9. Scarlett
Chapter 9
Scarlett
My eyes narrow as I squint to see the time on my watch which is on the bedside table. It’s only eleven at night, but Anton isn’t beside me. I smile, remembering being drowsy and happy as Anton cuddled me.
Pressing my hand over the top of my sore breast, I glance down and notice the after-effects of his loving. Two large hickies and then I recall him telling me how much he loved my tits.
Smiling, I crawl from the bed, open his drawers, and grab one of his tee-shirts.
I ache all over because he wasn’t so gentle last night. He’s like a wild animal, rutting into me from behind, gripping my hip with one hand while his other hand either plays with my clit or clasps my throat.
I loved it.
I love everything he does to me.
My core clenches at the thought of him, and I need to find him.
I push the tee-shirt over my head and glance at myself in the mirror. My hair is a mess. There’s another hickey on my neck and my lips are as puffy and red as my pussy feels.
“He’s finally yours,” I say to myself, smiling. He would never talk of having a baby if he wasn’t mine.
He told you that you were his.
I smile as tingles warm my body at the idea of having his baby.
Then the doubts creep in. Would his ex-wife release the video?
But the real problem is, I should discuss with him about my mother’s problem with conceiving and that it is hereditary. It could take years for me to get pregnant.
Anton is thirty-two—does he want to wait that long?
My heart clenches at the thought.
Could I let him go now?
I’d fantasized about Anton for too long, and now he’s mine. I’m living in his house, albeit temporarily. But this is what it would be like if we lived together permanently. Opening my eyes to him in the morning. Smelling his scent everywhere I went.
I smile as I pull the handle to the door, ready to go in search of him.
I pad my bare feet across the hallway before taking small steps down the staircase. I don’t want to interrupt him if he is on a business call.
At the bottom of the staircase, I can’t hear him, so I walk down the long hallway to the family room at the rear of his home.
It overlooks the lush green garden, and I know he likes to sit outside when it’s dark, especially when he has a hard day.
But as I reach the end of the hallway, I stop and see Anton staring ahead of him. I can’t see what he is staring at, but his back rises and the silence is gone.
“You always were trash, Cassandra,” he hisses. His voice is full of venom.
“Oh, Ant, darling. You know you don’t mean that.” Her voice is a mixture of sexy and threatening. “Half a million, and I will keep your bit of fluff a secret.”
“You are a fucking bitch,” Anton growls, and I’ve never heard him sound so mean, so brutal before.
I peek around the wall and see Cassandra standing there holding a glass of wine.
Why is she drinking wine?
His ex-wife is tall, close to six-feet, and much taller than me. She’s in a tight black dress and knee-high boots. There’s a leather jacket thrown over the back of the stool she is sitting on.
“Does her father know about you?” she asks as she knocks back her wine.
Anton growls. She knows the situation between us, but she obviously doesn’t know I’m staying at his home.
I move back behind the wall so they don’t know I’m there. I listen.
“Why don’t we give our marriage another try? We didn’t fight for each other. We let each other go far too easily,” she says.
I wait for his answer, but he is silent.
“And then I will keep the video I have of the two of you fucking in your office a secret,” she says. “I destroy the photos of you and Scarlett in the car together.”
She is blackmailing him.
Footsteps sound over the porcelain tiles and I want to see what is happening but scared to look. Scared to find out he always wanted his wife.
“The photos mean nothing,” he growls.
I hold my breath, but I can’t stop the thundering of my blood as it gushes around my body, landing in my ears, deafening me as I contemplate what this means.
The photos mean nothing.
His words pierce my heart. I’m nothing to him? After everything we shared? My legs wobble and I press my palm against the wall to steady myself.
“Think about what you’re doing, Cassandra.” Anton’s voice drops lower, controlled. “You have a husband. You could have a satisfying life with him if you’d just let go of this bitterness.”
A harsh laugh cuts through the air. “Oh, that’s rich coming from you. You’re nothing but a perverted old man who needs to be locked up. Preying on teenage girls.”
I peek around the corner again. Anton’s shoulders are rigid, his hands clenched at his sides, but his voice remains steady. “Can I trust you? How do I know you won’t come back demanding more money?”
Cassandra stands, setting her empty glass on the counter with a sharp clink. “Trust me? You should be more worried about what else you’ll lose besides money, Anton. Your reputation, your career...” She pauses, her lips curling into a cruel smile. “Everything.”
My stomach drops. The realization hits me like a blow to my stomach - I have to let him go. This isn’t about us anymore. This is about protecting him, his career, everything he’s worked for. I can’t be the reason he loses it all.
I press my hand against my mouth to stifle a sob. Tears blur my vision as I back away from the wall, careful not to make a sound. Each step feels like I’m walking through quicksand, and it’s about to swallow me up.
But it matters because my heart is breaking.
I’m young, but I know this is what love is—letting go to protect the one you love.
I can’t let him lose everything. His career…His reputation…
Losing my father as his friend pales in significance.
And it’s all because of me.
Tears brim my eyes as I creep backwards, inching little by little, trying to calm my beating heart. Trying to stifle my sobs.
“I’ll wait,” Cassandra says. “I’ll give you a day to think about my offer and then I’ll start sending the video to those who will change your life when they see it.”
“You want me to take you back, yet you threaten to ruin me. What will you get out of doing that? Because I can’t work out the benefit for you,” Anton says, as I climb the stairs.
I have to save his career.
I have to save the friendship he has with my father.
I have to let him go.
Even if that means he gets back with his ex-wife.
I can’t ruin his life.
But what if I’m pregnant? My hand goes to my stomach. I could be, regardless of my family background. I could already be pregnant with his baby.
What a fucking mess.
Once I get to the top of the stairs, I pull on a pair of trousers, grab my boots, keys, and purse. I don’t have the time to pack my suitcase. I need to get out of his house and give him and me some space.
I need to protect him from her, even if it means he has to take her back. But I don’t want to know. All I want is to lock myself in my bedroom at home and hide away for the remainder of this week on my own.