Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
H er jacket offered little protection from his fierce bite. She went rigid and then let out a piercing scream.
“Roth!”
He released her abruptly, muttering something under his breath, before he whirled her around and tossed her over his shoulder.
“Let me go, you evil son of a bitch!” she shouted as he strode out of the kitchen.
“I’ll let my mother know what you think of her,” he said placidly.
“I’m so done with you! You said we wouldn’t fight and look at us! Reaching for knives and biting ? We bring out the worst in each other!”
“Passion is an essential ingredient in a marriage. We’ve just veered off course,” he ground out. “That’s what happens when you put off a talk for five years.”
“What would you know of essential ingredients in any relationship? You don’t have any! You have no friends, no family, and we never had a real marriage! Put me down!”
He strode swiftly down the hallway. As they passed the formal dining room, Jasmine made a desperate grab for the doorjamb. Roth didn’t slow, but he smacked her ass hard enough to stun her into letting go.
“You didn’t just...” Ass stinging, she pummeled his back and thrashed, which made him stagger before he clamped her legs to his chest. “You hit me one more time, I swear to God, I’m going to find a way to ruin the rest of your life! And you have the nerve to wonder why I went to my father instead of talking to you. Why would I try to reason with a psychopathic, manipulative fuck tard?”
“If I did then what I’m doing now, we wouldn’t be in this situation.” He dumped her on the couch in the great room and loomed over her as she sat up and glared at him. “Your running days are over. We’re having this out.”
“Having what out?”
“What we should have discussed before you walked out and sent me divorce papers.” His bad-tempered gaze raked over her flushed, disheveled appearance. “Maximus said you begged him to get you out by any means necessary. Is that true?”
“Why does it matter?” she cried, pounding her thighs with her fists. “All of this happened a million years ago! Why do you insist on dredging up the past when you won? You’re a mogul, you’re getting your revenge on everyone who’s wronged you, and have my family at your mercy. You got everything you wanted and more!” Her voice became shrill as frustration bubbled over. “And despite Dad’s best efforts, you managed to force your way back into my life to punish me for having the gall to leave you before you were through with me.”
Lightheaded from stress, she buried her face in her hands. “You claimed all my firsts and robbed me of my self-respect. What more do you want? I don’t have anything else for you to take.”
His fingers brushed over her hair, featherlight and so tentative she thought she’d imagined it, before his hand settled on the crown of her head. “I told you in Lisbon, you still have much to give me.”
When she shook her head, his fingers burrowed into her hair, easing the screaming tension holding her body rigid.
“I thought it was best to ignore our past, but after years of wondering, I need to know the truth.”
He sounded almost apologetic. The abrupt switch from raging beast back to cool businessman gave Jasmine mental whiplash.
“Why did you go to him, princess?”
She let out a shuddering sigh. “You know why. He was the only one powerful enough to take you on.”
“Did you know he was going to blackmail me?”
She shook her head.
“You never asked how he got me to sign the divorce papers?”
“I assumed he offered you something you couldn’t refuse. A business deal or a payout.”
Even with her eyes closed, she sensed his energy shift.
“A payout?”
“I thought if Dad offered to compensate you for the trouble he caused, you’d sign.”
“No amount of money could have forced me to let you go. If Maximus wasn’t armed with blackmail, there would have been no divorce.”
She didn’t allow that to penetrate. His words slid off her like water on a raincoat. She focused on the scalp massage—a welcome diversion from this treacherous trip down memory lane littered with land mines.
“Maximus said you never wanted to see me again.”
“You don’t see him again. Ever.” She flinched at the echo of her father’s steely decree and her vehement “I don’t want to!” If Dad could see her now... Her shoulders drooped under the crushing weight on her shoulders. As she deflated, Roth guided her face to rest against his abdomen.
“Did you say that, princess? That you never wanted to see me again?”
With her father’s voice in her mind listing all the promises she’d broken, speaking was beyond her. She nodded.
His hand bunched in her hair. “I was so terrible that you sold your soul to the devil to get away from me?”
When she started to rise, his hand clamped her nape.
“Answer me.”
