Areston thinks he can shield me from his past, but what he doesn't realize is I'm already part of it.
The darkness that haunts him? It's the same one that's been chasing me for years.
I've given him everything-my body, my heart, my soul-and still...
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"Why would she happily be quiet about her brother's death? I call bullshit that she did it for the sole purpose of gaining my husband's love and trust. I think there's something bigger at play here than what meets the eye. Maybe she hated her brother, but kept up the family facade until she found an avenue? If my guess is correct and she is an imposter, he must have known her secret and would be blackmailing her. She perhaps encouraged him to take advantage of Areston's condition. He was drunk, naked, and alone and she'd gone to fetch dinner or so when her brother tried to feel him up, right? She knew Areston's possible reaction judging from how violent he had become. That would be the most convenient way for her to end her brother's life without her direct involvement. Of course I am not saying it's correct. It's just a theory. What do you think?"
"I am thinking, do you ever take a pause, Mrs. De L'Aquila?" Kaden ponders, tapping his meisterstück platinum-coated rollerball pen that has his initials engraved on the platinum clip against his chin.
"Ew. Did I go too fast?"
I am at the Ravenhurst Headquarters. We're in his office. It's as intimidating as my husband's and on the 88th floor, but unlike his, it's not the glass-walled where we can view the entire skyline. Areston once noted, Kaden doesn't prefer heights. He hates it. Why? My husband would never share the information with me for me to know. Kaden also prefers an all-black matte interior, which a majority of designers advise against by saying it can make the space look stifling. However, his space is too big to feel claustrophobic even in black.
"Yes," he pours a glass of cognac for me and passes it to me. "I recommend you take breaths between the sentences."
I take a calculated sip with my eyes narrowed at him. "And I recommend you stop being a jerk and answer my question. I know you try to avoid a majority of things I ask. So far, I have managed to let go because I can manage on my own, but you don't get to do it all the time and expect me to pretend not to take offense. I'm aware that my overprotective husband perhaps doesn't want you to indulge me, but I won't allow it. Just because I am his wife and he sees me as fragile doesn't mean you would too. You better see me as a colleague or peer than your best friend's wife you need to protect. And if that's too much for you, think of me as the woman who owns and runs a mega successful media empire that's twice yours in terms of size, success, market cap, and profits."
He chuckles with a haughty grin, "A mega successful media empire your ancestors built and handed you as a toy to play with. I could have said the same if I'd been running the ones my ancestors built, but instead I refused and chose to build my own empire, princess."
"True and that was your choice. Mine was to prove my worth by multiplying mine's worth by manifolds instead of crushing it like many heirs have done to theirs. The point is, instead of taking offense like a chauvinist asshole, consider me as your equal irrespective of what your best friend asks you to."
"You're an obnoxious little firecracker, do you know that?"
"I am 5'9! Not little."
"But you agree to being an obnoxious firecracker? Just like your best friend."
