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CHAPTER FOUR
I knew she would never make it through dinner. My only oversight tonight was her consuming the water as quickly as she had. Her participating at all was more than likely due to her desire to escape. She seemed intent on learning that was never going to happen, the hard way.
Nonetheless, this was a necessary endeavor. Catalina was severely anti-social. That’s what her mother had said when discussing our deal.
I was curious to know just how bad it was. Socializing would be a more frequent occurrence in her life now. I refused to let her hide away anymore.
I turned my head to ensure she was all the way asleep. Her two-tone hair was fanned out on the pillow. Most of her beautiful face was concealed by the duvet. I’d taken the liberty to strip her down to nothing but her bra and underwear so she would be more comfortable.
Slowly standing, I removed her cellphone from my back pocket and plugged it back in to charge. It wasn’t my intention to cut her off from the outside world. She’d eventually learn that she would never experience it without me.
It’s not like she had anyone to call. Chloe was obsolete and her mother would bend over backward if I asked her to.
There wasn’t anyone else from her previous life to rely on. All she had now was me, and that was all she’d ever need.
I flipped off the main light and left her to sleep off the effects of her drink. She may be upset with me when she woke up and understandably so. I told her I was going to stop doing this. It was my goal to wean her off these special drinks and never let them near her lips again, but there were a few more loose ends to tie up.
I prepared myself for what came next, plastering a smile on my face as I re-entered the dining room. Everyone was still here minus Rebecca and my brother who had yet to return from seeing her out.
“I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t sweat it. Family drama, it happens.” Amber waved a hand in the air and fixed me with a seductive look I knew all too well.
This woman was so far beneath me I forced a brighter smile to hide my disgust.
“Well, now that you’re back. I’m going to ready the dessert.” Zoe clapped her hands enthusiastically and stood up.
“Your house is really beautiful,” Patricia remarked, doing a show of looking around the room.
Of course, it was fucking nice. I lived here, didn’t I? To someone like her, I’m sure this was like a mini-resort. I flashed another smile and nodded. “Just wait. You haven’t gotten to see the best part yet. Now if you can excuse me again for a minute, I’m going to see if Zoe needs help.”
Understanding my true meaning, Kyle nodded at me discreetly and took over with the two girls. I grabbed both my dish and Catalina’s on my way to the kitchen. Zoe was sitting at the island waiting for me. She lifted her head away from her phone when I placed the dishes in the sink.
“She okay?”
“She’s perfect.”
I turned the water on and rinsed everything leftover down the garbage disposal.
“She didn’t know about Meg?”
“You saw the way she reacted. What do you think?”
Her groan was drowned out by the grinding of the machine.
“Alaric,” she admonished as soon as she could hear herself speak again. “That’s not right.”
“Given what we’re about to do, it seems rather trivial.” I went to the lock pad that sealed off the basement door and entered the four-digit code to activate the fingerprint scanner.
“That’s her sister.”
“You know better than that Z. Those two didn’t have anything to do with one another.”
“But--.”
“Meg’s mother was the trophy wife and Catalina’s was the hired help fucking the wealthy husband. And you know how Johnathon is. With that piece of shit running the show those two were doomed to have a shitty relationship from the start.”
I placed my thumb on the screen and looked back at her. “Why does it matter how her sister died? Dead is dead.”
Her curls bobbed as she shook her head at me. “Alaric, you are the most brilliant man I know but--.”
“Don’t let your fiancée hear that.”
She laughed. “You really do have a heart solid as stone.”
“No. I simply view things differently than you.”
“Okay. Let’s go with that.”
“If I had a heart of stone, I wouldn’t have committed my body and soul to the woman currently sleeping upstairs.”
“Soul?” she questioned.
“You know it’s been over a year since Megan died? Having to pretend she didn’t drop dead more than a few weeks ago is a pain in the ass.”
She laughed and clicked her tongue. “You always did say, good things take time.”
“I still do. All bountiful harvests were sown with patience. Catalina is worth the headache.”
