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I’m caught between the two only because of my own guilt.
I turned on Paige.
I hurt her.
So much so that she sought refuge in my mother’s house. I’m mostly preoccupied with that part of it. Less concerned with gutting Anthony as a lesson and more concerned with how I’m going to fix the damage I’ve caused to the woman he left behind.
“I’ll disappear,” Anthony promises. “You’ll never have to see me again. I won’t come near Paige. I won’t bother you ever again.”
Another thing occurs to me out of nowhere. “How did Petyr know that Paige was allergic to chamomile?”
Silence. The most tense, strangled silence I’ve ever heard. It’s like I can hear the subtle hiss of his last hopes deflating from his lungs.
Anthony’s throat bobs up and down. “It just kinda slipped out one day. I wasn’t giving him information. I didn’t mean for him to use it.”
“You are fucking stupid,” I snarl. “And you have too much information now.”
Anthony’s composure starts to crumble slowly. “Please! Please don’t kill me. I came to you. I could have just run, but I care about Paige. We spent eight years together. I just want her to be okay.”
“Why did you fake your marriage?” I demand.
He opens his mouth, then closes it again. He’s the stupidest fucking goldfish I’ve ever laid eyes on.
“You better talk fast,” I warn, “because I’m losing patience.”
Anthony flinches like I hit him. “My parents didn’t approve of Paige. They knew about her background and they thought I deserved better. But she was all up in arms about gettin’ married, you know? She wanted it bad. So…”
“So you lied to her,” I growl, shaking my head. “Disgusting. If you ever thought that about Paige, if you ever doubted her, then you can’t claim to love her. Not now. Not ever.”
“It’s complicated,” he says urgently. “I do love her. I just…”
It’s all hitting a little close to home. After all, I doubted her up until a few minutes ago. What does that say aboutmylove for her?
“You’re a worm, Anthony,” I tell him. “A sniveling, pathetic little worm. Maybe you do love her, but one thing’s for damn sure: you don’t deserve her.”
He looks at me curiously for a moment. “You care about her.”
“She’s my wife,” I snarl. “It’s my duty to take care of her. Something you failed to do. Now, get out, Anthony. Leave before I change my mind.”
I press the intercom next to my desk. Konstantin picks up on the other end. I’m sure he’s been waiting breathlessly for the call. “Come in here.”
The moment Konstantin walks in, I turn to Anthony. “My man will be in touch with you. You will return the money you stole from me. Plus fifty percent interest. And then you will disappear forever.”
His eyes bulge. “Fifty percent?”
“It’s fifty percent or your life. Your choice.”
He nods, trembling and still sweating. “Fifty percent it is.”
“Smart man. And remember this: no matter how far you go: no matter how many times you change your identity, no matter how many cons you try… I will always have one eye on you. If you step out of line, if you stick your head above ground somewhere you don’t belong, there will be no second chance. Do you understand me?”
His face is bleak as he nods in response.
“Good,” I bark, pointing at the door. “Now, get out of my sight and never come back.”
98
PAIGE