She was grateful her face was hidden, as a stray tear fell and joined the remnants of her bathwater he was still wearing. “Better the devil I know than the one I don’t. My father could be cruel, but I believe a part of him still held some affection for me. Enough for him to help.”
“And you didn’t believe I held the same level of affection, if not more than what your father showed you?”
His hand flexed when she hesitated.
She ground her teeth. “No.”
“No what?”
“No, I didn’t believe you had any real affection for me.” When his chest swelled, she added, “Whatever you feel for me is muddied by my family’s connections and the business opportunities you thought would come through me.”
“I had affection for you, princess. More than your father and sisters combined. I sacrificed everything for you, just as you did for me. That has nothing to do with business.” His hand twisted in her hair to stop her from shaking her head.
“You only wanted me because?—”
He tugged, forcing her head back. Wet lashes parted and looked up the long length of him. He stared down at her, grim-faced, eyes two burning black holes.
“I picked you out of a crowded room. I coveted you before you spoke your first word. But you sealed your fate when you asked me to take your hand. You risked rejection and ridicule to integrate a stranger who didn’t belong in that room. You backed me with no expectation of compensation or reciprocation. I saw traits in you I’d read about in books but didn’t believe truly existed, especially in Maximus Hennessy’s daughter. Every weakness I uncovered I used to bind you to me. Whatever your family wouldn’t give you, I did. I gave you my time and my attention, and I encouraged your dreams of being a writer. Baldwin was so sure of himself he didn’t even bother to seduce you, so I did. I always intended for our affair to be discovered.”
“You...” She was so astounded she couldn’t articulate the question that had plagued her for years.
His face set in uncompromising lines. “I had no intention of letting you keep me a dirty secret. I forced you to choose. When you tried to break it off, I thought I miscalculated, only to discover you were trying to protect me from your father. You thought I’d give you up for the Langdon deal.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Why would I give up the only person who ever stood up for me? Who gave herself to me, knowing she could only grant that privilege once, and I was her choice?”
“You trapped me.”
His resolute expression didn’t change. “I’d do it again. A dozen times over to possess something so rare and pure. I knew whatever future came through you would make everything I’d endured worth it.” When her eyes flicked away, he grasped her chin so she couldn’t avoid him. “I vowed to give that woman the world, but before I could, she ran from me. I told you where my head was at, why I lied and said you weren’t worth the struggle, but I never contemplated setting you free. The year I refused to sign the divorce papers and demanded a face-to-face should have told you that. You weren’t supposed to leave me.”
Abruptly, he turned from her, an explosive curse bursting from him as he paced away. Jasmine stared straight ahead, tears falling freely now. The glimpse of the betrayal and rage on his face left her trembling.
Her throat convulsed. “You... you didn’t?—”
“It doesn’t matter, does it?” He cut off her flustered stammer as he stared at the view, hands clasped behind him. “What did you promise your father in exchange for his help, Jasmine?”
Guilt twisted her gut. She had every right to end a marriage she didn’t want to be in. He shouldn’t have fought her choice, forcing her to involve her father, which had started a war of retaliation and revenge she was still waging four years later.
“I wanted freedom,” she whispered, willing him to understand.
“There’s no such thing.” His voice cracked like a whip, impatient and oh-so-angry. “What were his terms—divorce me and inherit three hundred million?”
She thought back to his accusations in Colorado. She’d corrected him at the time, but apparently, he hadn’t believed her. “My inheritance had nothing to do with our divorce.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“Why would I? There’s no need to at this point,” she said wearily. “Dad never told me I would inherit a dime, or that I was his executor. I learned of both after he went into a coma.”
Roth’s blatant skepticism made her chest burn.
“Maybe you should look back at that funeral footage. The reason Matt, Julius, and the others were around me was because I had no one. My sisters were pissed I inherited the last of Dad’s assets. They thought I manipulated him into changing his will. They left me to deal with Dad and the funeral arrangements by myself. I didn’t handle it well.” She scrubbed her hands up and down her thighs as memories of those horrible days bombarded her. “Matthew escorted me to the stage because I could barely walk, and Julius forced me to drink something because I almost fainted. My sisters kept their distance and never said a word to me.”
