All Chapters of The taste Of Revenge: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

“Actually I named her before I could even see her. Yeah I named her Amber. Wheew!” I let out a breath and when I say her name Addie goes very quiet."Wait, you named her," she asks softly."Yeah, I did the very moment I knew I was pregnant and was super excited about it.""Selene." Her voice does the thing that means she's crying even though she'll never in a million years admit it. "That's beautiful, pookie."“Addie, please don't cry.""I have something in my eye." And yeah, she's definitely crying, and she's about to ruin that goddess makeup of hers. "This city has terrible air quality, it's a documented problem…" She clears her throat. "Okay. Okay, I'm fine." She refills both our glasses with the focused energy of someone redirecting. "Totally unrelated, but do you know Aurora's mugshot is the most unflattering photograph in the history of photography and it's been my phone wallpaper since yesterday morning." I burst out laughing and my stomach begins to hurt slightly. A genuine, s

"Rory, they're saying attempted murder." I keep my voice level. And for some reason, Rory has been the pet name I'd curated for her before I got married to Selene. "For the accident. For Selene's…" I stop. "For the baby." Something crosses her face which is not quite guilt exactly. It looks like something more complicated than guilt, the expression of someone who has constructed a very elaborate internal justification for something and doesn't even want to examine the foundation of it too closely."That's not what happened babe," she says."Rory, look…""That's not what happened." Her voice is firmer now. "And Richard will make that very clear." She takes my hand. Her fingers are so cold probably from the cell. "Xavier. Look at me." She cups my face with her delicate fingers and I look at her. Truly, she's beautiful in the particular way she's always been. So deliberately and architecturally, like beauty is something she puts on rather than something she simply is, and standing here

The champagne in my glass has gone warm and I notice it the way you'll notice small things when you're happy peripherally, almost fondly because Damian's mouth is still inches from mine and the quartet hasn't started again and I'm thinking, quite seriously, about dragging him to whatever room in this building has a door that locks.My subconscious is already removing her shoes."You were about to say something," I murmur even though my face is still fixed at the door. "I was?""Yeah…say it." His eyes do that thing… that slow darkening that makes my knees genuinely unreliable, and he opens his mouth then Addie's voice cuts across the room like a thrown plate."Absolutely not. No! Get her the fuck out!” And when I turn, Aurora's standing just inside the doorway in a dried-rose silk cloth with rose patterns detailed on it , her signature burgundy hair loose over her shoulders and she's holding a glass of champagne she clearly poured for herself on her way in. She pauses for a moment af

AURORA'S POVThe seamstress kneels at the hem of my gown with a mouth full of pins, and I stand perfectly still in front of the three-way mirror because stillness, when done correctly, is its own kind of power. You'd be amazed how much people reveal to a woman who simply doesn't move."Ouuu, It's stunning," the consultant says, hovering with her tablet. "The lace alone took the atelier six weeks.""It should look like it took longer." I turn slightly, watching the skirt move with me. "I want people in that church wondering exactly how much it cost without anyone having the audacity to ask.""Of course, Mrs Adrian."Xavier's in the next room being fitted for his tuxedo, and through the cracked door I can hear the low murmur of him answering the tailor in that distracted voice he's had for weeks now, the one that means his mind is somewhere I haven't been invited to, which is so sickening, cause I already know where it is. I've always known where it is but cared less."Bring me the veil

I don't tell Damian about the card delivered and most definitely, the trauma it gave me afterwards…I can't, not yet at least. So instead, I carry the invitation upstairs with me as though putting a little distance between it and the rest of the house will somehow make the decision easier but it doesn't. I sit on the edge of the bed and let it rest in my lap, staring at the elegant gold lettering until the names begin to blur again. ‘Xavier Adrian ... .Aurora Hart’ not only did she take Xavier from me but also dad's last name too. I trace the edge of the envelope with my thumb, then stop when I realize I'm gripping it hard enough to bend the corner. Carefully, almost instinctively, I smooth it flat again and the gesture makes me shake my head at myself. Of all the things I should care about right now, preserving the invitation to their wedding shouldn't be one of them, and yet here I am.I tell myself to decide, but it should be simple… Either I go to the wedding or I don't. Instead,