Chapter Fifteen.
Alicia
“Alicia, you mentioned you were trying for a baby?” Zinnia asked, frowning as she held up my vitamins.
“I am. Those are vitamins to help me get pregnant. Guess I don’t need them anymore.” I grabbed the bottle to throw in the trash can.
“Alicia…” Zinnia looked uncomfortable. “Those are birth control pills.”
“No, they’re vitamins,” I insisted.
“Honey, they’re not. Look.” Zinnia opened her purse and pulled a small blister pack out. “Mine are identical. We’re on the same one.”
I took the pack, and the blood rushed from my head.
I sat down heavily as I stared at the medication I’d been taking for years.
These were different from my original birth control pill, which is why I’d not recognised them.
Oliver had given me vitamins when I didn’t get pregnant.
We’d hoped they’d help, and instead, he’d been drugging me against my will.
I rose slowly to my feet. Who the hell had I married? When had Oliver turned into this monster? I couldn’t even blame Eve for this.
“Can you finish packing and take everything to Zinnia’s, please? There’s something I gotta do,” I whispered, walking to the door.
“Alicia, if you’re going to confront Oliver…” Oceane stopped speaking at the expression on my face.
“I need to do this alone. Check Oliver’s items. He has evidence somewhere,” I said and left.
I stewed all the way to Eliganz’s offices.
There was no excuse for Oliver’s actions.
If he didn’t want babies, get a damn vasectomy.
The answer was simple. Oliver hadn’t wanted children with me.
Had it always been his goal to throw me aside?
Had he planned to use me up, steal the best years of my life and divorce me?
Floored by the revelations, I paid the Uber and climbed out.
Straightening my shoulders, I allowed everything to wash away and donned Alicia Kensington’s demeanour. The perfect, polite wife. Nobody paid any attention until I got to Oliver’s floor. The receptionist looked horrified at my unplanned appearance.
“Mr Kensington is in a meeting,” she said.
“That’s a shame,” I replied and headed towards the office.
“You can’t go in!” she shrieked, blocking the doorway.
“You have two choices. Move of your own accord, or I’ll make you, which would be regrettable,” I threatened. Without pausing, I continued and opened the door.
If I hadn’t been in robotic mode, I might have reacted to the scene playing out.
Instead, I stared at Eve sitting on my husband’s desk with Oliver between her legs.
They were passionately kissing. Eve’s blouse was undone and sliding off her shoulders.
Quietly, I pulled out my phone and began recording.
A full minute passed without anyone realising I was watching.
“Well, I wonder how much action that desk has seen,” I commented idly.
A smile crossed my lips as Oliver cursed and jumped backwards.
“Caught in the act, Oliver, how gauche. What a shame you’re so cliché.
Fucking the office whore, such poor taste.
” “Shut your mouth, Alicia,” Oliver snarled, buttoning his shirt.
“Damn, you really have lost your figure.” I mused, cocking my head to the side and eyeing Oliver’s spare tyre.
“I guess instead of going to the gym, you were screwing this… ah, let’s poach a phrase, cum bucket,” I continued.
Oliver turned a mottled red as Eve looked triumphant that they’d been caught.
“Oliver doesn’t want you. Just crawl away and disappear, Alicia,” Eve drawled.
“Oh, do you think I’m here to beg for my marriage?” I asked.
“Of course, what else?” Oliver demanded.
“Well, let’s start with being drugged without my consent or knowledge.” The bombshell dropped, and silence fell.
Oliver blinked and was startled. He’d not been expecting that. “What shit are you spewing now?”
“The vitamins you were giving me are birth control pills. Oliver, I was taking them unknowingly. Tut-tut. Under the law, that’s assault, reproductive coercion, and abuse.”
“What are you rambling about?” Oliver sneered, eyes moving sideways. A telltale sign of lying.
“Don’t act dumb, Oliver, it’s tiring. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Now, this is the state of play: I want a divorce, and you’ll give me the settlement I ask for. In return, I won’t take the pills, and other evidence, to the police. We are so fucking over, it’s unbelievable.”
With that, I turned sharply and left. Inside, I was dying. My marriage was over, and Oliver was a monster I didn’t recognise. Eve was to blame for Oliver having an affair, but the rest? No, that wasn’t Eve’s fault. What else would be uncovered?
“You’ll regret this, Alicia. You’ll pay for the disrespect!” Oliver shouted.
“Oliver, what’s Alicia talking about? What pills?” Eve demanded.
