Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. ~ William Congreve.AMANDA Arms crossed, I listened to Robert’s press announcement with a smirk playing on my lips.My gaze never wavered from his image on the screen. His face was expressionless as he spoke about the investigation and how his team had apprehended the person responsible for framing him. Then he talked about throwing a party to celebrate his victory. The speech was monotonous and by far the most blatant but idiotic attempt to set a trap I'd ever seen. For someone so clever, it was always so easy to one-up him.I knew he was after me earlier today when I learned he’d obtained the club footage. Then, a hotel employee informed me of a search warrant issued in my name. At the same time, I’d thought briefly of my son, Dylan.Was he worthy of being called my son if he ratted me out to his father? Because that was the only explanation for what was happening. The bastard.Despite my threats, he decided to rebel against me. I'd deal w
ROBERT“You look so beautiful.”The words tumbled out of my mouth unbidden when I walked into Renee’s dressing room and took in her appearance for tonight's party.I’d just finished the security briefing for tonight's event with Cade's team and mine. I had a few minutes to kill before the party began, and what better way to spend them than with my woman?“So, so beautiful,” I mumbled again, my eyes taking in the gorgeous sight. She stood in front of the full-length mirror, wearing a low-cut black gown that hugged her curves and made her look like a goddess.A beautiful sterling silver necklace glistened around her neck, and the matching earrings added to the grandeur of her attire. Her hair was fashioned in a sleek updo and pinned up with a delicate ivory hair comb that complemented her jewelry. At the same time, the makeup artist behind her worked to polish her already gorgeous face.“Thank you for the compliment, Robert.” She smiled sheepishly. “I'm glad you approve.”I didn't utte
RENEEI’d heard “congratulations” a million times tonight, and my ears were still buzzing from it all.Most were from people I barely knew—Robert's acquaintances and business associates—and I was grateful that they at least seemed genuine about it.Their words were kind and, for the most part, calmed my ruffled nerves, but they weren't enough to dispel the lingering fear that’d settled over me like a cloak all evening. There was a nagging voice in my head. A small whisper kept telling me that something bad would happen tonight. That danger was lurking around, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Sometimes, I worried that my pregnancy hormones were to blame and whether it was affecting my mental health. But no, it couldn't be. The growing child inside me did not cause my feelings of paranoia and continual dread.Instead, it had everything to do with what this party stood for. I mean, I'd had this feeling ever since Dylan came into the suite to talk, and then Robert had this elabora
O, how the mighty fall! With ruin upon ruin, heap’d, and vengeance answer’d upon vengeance. ~ John Milton, Paradise Lost.~•~AMANDA“I didn't pay you thousands to stop at every fucking checkpoint, Mister.” I seethed, gritting my teeth in anger, as the driver pulled to a stop at another police roadblock, this one much busier than the other two we passed.“I have to fucking stop, missus.” He looked over his shoulder at me, scowling. “Either this or my cab is confiscated, and I'm fined. I damn well can't afford that, even with the scraps you're paying. So do me a favor, stop being a whiny bitch, and shut up.”My mouth flew open in surprise, and for a few seconds, all I could see were spots, my cheeks flaming with rage. What the fuck?Did this good-for-nothing asshole just call me a whiny bitch? And did he call the 2,000 extra dollars scraps? Scraps? The fuck!I almost laughed at the irony of my situation. Almost.Take deep breaths, Amanda. Deep… deep… deep fucking breaths, I told myself
ROBERT“…bad news, Robert. You need to get here. Renee… She was drugged. Or poisoned. I…I'm not sure, but she fainted. She’s in a critical condition, and her life is hanging on by a thread…”Nicole's words swarmed and raced in my mind like angry gnats as I rushed past the hospital's reception, the busy ER nurses and medics, and through the bustling hospital corridors to the VIP room reserved exclusively for the Clarke household.I could hear my heart thumping steadily, but the agony was nothing compared to the million terrifying thoughts flying through my mind. Every thought brought me back to that single word. Drugged. Or was it…Poisoned?Renee had been poisoned. Fuck no!This couldn’t be real. What I’d heard on the phone earlier wasn’t true, neither was this situation. It was a prank. Maybe someone, Nicole or Renee herself, was pulling a cruel joke on me.Yes. That’s it. And by the heavens, my woman was okay. She was at the mansion, and the party was still in full swing. She wasn’t
‘You’re my sunshine. My only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you… please don’t take my sunshine away.’The sky really was grey, almost black in its intensity. It looked like a storm could burst out at any moment and unleash its wrath on anything within sight. But he didn't care. Robert. He just stood in the field of daisies, arms crossed, staring up at the gray sky as if it were the most wondrous thing in the world. And he was singing. Singing with that bassy, beautiful voice of his. The one Renee had fallen for. That made her heart skip a beat and sent butterflies fluttering through her stomach. ‘When the sky is dark, and the clouds are thick, I will keep you warm through the rain. And I will always be with you through the wind and snow. I love you. I love you. I love you.’He kept singing, his voice carrying through the air and reverberating throughout the field, causing even the smallest flowers to sway gently to his me
RENEE My dreams were a blur. I saw everything and nothing. I remembered everything and nothing. There was sunshine, and there was rain. There was light, and there was darkness. It was all so beautiful, but so terrifying. It was like time stopped, and I could do nothing about it. Everything felt surreal and I couldn't make sense of it. But then, suddenly… a feeling overtook me—a familiar feeling. The feeling of being alive. Of being whole. Of being complete. There was no more pain, blurry dreams, distorted visions, or anything else. There was only peace. And that peace woke me up. That peace made me move. That peace snapped me from my trance. Eyes fluttering open, the first thing I saw was a white ceiling. Then white walls and curtains. I blinked several times to orient myself to where I was, but the room appeared unfamiliar. It looked like… a hospital room. But why would I be there? I blinked slowly, trying to adjust my eyes to the sunlight streaming through
ROBERTShe was awake.God, she was awake.I couldn't believe it, but as my legs carried me across the room and toward her, yes, Renee was awake. She was alive. She was conscious. And she was looking at me with teary brown eyes, muttering my name repeatedly. As I reached her bedside in a flash, and despite the doctor's warnings to take things easy, I pulled her into my arms and hugged her hard. Tight. Bone crushingly. The tears dropped faster than ever, and I cried. I sobbed. I turned into a blubbering mess, not caring about the doctor or nurses in the room. I just let the fucking grief out because it was about damn time. "Oh, God... Oh, Renee..." I mumbled, my voice breaking as I buried my face in her hair. "I... I thought you wouldn't make it. I thought I had lost you forever." My body shook violently as I spoke, but it didn’t stop my arms from tightening around her. I wanted to permanently hold her close. To never, ever let go of her."You didn't lose me." She whispered, her v