Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 112701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
“Shelby will.” My voice pitches.
He scoffs. “Shelby will be paid handsomely to remain quiet about this affair.”
My body goes cold.
Affair.
Something quick and quiet. Something taboo and dirty.
I’m really going to be sick.
“You’re a pig,” I screech. “Demeaning what we shared is low.”
“I demeaned this?” He barks a humorless laugh. “You’re bloody crazy.”
I jump up from my chair, leaning across my desk. Anger rises with something darker, sure to send me over the edge.
“Have you ever actually looked at yourself in the mirror? Because I’m starting to think that you have no idea what a prime idiot you really are.”
“I’m the idiot?”
I step around my desk, stalking toward him. We’re toe to toe.
“Yes,” I spit. “You’re a grumpy, arrogant asshole.”
“Funny. You said the complete opposite last week. So which is it, Raven?”
I glare at him for several seconds, and without thinking, I slap him across the face.
I almost laugh at his shocked expression. That’s before his face reddens in anger and his fists ball at his sides.
“Did that make you feel better?” he growls.
“Yes. It felt really damn good,” I say, sounding small and unsure.
“Whatever was between us is over,” he says through gritted teeth.
“Agreed. You’ll never touch me again.”
He stares at me for several tense seconds before turning around and storming out, leaving me to stare after him.
I take a deep breath and calmly sit down, get out my file, and attempt to do my work. I’m not going to make a scene. I’m not going to cry.
It’s pointless to think this as the tears start to run down my face in a waterfall of grief.
What have I done?
I can’t be here. Can’t be this close to him.
I might not have said the words, but how the hell did it turn into this?
His anger.
The resentment.
Where did it all come from?
There’s a knock on my office door, and my heart skips a beat, hoping Charles has come to his senses.
“Come in,” I say, my voice wobbling.
The beautiful woman from Zero Bond walks in, and I quickly wipe away my tears.
“C-Can I help you?”
She saunters in, looking like a cat stalking its prey. She’s wearing a beige Chanel suit, looking sophisticated and gorgeous.
“Do you know who I am?” she purrs.
I shake my head, which elicits a Cheshire cat grin.
“Charlie is so secretive. I shouldn’t be surprised.” She takes a look at the flowers he sent last week. They’re on the verge of hitting the trash can for several reasons.
“Are those from Charles?”
“Yes,” I say, and wonder who she is and why she’s here.
She narrows her eyes. “Hmm. Not surprised. I’ve received the same flowers from him on multiple occasions.”
“The same?”
I’m so confused and devastated that I wonder if I’m even awake. This entire encounter is incredibly bizarre.
“The very same.” She takes several steps closer, picking at her red-painted nails. “I feel it is my duty to tell you what went on between Charlie and me.”
“What do you mean? What went on?”
I feel nauseous, sensing that something earth-shattering is about to be imparted. Not that it matters. We’re over. My stomach literally lurches. “What do you mean?” I force myself to ask again.
“I mean he was my fiancé.”
My world tilts, and I have just enough time to grab my trash can before the contents of my stomach spill out.
“And I came to get him back, so it’s time for you to leave.”
43
Charles
The sound of footsteps has me lifting my gaze toward the entrance to my office. “What are you doing here, Tabitha?”
She takes a seat across from me, making a show of crossing her legs.
“I came to talk,” she coos. “Thought it was long past due.”
“Get the fuck out.”
I don’t bother looking up at the bitch. My skin crawls with her proximity alone. After the fight I had with Raven, I’m a coiled wire, ready to snap. If she doesn’t heed my warning and leave, she’ll feel my full wrath.
She tsks. “Is that any way to speak to your mother?”
“You’re not my anything,” I grit through my teeth. “You might be fucking my father—”
“Wrong. I’m married to your father.” She twirls a piece of her hair, and an evil grin spreads across her face.
My eyes narrow in on her, full of fire and warning, but she doesn’t so much as flinch. That sick smile, plastered all over her fake face. She’s nothing more than a plastic shell of the woman I once tried to love.
“What are you up to?”
She shrugs. “I was in the area and wanted to say hello. I miss you, Charlie.”
I growl. “Don’t call me that.”
She whimpers, pursing her botched lips. “You used to love it.”
“Never.”
She takes a deep breath, blowing it out loudly while picking at her fingers. “I met your pretty plaything again. What’s her name? Robin?”
My stomach sours at the thought of this vile woman being anywhere near Raven.