When the shove came, I wasn’t surprised.
What did surprise me was how ridiculously strong Serenna was.
Had she been working out?
That stray, irrelevant thought flickered through my head as I dodged at the last moment.
Off balance, her arm swung past me and struck Naomi instead.
Naomi stumbled. Her upper body pitched forward and she would have gone tumbling down the stairs if I hadn’t caught her elbow in time.
Shaken but quick to recover, she straightened with my help, her face drained of colour.
‘You all right?’ My pulse had kicked up a notch too.
She was pregnant, after all.
What would have been nothing more than a bruise for me could have been a disaster for her.
‘I…’ Her voice rasped dry in her throat.
‘Naomi!’ A man in a black tuxedo bounded up the stairs three at a time and was at her side in seconds. He held her shoulders, scanning her anxiously.
‘Let’s wait and see,’ I said, giving her a smug little smile. ‘You really don’t know him at all.’Genevieve gritted her teeth. ‘Well, I’ll be waiting then,’ she said. She simply couldn’t believe Ashton actually cared this much about me.Her tone then changed, turning into a condescending attack. ‘Mirabelle, I don’t get what you’re thinking. What’s the point of marrying a man who doesn’t love you?’My face was completely blank. ‘And how exactly do you know he doesn’t love me? If he doesn’t, then why did he marry me? Do you think he loves you? If he did, why didn’t he marry you instead? And don’t give me that line about him being forced. Do you really think Ashton is the kind of man who lets people push him around?’Genevieve wasn’t about to give up. ‘You know how loyal he is, don’t you? You know the real reas
‘Sorry, this is the only one left. Some of our designs only come in a handful of pieces, they’re limited edition. This bracelet happens to be the very last one. If you really want it, I can have another shipped from a different branch,’ the sales assistant explained.‘I want this one,’ Pink Hair said with a touch of arrogance.I flicked a glance at Genevieve, who shot me a look full of mockery. She’d clearly put her friend up to this.My bad mood, which had started at breakfast, sank even lower.I hadn’t even wanted to buy the bracelet, only to take a look at it. But now, there was no way I was leaving without it, if only to wipe the smug look off a certain someone’s face.‘Excuse me, I saw this first. There’s such a thing as first come, first served, isn’t there?’ I reached out, meaning to take it back.Pink Hair clenched the bracelet tight in her fist, refusing to let
‘Are you tired?’ I asked.He made a sound that could have meant yes or no.‘Too tired to have sex with your wife?’ I teased.‘You want it?’ He rolled over suddenly, bracing himself above me, eyes fixed on mine.‘Why wouldn’t I?’‘But you said you needed a break.’‘When did I say that?’ I feigned amnesia.‘This morning. At 9.15. When you kicked me out of bed.’‘You remember the exact time? What, have you been keeping notes?’‘Hmm.’ He wasn’t easily sidetracked. ‘So, yes or no?’‘If I say no, would you really just go to sleep and not touch me?’‘I respect your wishes,’ his mouth said. His eyes and hands said something else entirely.‘That doesn’t sound like you,’ I teased, looping my arms round his neck and pulling him closer. ‘Let’s try something different tonight.’The nightstand buzzed.Ashton swore under his breath, pulled back, grabbed his phone and answered. ‘This had better be urgent.’It must have been, because he swung out of bed at once. ‘I’ll be there right away,’ he said, ha
When the shove came, I wasn’t surprised.What did surprise me was how ridiculously strong Serenna was.Had she been working out?That stray, irrelevant thought flickered through my head as I dodged at the last moment.Off balance, her arm swung past me and struck Naomi instead.Naomi stumbled. Her upper body pitched forward and she would have gone tumbling down the stairs if I hadn’t caught her elbow in time.Shaken but quick to recover, she straightened with my help, her face drained of colour.‘You all right?’ My pulse had kicked up a notch too.She was pregnant, after all.What would have been nothing more than a bruise for me could have been a disaster for her.‘I…’ Her voice rasped dry in her throat.‘Naomi!’ A man in a black tuxedo bounded up the stairs three at a time and was at her side in seconds. He held her shoulders, scanning her anxiously.
‘I… no, please, don’t.’Unlike Serenna, Genevieve knew Ashton well enough to realise he wasn’t bluffing. He never made empty threats.‘I… fine, I did it, all right? I…’ She shot me a resentful glance. ‘I sneaked into the suite when Mirabelle was in the bathroom. I sent the text to Rhys.’Serenna gaped at her, stunned that her partner in crime had folded so easily. ‘They’ve got no proof!’‘There’s a camera in the hallway,’ I added helpfully. ‘We can pull the footage and see exactly who came in here.’Ashton didn’t say a word. His eyes stayed locked on Genevieve.She dropped her head. ‘I’m sorry. I made a mistake.’‘I’m not the one you should apologise to,’ he said.Genevieve bit her lip and looked at me through damp lashes. ‘Mirabelle, I’m sorry. I was jealous
‘What the hell is going on?’Confused whispers rippled through the crowd who had barged into the room uninvited.‘How… what… no, that’s… that’s not possible.’ Serenna blinked rapidly, as if the scene might vanish if she did it often enough. ‘He… you… you and Rhys… you two came here together. You texted him. You wanted…’‘How do you know I texted him?’ I said. ‘Even I didn’t know that. Did Rhys tell you?’‘I didn’t!’ Rhys denied instantly.‘Then how did you know?’ I kept my eyes fixed on Serenna.Over her shoulder, I caught sight of someone hovering in the doorway.Genevieve stood there with her phone raised, as if about to take a photo, but froze mid-act.Her eyes swept over the scene, her brain clearly stuttering when she realised the script had gone off track.The