CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

Sharon ran straight for the door immediately they arrived back home. Arman was sitting at the entrance of the house, he had clearly been awaiting their arrival.

Immediately she caught sight of him, the tears which she had been holding broke free from her tearducts and came pouring down.

She gave him a brief hug before entering and Arman was beyond surprised.

Droplets of her tears fell to his shirt

Luca walked out of the sleek black car that brought them looking all calm and collected.

Without a care in the world, he brought out a cigarette from a pack in his pocket and put it in his mouth

“You really should go easy on her”

Arman said giving him a lighter

“Why the hell will I do that?

She's not a child Arman, she should've known what she signed up for a long time ago”

“Still, you could be a little —”

“A little nicer?”

Luca took a puff of his cigar

“Don't you know what this is? Or have you forgotten that I'm in this marriage to carry out grandpa's objectives”

He took the stick and pressed it hard on a table. He watched as the flames crunched and died under the pressure.

Smoking wasn't doing it for him anymore

Luca adjusted his suit.

“I think she needs to be reminded of her place in all this”

In an instant, he was gone. Luca didn't have to say it, Arman knew exactly what he was talking about.

Sharon rushed to her room, barely acknowledging the servants greetings. She locked her door and fell to her bed in agony

She hated the fact that she had let him get under her skin, hated the fact that she got hurt.

She tore off her clothes and went straight for the shower.

She tried to wash off his presence, try to wipe the memory away. She washed every part that made contact with him. She felt like a rag that was being used and discarded.

When she was done, She looked at herself in the mirror, and all she saw was a woman with weak resolve

If she was going to survive a marriage with Luca Pavilochenki, she needed to have thicker skin.

Even if it meant she had to shed the one that already covered her.

She had lunch in her room, and refused to come out till she had absolutely nothing to do.

She didn't want to comfront Luca. Then again she didn't want him to think that she was avoiding him.

It would only add volume to his already over accentuated ego

Sharon

walked out of her room like didn't just cry her eyes out hours earlier.

She went down the stairs and was making her way to the garden outside, her new favourite place.

There was a spare room she had to pass before she could access the garden. It was completely within her line of sight.

As she made her way through, she could already sense that something was wrong

She could hear the faint sound of a woman moaning. She covered her ears, but it wouldn't go away

She could hear it getting louder. Skin against skin, she could hear a familiar voice.

She had heard it before, on the phone—

And just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, she saw them

The blonde woman was bent over a table, and Luca asshole Pavilochenki was fucking her

It was something she couldn't unsee. For some reason the door was left ajar. It as almost as if he wanted her to see them, wanted to make something clear, and she got the message

The love and care he showed her on the yacht was for the public, and she meant nothing to him

She was just another rag that was available for him to use

She closed her ears and turned back to her room.

Sharon was done crying.

A naughty thought crept into her mind and she took one of her boxes and placed them on the bed.

It was the box that contained lingerie

She played with a black lingerie set and smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror

“Well Riann, it's been a long time—”

****************

“What do you mean she's not in the house?”

“We've searched everywhere Young master. She's not in her room either”

Luca paced around uncomfortably as he balled his fists

Arman looked calm and collected. He did tell Luca to go easy on her after all

“We've checked the security camera footage, there's none of her leaving the house—”

“How the fuck is that possible? You mean to tell me she just disappeared into thin air?”

There was silence

A young female servant opened her mouth to speak

“Young Mrs Pavilochenki— she—”

“She did what?”

Luca was losing his patience

“I'm sorry, I didn't suspect it then, but she borrowed my uniform this evening”

Luca’s brows furrowed. He knew exactly where this was going.

“Get back to work everyone”

With that, they all resumed their stations.

“What is it, where is she?”

Arman asked

“Could you whip up a disguise for me real quick?”

“Of course—”