Caroline doesn’t have to say more. I already know it’s Annabelle Underhill. Why the hell is she so interested in my wife? She knows I don’t take kindly to people fucking with me. She wanted me to help her divorce Stanton, and I’ve texted her the lawyer’s info. I also made it clear I don’t want to see her or hear from her again.
“She wanted to know about Annabelle—your wife, I mean. I told her it would cost her, and she paid me a thousand bucks. I had no idea she was going to sell it to the tabloids.”
I turn around slowly to face the girl still on the rug. “What did you think she was going to do?”
She shrugs. “None of my business. I just wanted the money.”
Stupid, greedy bitch. I pull out my money clip, peel off a few Benjamins and throw them at her. The crisp bills flutter in the air, then land around her. “Next time somebody asks you about my wife, you call me.” I drop a card with nothing but my assistant’s number in front of her.
She gets on her hands and knees and grabs the money. “Okay.” She’s not even looking at me, her focus one hundred percent on the bills.
Disgusted, I stalk out, take the elevator down and tell the front desk to kick Caroline out. Then I leave the hotel and drive aimlessly. I don’t know where to go. If I were still single, I might hit a club or two and do some really stupid shit
. But I’m not, and I don’t want the tabloids to get a picture of me at one of those places and make a big deal about it.
Why not? Who cares if Belle is humiliated? That’s the least she deserves.
As soon as the thought pops in my head, I recoil. I can’t bear to see her unhappy. I don’t know when it happened…but somehow her misery has become mine.
Our marriage is only for a year. I shouldn’t let these complications get to me. Granddad’s portrait is what’s important. So what if she’s not who I thought she was? Now that I know everything, I can make sure she doesn’t screw me over, then quietly get rid of her after the year’s up.
But the spot over my heart burns. I hate myself for letting her in and giving her the opportunity to cut me where it matters the most. And I hate her more for making me feel.
——