The Ruthless Virgin Mistress ✔️ (completed)

Nine

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*****

"What are we gonna do about Andrew's debts?". Catherine whispered in a despairing tone, her voice still hoarse from the constant crying she had done in recent days.

    "I don't know," Claire replied honestly, drained by the stress of trying to calm and support her friend through the family crisis. "But I've done the sums. Right now -- assuming there's no new disaster waiting in the wings to jump on us -- the business is at least bringing in enough cash to pay your regular outgoings and your home is safe."

    "We can't even sell it to settle the debts. We owe more than the house is worth," Catherine lamented. "I can't live like this."

    "I know that you're scared and that you feel that Andrew has let you down--"
    "Andrew had a lot to bear in other ways," Catherine cast a speaker glance down at her wheelchair. "But even though I'm not the woman he loved and married anymore, he's never once complained. Maybe the gambling was an escape from the pressure of living with me."

    Claire made no comment. She had no idea what had got into her brother and did not feel qualified to hazard a guess. Andrew had always been quiet and sensible, and dangerous, thrill-seeking behavior like compulsive gambling seemed out of character for him. But Claire had only to look at her own conduct in recent weeks to accept that people often acted in unpredictable way and not always for any clearly defined or rational reason. How after all, could she explain her own total obsession with Nikolai? Was it a physical infatuation that would fade?

    "You could ask Nikolai Smolov for a loan."
    Claire's bright auburn head jerked up in a dismay at that unwelcome suggestion. Catherine's oval face was pale and strained and her shadowed eyes were pleading.
    "I couldn't," Claire replied curtly. "That's out of the question."

    "Why not? I mean, the bank wouldn't even consider us in the state we're in, but Nikolai might as a favour to you."

    Claire was furious with Catherine for even broaching the subject. "Fixed as we are for finance right now, it would take us a lifetime to pay Nikolai back. And if I asked him to give us money it would be like selling myself to him!" Claire proclaimed, compressing bloodless lips and almost shuddering at the idea. Of course she had thought about asking Nikolai for help, of course she had, but she didn't see why he should be expected to settle her brother's debts for him. And she cherished the truth that she had never looked on Nikolai or treated him like an open wallet. She was not greedy like his previous lovers and she knew he valued the difference.

    "Don't be so fanciful," Catherine argued. "Nikolai seems to delight in spending money on you. He never stops buying you expensive gifts and you're already practically living with him! Everyone reckons that what he had with you is much more than a casual affair!"

    Everyone? Not Claire, however. She stared out into the back garden where Angel and Junior were playing on the swing set. Every so often one of the twins cast an anxious look back towards the house, revealing that both children were aware of the tension in their home. Claire hurt for her nephew and niece, who'd had to contend with a lot of parental rows and grief over the past fortnight. She wished she had a magic wand to wave that would make all the trouble and strife go away, but she didn't.
    "Nikolai and I...well, it's not like you think," Claire argued uncomfortably, wishing she could tell the other woman about Nikolai's desire to fool the press into believing that he was involved in a serious relationship with her. Only then would Catherine understand how hollow Nikolai's apartment attentiveness really was at heart.