I left without breaking, but only because of sheer willpower. Nobody would see me shatter. I still had enough of my self-worth to hold on to a shred of dignity.
Oliver
Fuck, I was unsure what Alicia was playing at, but I wasn’t lowering myself to her level.
After two weeks of absence, Alicia would understand I was sorely displeased.
If that didn’t signal displeasure, I didn’t know what would.
The scene in my office that she’d thrown today had been her breaking point.
Alicia had known it wouldn’t sway my forgiveness, but she’d tried.
A fortnight had passed since the night with Cain Russell; it was time to allow Alicia to grovel.
It was obvious Russell saw me as a danger.
The bastard knew I was a rising star, and I wasn’t going to stop.
Russell didn’t want me taking his title.
Well, he could get ready; I was coming for him.
His cancelling two major contracts with Eliganz proved he felt I was a threat.
The asshole was using Alicia to undermine me.
That wouldn’t work. Alicia was under my control and loved me.
Confidently, I entered the house and paused. It was too quiet—too still. “Alicia?” I shouted.
She didn’t answer. That bitch. No doubt she was sulking.
Amused, I headed to the kitchen, smirking.
Whatever Alicia had cooked, I planned to throw away in front of her.
Therefore, I was stunned when I walked in and found it disturbingly clean.
Confused, I opened the fridge and frowned.
There was no fresh food inside—it had been completely emptied.
What the hell? Was this Alicia’s version of a fuck you?
“Alicia?” I called, a flutter of concern rising.
Where was she? Had Alicia had an accident? As I headed upstairs, Alicia’s words this afternoon in my office hit me. Had she been serious about a divorce? Alicia didn’t have the backbone to stand up to me; she couldn’t have. No, she was probably sulking in the bathroom and hiding.
The moment I entered the bedroom, I realised something was wrong.
Alicia’s presence wasn’t here. A sickening feeling began building as I marched over to the walk-in closet and opened the doors.
The bareness hit like a truck. Alicia’s clothes were gone.
I turned disbelievingly and stared at the vanity table.
There were none of her creams and perfumes.
Alicia had left me.
Shellshocked, I sank onto the bed and stared at the empty room. Where had she got the strength from?
My mind raced. How did I play this? Because if Alicia thought she’d divorce me, she was wrong.
Eve had me hooked on hot, dirty sex and her even hotter body, but she was no model wife.
The bitch was merely a fling, although Alicia’s treatment of her was despicable.
A lot of men had mistresses. Why couldn’t Alicia and her friends just have maintained the status quo and kept their mouths shut?
Those bitches were behind Alicia’s attitude.
Ever since we’d met them, they’d encouraged Alicia to buck against my ideals, and now she was gone.
Alicia had actually left. I had two paths to take: I could punish Alicia severely or forgive her.
Clearly, Alicia needed a stronger hand; I’d obviously been too lax lately.
The first time she backchatted me, I should have used physical punishment.
It was something I’d eschewed, but that was obviously a glaring mistake.
It was time to find Alicia. Then I’d work on getting her home, and once here, I’d make sure she didn’t leave for the foreseeable future. Fuck those women and their husbands. They were all irrelevant now.
Alicia
“Would you help me find somewhere to live?” I asked Zinnia over dinner.
I’d cooked as a thanks for letting me stay.
They refused to let me pay anything toward the household’s costs, and they obviously didn’t need money.
Instead, I helped with cooking meals and whatever else I could do, as I didn’t enjoy feeling a burden.
“Of course. Any idea of what you want?” Zinnia inquired as she poured two glasses of wine.
“I guess an apartment, one to buy, I’ve got quite a fortune stashed away,” I replied.
“Are you going after alimony or a divorce settlement?” Dax asked as he entered the kitchen. He bent down and kissed Zinnia, who gazed up at him adoringly. Dax turned to me with a smile. “Dinner smells wonderful. I don’t know what we’ll do when you leave.” “Hire a chef?” I said, and Zinnia laughed.
“That’s a good idea,” Dax agreed.
“Neither of us can cook,” Zinnia replied, and they both chuckled. “We’re God-awful. Anyway, about what Dax said. What do you want from Oliver?”
“A settlement of two million. That’s what I reckon my time was worth. Then Oliver needs to sign off claiming any assets I might hold, and I’ll do the same,” I said. “Do you think I can get that?”
“The catch is you might have to declare them. But you have those pills and the accompanying paperwork as evidence. Oliver won’t want to be arrested and have what he did made common knowledge,” Zinnia mused.