AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I said, are we clear? I only want to hear yes or no out of your mouth. Any other words, I keep those panties and maybe that skirt, and you remain bottomless for the rest of the day. Are we clear?”
She swallows hard, tears forming in her eyes. “Yes.”
“Good. Do you think I got to my position by having people berate me like that? I got here by making things clear, and I am doing that now. I cleared your debts not to trap you, but so you don’t need to worry about them. I want your focus on Alicia, not on money troubles. I cleared Ursula’s so you can both make a fresh start with your boutique once our time together ends.”
I take a breath. “You are right. My temper gets the better of me sometimes. The school has contacted me to say my daughter’s bullies have been suspended while they investigate further. I am grateful for how you handled that situation, but that does not give you free rein to treat me with such disrespect. I will have your obedience and respect, and you will be rewarded for good behavior. Bad behavior gets treated the way you were just now. Are we clear? Yes or no?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I removed your debts because it benefits me. I marry you because it benefits me. You take the money I offer because it benefits you. We both gain from this agreement. Let’s not let emotions spoil a good business decision. Now tell me why you are wearing such a short skirt? What was wrong with the pants you wore to work this morning?”
“I spilled a drink on them when I brought Alicia home.”
“Liar. Tell me the truth.”
“All right? If you want the truth, fine. Alicia spilled her drink on me because she was crying, and you haven’t even asked how she is, so you wouldn’t know a thing about that.”
“Why was she crying?”
“Because she’s terrified the bullies will get revenge on her. Stop being blind to those around you, Hunter. You’re good at noticing things. Start noticing this. You can’t run through life like a fucking bull in a china shop. You need to look around you once in a while and take some advice. I have a right to be angry. You accessed my bank accounts without my permission.”
“I cleared your debts. You should be more grateful.”
“I am grateful, but you should have asked first. That’s all I’m saying.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
“Fine, you know what? Be like that. See where it gets you.” She sniffs loudly, looking at me with hate in her eyes. “Why are you so mean to me?”
I roll my eyes. “Wow. How whiny.”
“Thanks.”
“You get to the top by fighting, not by backing down, not by giving in. And never by whining about how hard life is.”
“Oswald used to talk like that. You remind me of him sometimes.”
“You think I’m like your ex?”
“He used to say you never give in, never apologize, never back down. Always fight for what you know is right, and never let anyone try to change your mind. Told me I was wrong when I wanted to break up with him. Told me I was ill, that I was mentally damaged. That I would hate myself if I did it. He did the right thing by refusing to let me break up with him. Said I’d thank him, eventually. Yelled in my face that I was insane after he broke into my place the first time.”
“Sofia said the same thing to me.” The words are out of my mouth before I even know it. I want to take them back, but I can’t show weakness, not now. “Called me insane. Used to hit me all the damned time and told me she’d never willingly be with me. The wedding was getting closer, and she got worse. Told me how evil I was, that I was a bastard, that she’d kill Alicia before letting me take care of her, that she’d kill herself and our daughter if I didn’t let her have it back.”
“Have what back?”
“The bag of heroin I found in her dresser. She’d been hooked for a long time, but no one thought to tell me. I only found it because she denied it existed. I could tell she was lying, so I went to have a look while she hurled abuse at me. There it was.
“Just a little bag of the shit my brother wants us to get into selling. I kept it from her and paid for her to go to rehab, but she wouldn’t go. Told me she’d be dead before she ever did what I told her. I told her I wouldn’t marry a junkie, and she just laughed and said I had no say in the wedding, and neither did she.
“Cementing the families together, that’s what they all called it. Only it ripped the families apart when someone killed her on the wedding night. Now Ivanov is under arrest for killing those rent boys, and I’ve still got the cops breathing down my neck. It’s been seven fucking years, and Brody is still after me.”
“You sure she didn’t kill herself?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean, after all that, it sounds like she might have done it to spite you.”
“You can’t stab yourself that many times. Someone did it to her.” I look at her, and I need to stop talking about this. I enjoy sharing. It feels good. I can’t keep doing it. When you share, people use things against you. That’s what happened with Sofia. Everything I told her in the early days came back out of her mouth near the end.
