Chapter Ten.
Oliver
I was furious. Cain Russell. Alicia had dinner with Cain fucking Russell.
The pictures were everywhere, and Alicia had made a fool of me.
What had she done? Booked Cain as a backup?
I’d been enjoying a drink with Eve when my phone blew up.
A picture of Alicia sitting at a table with Russell popped up, and I nearly choked.
Then a video of Cain greeting Alicia followed, with him apologising for being late. It was exacerbated by the love hearts accompanying his next words. Cain gently explained he didn’t text Alicia because he’d been in a hurry to get there.
Loudly, I ground my teeth. There I was, working my fingers to the bone, and Alicia was booking intimate dinners with Cain Russell. The evening worsened as another clip popped up, and I almost screamed.
“Your husband is a fool. Who leaves a woman like you alone while…” Cain said.
The third put the nail in the coffin. Whatever Cain had bought Alicia clearly meant something, judging by the look on Alicia’s face as she stared at the gifts.
Fury brewing, I hastily escorted Eve home and rushed back to take Alicia to task.
The house was dark when I arrived, and I realised she wasn’t here.
It was eleven o’clock; where the hell was my wife?
A vehicle pulled up, and I hurried to the door to find Russell helping Alicia out of the car. Alicia laughed and then said goodnight as she walked towards me.
“She’s married,” I ground out.
Russell looked at me as Alicia paused. “So are you, asshole. Appears you forget that often though. What pissant leaves his wife on her birthday to take an employee out? Asshole,” Russell retorted.
“If you don’t cherish what you have, someone else will.
” With that clear threat, Russell turned to Alicia. “Alicia, will you be okay?”
“Yes. Thanks, Cain. Thank you for tonight and saving me from embarrassment,” Alicia replied. Anger welled up inside as Russell nodded.
“Anything happens to Alicia, I’ll destroy you, Kensington,” he threatened and got back in the car and left.
Almost beside myself with incandescent rage, I spun on Alicia. “Get in the house!”
Alicia stalked past me without a word.
“Nothing to say?” I yelled. “You humiliate me all over social media, and you can’t even grovel?”
“Grovel?” Alicia turned around quickly, and I stepped back, startled. “Oliver, I sent four text messages today about tonight. And one at half-six when I left the house. You didn’t have the courtesy to reply.”
“Alicia, I was working!” I screamed.
Alicia whipped her phone out and punched in the code. Seconds later, she turned it around, and I growled. There was an image of Eve and me getting coffee at eleven this morning. Alicia wasn’t finished. She flicked the screen, and a second picture flashed up, timed for three o’clock this afternoon.
“Oliver, you could have answered. But Eve was more important!” Alicia snapped. Her eyes narrowed, making me hesitate. She resembled the old Alicia, and that worried me. I had to gain control quickly.
“And for revenge, you arranged a date with Russell. Talk about the doting wife, there I am working hard, and you’re arranging dates with other men! God, do you want me anymore?” I sneered.
“Look!” Alicia cried. She hit the screen again. “Check the time, Oliver.” There was desperation in her voice, and I revelled in it.
Moments later, though, I felt my control slip as I stared at the posts of me huddled in a corner with Eve. I wasn’t dense; I could see what it looked like. Alicia raised the comments before showing the video of Cain arriving. He arrived half an hour after my image had been posted.
“Cain was just passing?” I sneered. “With a convenient gift bag?”
“No. Cain left his hotel, stopped and brought me a present, and then made it appear he’d been late for dinner.
He did that to save me embarrassment. However, Cain saved your ass from looking like the worst husband in the world as well.
I’m going to bed! By the way, I want a job, because clearly you think better of working women,” Alicia whispered and stormed off.
I stared after Alicia, my hands clenching and unclenching. Alicia would need punishment for that. How dare she screech like a fishwife? God, she needed a severe lesson, and I’d deliver it.
Alicia
Oliver was dishing out the cold treatment, and I knew exactly what he was doing.
He expected me to cave in and beg for forgiveness.
Well, I’d not been in the wrong that evening; he had.
How could Oliver stand me up to take Eve for drinks?
Four days had passed, and we’d not spoken a word to each other.
Oliver was punishing me, and I was full of self-doubts. Had I been in error after all? I’d been a married woman on a date with someone not my husband. But if not for Cain, I’d have been embarrassed all over social media.
