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The bath water is cold and my fingers are pruned. I locked myself in the bathroom hours ago, as if the flimsy door and lock might keep Dex out if and when he comes back for his next round of lies.
Only he hasn’t come back to the penthouse.
That should make me happy.
It doesn’t.
My stomach growls, upset that all I’ve fed it since lunch with Rowan is alcohol. It dawns on me that for the first time since Dex moved into the penthouse, no dinner has been delivered. He’s pampered me by making sure I got my morning coffee and croissants and by ordering healthy meals every evening. I’ve loved having fresh-cut flowers around and falling asleep in his arms.
These small details have meant so much to me, but now, I see them all for the manipulation they were. He did none of those things because he cared, only because they were a means to his end game—revenge.
The distant sound of a door slamming breaks the silence. I pique my ears, trying to keep my heartrate down as I listen for Dex’s movements. The sound of the door to our suite crashing open comes next and although I locked the door to my bedroom, it dawns on me that perhaps I shouldn’t lay naked in the tub just in case he breaches the door.
I push to my feet, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around my body as I step out of the tub and onto the rug. I don’t have time to dry off before the pounding on the bedroom door begins. Heavy fists slam against the wood and for a second, I’m afraid. The playful Dex I woke up with this morning would never truly hurt me, but now I know that version was just an illusion and a real fear takes hold. Just how far is he willing to take this dangerous game of revenge?
When the pounding finally stops, I frantically glance around the bathroom, opening a few drawers until I find a pair of scissors. I catch the reflection of myself in the huge mirror and almost laugh at the hot mess I see. Wouldn’t the tabloids love to get a picture of me now?
They’d caption the story with something like ‘the princess has fallen off her high horse’ and for once, the salacious story would be true.
I throw the pair of scissors into the sink after I remember Dex Cohen is the king of the criminal elite. He’s already proven that if he wants to hurt me, he will, so any weapon short of a gun will be useless against him.
In the distance, I can hear movement in Dex’s old bedroom, the one he hasn’t slept in for a week because he moved into my room. Half of me is relieved he’s decided to leave me alone. Unfortunately, that leaves the other half of me crushed… longing for him to knock down the door, take me in his arms, and make me forget about the horrific things I learned today.
I’ve only just turned around to head toward my walk-in closet to grab my robe when I hear the door knob rattling. I spin back around just in time to see the door fling open wide. A furious looking man blocks the exit, only it’s not the man I was expecting.
“Get the fuck out of here, Z!” I scream, pulling my towel around me tighter as I stumble a few steps backward, trying to put more distance between us.
Z holds up a long metal tool that looks a bit like a key. “You do realize that lock is a complete joke, right?”
“Only for hardened criminals like you and your boss,” I retort, proud of myself for thinking of the insult fast enough.
He takes a few more steps into my bedroom and I clutch the towel closed at my chest while holding my right hand out like a lame stop sign.
I’ve known this man since he was a baby. Hell, for the first few years of his life, he was like the baby brother I never had. Tonight, all traces of that bond are gone.
“What the fuck did you do to Dex?” he demands.
“Me? That’s rich. Don’t pretend you don’t know what the fuck Dex did to me. You were his accomplice!”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake, you have no idea what the hell that man has done for you, do you?”
“For me? Don’t you mean to me? He lied to me. Plotted and planned against me. Humiliated me. Made me fall in…” I choke back the word love just in time. I won’t give him the satisfaction of saying it out loud.
“Yes… he did those things, but only after you fucked him over first after your father died. Years… he has wasted years of his life obsessed with whatever the hell this game of cat and mouse is between the two of you. It clouded his judgment, keeping him here in New York when our business has been growing all over the globe. He could have taken his millions and started over in any number of cities, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He said it was because of The Whitney and his father’s legacy, but I always suspected he’s been lying to himself just as much as he was lying to you.
“Then, your asswipe of a husband bites it and all of a sudden he’s ready to swoop in here and play house with you instead of keeping his eye on business where it belongs. And now, after all the work and money we’ve invested in finally getting things back online here, he tells me we’re moving out again? Well fuck that shit!”
Z is shouting by the time he finishes, his face ruddy with fury. I try to think through what he’s said logically, but my rollercoaster emotions are making it hard. Dex told me The Whitney was all mine, but I hadn’t believed him for a minute. Now, seeing how angry Z is, I start to question everything.
“I guess he should have thought of that before he put his vengeful plan into motion. He’s gotten exactly what he set out for… revenge.”
“Bullshit. All he’s gotten is another kick to his balls and it’s all because you’re too stubborn to admit that it was your damn mistakes that put every part of the last three years into motion.”
“Hey, I wasn’t the one who created a fake company to extort millions from the woman I claim to love!”
“He didn’t extort a dime. He bailed Tristan out of failed investment after failed investment. He bought up the things he knew you loved when your husband put everything on a fire sale just to make a buck. You can try to spin this if it makes you feel better, but you need to at least get your facts straight. Dex may not have been living in The Whitney these last three years, but he’s been taking better care of it from afar than you have while living here. It’s his money that’s made repairs and upgrades while keeping other creditors at bay. That was money he should have been investing in his own business.
“So, by all means, cut him out of your life again, but know that this time, you’re gonna truly be on your own because I’ll kill the bastard myself before I let him throw the rest of his life away out of some misplaced guilt for hurting your feelings.”
