set of buildings surrounded by a low stone wall. There, I spot a familiar form. One that I would forever recognise.
“Stop the car,” I demand, without thinking it through.
The driver hits the breaks, the dirt coming up around us like a cloud.
“Dimi, what is it?” Javier asks.
Alena is there talking with a man in his forties outside one of those buildings. They’re standing close—much too close. Now she’s handing him a basket. He takes it from her and embraces her with his free arm. My blood boils. My hands turn to fists. Is Alena fucking him too?
“Oh, it’s Miss Alena,” the driver says, breaking through my thoughts. I don’t know his name.
“Nobody asked you,” I mutter. Javier smacks my arm. I don’t flinch. I don’t tear my eyes away from Alena. She and the man laugh at something. Anger boils inside me. She is not allowed to laugh.
“That’s the school headmaster. Alena takes the manor leftovers to the schoolkids for their lunch,” the driver says in a pleasant tone as if he didn’t hear my muttering. “Mr Worthington used to just have them thrown away. Such a waste. Until Miss Alena changed that.” His voice is filled with affection for her.
My previous assessment of her infidelity slinks away, replaced with guilt.
“Really?” Javier says. “That’s very generous of her. Very selfless.” I can hear what Javier is not saying, a silent question of the devil-woman image I’ve constructed of Alena.
She was always so generous. Almost to a fault. The infinite heart with the dreamer’s soul.
I scowl. And say nothing as I wave the driver on.
As the car passes, my gaze lingers on Alena, now kneeling beside a small boy. The image hits me in my gut, fingering my insides with longing for…
I try not to look too deeply at these unwanted feelings as I shove them away.
39
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Alena
Dimitri, Javier and my husband were in London all yesterday and today with their lawyers finalising the contract. I was the secret side deal, the cherry on the top, an extra perk.