Jasmine averted her face to hide the hurt that still gnawed at her insides. She’d forgiven Colette and Ariana, but that didn’t erase the memories, nor the doubt fanned by the man judging every word that fell from her lips. Was her sisters’ recent change of heart genuine, or were they simply indulging the scapegoat who’d allowed them to maintain their pristine reputations and vast fortunes without any repercussions for their bad decisions?
“I never expected anything from my father even though we repaired our relationship. The only thing I wanted was Tuxedo Park, but I resigned myself to watching it go to my sisters. I hoped they’d let me live in the guesthouse, or even work alongside Thea if that was what it would take for them to allow me to visit every now and then. But Dad didn’t just give me the only home I’d ever known. He gave me everything .” Her voice fractured as emotion engulfed her. “He was so different in the end—the father I’d always dreamed of. I don’t know what compelled him to change his mind or why he didn’t warn me...” Her hands rose and fell to express the confusion and gratitude she couldn’t put into words. “I was so overwhelmed. I had no idea what to do with the money, and like my sisters, I didn’t think I deserved it. I went to Colorado to regroup and make sense of his gift, and I ran into you.” She fixed him with a level gaze from dripping eyes. “He didn’t bribe me with my inheritance. It was my choice to divorce you. One has nothing to do with the other.”
“He said you begged to come back into the family fold—that you were willing to do anything to get your inheritance.”
Her nose wrinkled in disgust. “And you believed that?”
“What was I supposed to think when you refused to accept any money in the divorce?”
“I had my writing money, and since you went to so much trouble to keep your success a secret from me, why would I ask for anything?” She mopped her face with her plush sleeve. “You paid my college tuition and provided for me before writing could sustain me. That was enough. Besides, I learned early on, money always comes with strings, and I didn’t want that tie to you.” She met his shadowed gaze. “If my inheritance meant that much to me, I wouldn’t have forfeited it to marry you in the first place.”
Something she’d said had clearly unsettled him, but Jasmine was too drained to care what that was.
“Maximus wouldn’t help you without asking for something in return, so what was it?” he clipped.
He was like a dog with a bone...
“He asked for time.”
“Time,” he repeated as if he had no understanding of the word.
“Yes, time. He was lonely and sick and wanted us to work on our relationship. I agreed to visit him several times a month.”
She’d never seen Roth look so perplexed. Under other circumstances, she would have enjoyed seeing him off-kilter, but she had a raging headache. All she wanted was to stretch out on the couch and sleep.
“After all he did, he wanted a relationship with you.” Roth’s flat tone expressed his patent disbelief.
“Maybe he saw himself in a different light because he knew his time was short and didn’t like the way I portrayed him in my books,” she suggested.
He swept that theory aside with a contemptuous flick. “What else did you agree to?” he asked impatiently.
“That’s it.”
There was activity in his eyes. Lots of it, but she had no idea what was going on in that analytical computer-brain of his.
“You asked him to help you get a divorce, and in return, he wanted you to play daughter, with no other expectations or conditions.”
It wasn’t a question, but she answered anyway. “Yes.”
“Maximus led me to believe you’d remarry soon after the divorce.” He paused, giving her time to say something, but when she didn’t comment, he pushed. “In Colorado, you confirmed you’d received marriage offers. From who?”
She sniffled. “Distant acquaintances who only wanted me for my family connections.”
“And Maximus didn’t push you to accept?”
“He made it clear he wanted me to marry, but he didn’t force me.” Her father had learned his lesson. She would have run like hell if he tried to pressure her into an arranged marriage.
“Did you see Baldwin before he left the country?”
“Ford left the country?” she parroted, ignoring his threatening step toward her. “I haven’t seen him since we broke our engagement. Why would he want anything to do with me after what I did to him?”
Roth stared at her, clearly unsure whether to believe her or not.
“He lied to get a rise out of you.”
Roth’s expression was blank, but she sensed the turbulence beneath the surface.
“I never considered marrying anyone from my father’s world. I wanted someone normal—someone...”
His cutting look of censure stopped her from finishing her sentence. “Someone like the dozens of losers you fucked before the divorce was finalized?”