cleaning staff would come upstairs and stumble upon him.
“What do you think you’re doing up here?” Drake snapped at Lila.
“What do you mean?” Lila asked softly. “I just needed a minute. I’m so tired, Drake, and there were so many guests…”
“You forced me to say goodbye to the Martins by myself,” Drake said. “Do you know how important the Martins are? They’re traditional family people, and their favor means everything. You should’ve been by my side so they could see how much I honor the sanctity of marriage.”
“I’m sorry, I—” Lila tried to cut in, but Drake continued.
“Senator Martin could be the one to open the door for me into local politics,” he said, raising his voice with each word. “You know how seriously I’ve been considering that, Lila.”
Rhys furrowed his brow. He hadn’t known that his brother was considering rerouting from a job in psychiatry to politics, but he supposed it wasn’t that bizarre. After all, politics would suit his brother even more than medicine. It would allow him schmooze and preen all he wanted. Plus, there was more potential for money in it.
Still, there was no way that someone like Drake should be in any position of political leadership. He didn’t care about people; he just wanted power.
“I’m sorry, Drake,” Lila said again. “I should’ve paid more attention. I will reach out to Mrs. Martin personally tomorrow and ask her to have lunch with me so I can tell her just how flawless our marriage is.”
Lila was too good to Drake. She always apologized to him and bent to his will, but Rhys knew that was because the other option—talking back to him—would end in him being angered even further. The last few times Lila attempted to hold her own in an argument with him, it ended in Drake grabbing her so hard she bruised.
Rhys took a deep breath as quietly as possible, hoping that the recording was catching all of this. He probably should’ve asked Olivia to keep the wires on, but then she would’ve suspected that he was going to use them to venture into some unapproved espionage.
“Is that sarcasm?” shouted Drake.
Rhys noticed that, from his angle out in the hallway, he could see the far wall of the library. A large mirror hung on the wall, gleaming brightly in a gilded frame between two mahogany bookcases. Drake and Lila moved into the mirror’s realm of reflection, and Rhys watched as he cornered her against one of the windows.
“What? No, of course not,” Lila squeaked.
“You called our marriage flawless’ in an awfully nasty tone,” Drake argued. “If anything is putting a strain on our marriage, it’s your attitude. I don’t know what the hell has gotten into you recently.”
Rhys swallowed. It took every ounce of willpower within him to keep himself from barging into the room, but it wouldn’t do any good. In fact, it would only hurt Lila more because Drake hated that they were such close friends, and he’d take it out on her once Rhys was actually gone.
“No, no, I swear, Drake,” Lila plead. “I’m not trying to be difficult—”
In the reflection of the mirror on the wall, Rhys watched Lila raise her hands in a gesture of surrender, waving them to indicate that she didn’t want to fight with Drake. The problem with Drake was that he didn’t care if you weren’t actually attempting to fight with him. He would twist your words and manipulate the situation until he could make it seem like his self-created anger was your fault.
Gaslighting douchebag.
“I think we need to have another conversation about medication,” Drake said. His grip on her arm was so tight that it caused her to flinch. Rhys flexed his fists, forcing himself to stay out in the hallway. “This behavior is unacceptable, Lila. I need to be able to count on you. I married you because I thought you would be a good wife. A loyal wife. I thought you would support me no matter what, but I can see that you actually don’t give a damn about my career goals, despite the fact that I’m the one paying the bills.”
“No, Drake, I—”
“Do not interrupt me!” he yelled, smacking his hand against the windowpanes behind her. Lila gasped sharply, shrinking back. The strike had been dangerously close to her face, though both of Rhys and Lila knew that Drake would never hurt her in a way that was so obvious. His abuse had only very recently toed the line from mental and