The stories still weren’t dying down as Oliver had been snapped several times with Eve.
They looked very cosy, and I was growing concerned.
Was Oliver having an affair with Eve? In those photos, Oliver stared at Eve like he once gazed at me.
After everything I’d done for him, if Oliver was cheating… No, I couldn’t even go there.
To distract myself, I was picking up a dress from the studio.
I should have collected it yesterday, but there’d been a minor crisis, and I’d forgotten.
As I swept in, mask and wig in place, I instantly relaxed.
All the tension and stress from Oliver washed away until I rounded a corner and saw my husband standing there.
“Can I help?” I asked, and Oliver turned with a smarmy smile. He’d never set foot here before, and I’d believed Oliver didn’t know where the studio was.
“Mystique? We finally meet,” Oliver stated, holding out a hand. Fear racing through me, I shook and released it quickly. Had Oliver guessed my identity? We’d never met in person; all contact was done through assistants and lawyers.
“Oliver Kensington,” I replied shortly. Carefully, I studied Oliver’s face. Did he really not recognise me? Not know my voice? We’d known each other for over twenty years, and Oliver was treating me like a stranger. Were these more mind games?
“You recognise me,” Oliver smiled, clearly puffed up on that fact. Oliver liked to think he was recognisable now. I inwardly winced; that was a really uncharitable thought.
“From social media, yes,” I replied, and Oliver’s charming smile faded.
“Don’t believe everything on there,” he snapped.
“Image matters. What do you need?”
“I’d like a gown, that one,” Oliver said, pointing to the dress I’d come to collect. Was Oliver going to buy that as an apology? A small burst of hope fluttered through me.
“That’s sold. To Alicia, actually.” Would Oliver offer to purchase it for me?
“Tell Alicia it got damaged. Mystique, I want that for my assistant. Eve has to attend some events with me and needs to be suitably attired. A one-off signature Mystique would do nicely.”
The hammer dropped, and I swallowed hard. Oliver wanted to take my precious evening gown and give it to Eve. No.
“That’s Alicia’s. Mr Kensington, I won’t clothe your mistress, and I’d like you to leave. I don’t approve of cheating,” I stated firmly. Inside, I screamed for Oliver to deny those words.
“Mystique, you work for me!” Oliver thundered, and I held my ground.
“That can be changed. The contract with Eliganz is seasonal. Once I’ve delivered the season, I can sign with perhaps… um, I hear Zade has a new CEO, and he’s turning things upside down over there. My designs would put Zade on the map, just like Eliganz,” I said calmly.
Oliver turned puce. “Are you threatening me?” “No. Merely making a statement. Mr Kensington, I refuse to let my label be associated with scandal. Mystique has a reputation, and from what I’ve seen lately, Eliganz and the CEO may no longer suit my needs.
” Outside, I was icily calm; inside, I was shaking.
Oliver’s scowl descended, and he stepped forward.
Oliver didn’t deny anything, and a part of me was slowly dying.
“Don’t forget, I made Mystique what it is,” Oliver stated.
“No, you didn’t. Six special women did, including your wife. Alicia is a lovely lady and always spoke well of you. That’s why I signed with Eliganz. However, clearly Alicia was deluded. Leave, Mr Kensington, and return to your mistress.”
“Eve is not my mistress! She’s my assistant.”
“That you’re willing to spend fifty thousand on,” I retorted and turned away. Oliver stomped off as I swallowed tears.
What had happened to us? Where had everything gone wrong? I walked over to an armchair and sat down, drawing my legs up and wrapping my arms around them.
Was it me? Had I changed? Maybe being Mystique caused those issues, huh? Had my alter-ego given me fake confidence and made me disrespect everything Oliver had given me? Had I really become a selfish, greedy person so petty that I was jealous of an employee?
Thoughts ran through my head, all doubting what I’d witnessed, and I wondered if I’d driven Oliver away. Despite his saying Eve wasn’t his mistress, all signs pointed to the opposite. Nobody bought their assistant a fifty-thousand-dollar dress. Nobody.
Oliver
How dare Mystique speak like that? The bitch wouldn’t go to Zade.
That was an empty threat. Designers peaked and troughed, and Mystique hadn’t been around long.
She should be careful before I ruin her.
And not giving me that evening gown! I was furious.
The dress would suit Eve a lot better than Alicia.