AMELIA It was a grey day, I thought as I fed the car more gas and accelerated. The clouds were grey. The sky was grey. If I were to describe my mood in one word, I would say it was grey. Hell! Even the car behind me was grey. Frowning, I sat up straighter and looked again at the car in my rearview mirror. It was a grey sedan. Hadn't I seen it behind me just as I drove out of the spa's parking lot? But there had to be hundreds and thousands of grey sedans in this big city. A moment later, my fingers tightened on the steering wheel, and I continued thinking about what had just happened. I should not have gone to the spa with that witch, Lora. The sneering way she had spoken of me... it made my blood boil. I wondered who was worse between her and Petra. I made a hard right at the next intersection and, without really thinking about what I was doing, glanced again in my rearview mirror. My heart leapt into my throat. The same grey sedan was still behind the car next to mine.
AMELIA While I walked to Damian's bedroom, I tried to remember where exactly I had kept the list of supplies for the bakery. Was it on the dressing table, the chest of drawers or... I stopped in my tracks. Sounds were coming from inside the bedroom. Had Damian come home already? That couldn't be. He wasn't due back for hours. Some hidden instinct made me tiptoe the last few paces to the door and gently push it open. I saw Petra rifling the drawers. She had already brought out some of its contents. She tugged at the last drawer, swore under her breath when she found it locked, and began to grope on the dressing table for the key. "What are you doing?" I asked quietly. Petra squeaked and nearly jumped a foot in the air. "Amelia!" she cried. "You scared me!" "No. You scared me. I almost thought you were a burglar." Petra flushed crimson. "But you didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?" She straightened slowly, caught sight of her hand and snatched it o
DAMIAN There was a nasty sort of silence after Petra's declaration. Amelia looked dreadful. She pressed her hands between her legs, probably to stop them from shaking. Petra looked around at everyone to take in the effects her words had caused. She looked exultant like Christmas had come early. "And how did you come by that information, Petra?" I finally asked. Petra splayed her fingers on the table and leaned forward. "What does it matter? That's not the point. The point is that now I know all about your dirty little secret. You must show a representative of the firm the contents of that box so they'll have all the proof they need to convict you as a bloody manipulator. You think you're so smart, huh? How does it feel to feel the rug pulled from under your feet? And you-" She pointed a finger at Amelia, who instantly shrank back. "-He's going to go down, and you're going down with him." She glowered at Harry. "Well, what the hell are we still doing here? Let's go, get the
AMELIA I was in shock. I hadn't seen what had just happened coming at all. I stole a glance at Damian, who was sitting on the phone, talking to a member of the firm that handled his uncle's will. With hardly a pause, he ended the call and called talking to Anton, filling him in on what had happened. We had taken an Uber to the house while Petra rode to the house with Harry. She had been shouting so much that Damian insisted on it. I was bursting with questions, but we got home all too soon. Ahead of us, Harry's car stopped in front of the house. Petra didn't wait for it to stop moving before she got out and stormed into the house, shouting and shaking her fists angrily. When I got closer, I noticed that Harry seemed more harassed-looking than before. He muttered something under his breath and shook his head at the front door through which Petra had just passed. I expected she had given him quite an earful during the short drive from the bank to the house. "Why are y
DAMIAN As Anton turned onto the street that would take us to the gym, he said, "You have to tread cautiously." "Er- and what are you referring to?" "You and Amelia. You shouldn't have sex with her. Remember that the contract lasts for only one year. If you're constantly intimate with her, don't you think everything will get more complicated when it's time for both of you to split up?" I felt his eyes on me, so I looked out the window. "Who said I was still having sex with her anyway?" Anton snorted. "Last night at your place, I saw the way you two were looking at each other-" "We were just excited at getting rid of Petra." Anton kept talking as though he didn't hear me. "You both looked as though you couldn't wait for me to leave before taking your clothes off." When I said nothing, he added in a more humourous tone. "And if I had any doubts about what you two were up to last night, I only have to look at your face to know I'm right. But seriously, Damian. Don't
AMELIA Just as I was again reflecting on the fact that Damian had not returned home last night, the door opened, and a moment later, the subject of my thoughts came into the house. In spite of myself, my eyes roved around him, searching for lipstick stains or other telltale signs that he had been with another woman last night. I found none, but that did not mean he hadn't been tumbling in bed with some floozy. The thought made me really angry. "Good morning," I said coldly and returned to sipping my steaming cup of coffee. My eyes roved through the list of orders for the bakery, but I could suddenly not understand what was written there. "Good morning," Damian called back cheerfully. To my surprise, instead of going straight to his room like I expected him to, he came to sit on the sofa. "You're probably wondering where I went to," he said after a moment's silence. "I just realized you didn't spend the night at home," I said as casually as I could. I was ca
AMELIA I was peering at the screen of my computer, surfing the net and writing down prices of some items I wished to purchase when Rose, the manager of my bakery, called me. "Hello?" I picked up the phone eagerly. "Ma'am," she gasped and swallowed audibly. I sat upright immediately. Just that one word and I knew that something was very, very wrong. Unconsciously, I gripped the phone tightly. "Rose, what's wrong?" She made a sound halfway between a gasp and a sigh. She seemed to be struggling to speak. "I'm sorry... It's just that I'm still so shaken... though we've got it under control, but for a while, I thought- I thought-" She swallowed again. "Take a deep breath and tell me what happened," I said more calmly than I felt. Rose audibly exhaled. "There's been a fire at the bakery." "WHAT?" My hands trembled, and I grabbed the phone tighter. "It's under control now," she hastened to add. “We were able to put out the fire.” My brain whirled in a hundred d
AMELIA It’s been two days since Lora attempted to destroy my bakery. I’ve been on edge, bothered and terrified of everything. Damian had assured me nothing would happen, but I didn’t believe him. If she could do it once, she could definitely do it again. I had tried to convince him to get her arrested or sued in court, but he claimed we didn’t have substantial evidence to do that. Evidence my foot! From the descriptions of my staff and past experiences, we had all the evidence we needed against her. But Damian was bent on letting her go till we had something substantial to hold against her. Damn him and his ex. I sighed and continued typing on my MacBook when a knock came on my door. “Come in,” I called out, not lifting my head from my screen. The door opened and closed sharply. “Nice place you’ve got.” I knew that voice. I lifted my head to meet Anton’s gaze. What was he doing at the bakery? “Anton? What are you doing here?” I shook my head. “Please, forgiv