Waylen turns to Leonie, “I want to see your apology on Facebook by tomorrow.”
“Waylen, I saw Dr. Meyer give her birth control pills, and I saw her put them in her pocket. I know they’re there! Perhaps she’s hidden them somewhere else!”
Leonie reaches for Leilani’s collar with the intention to search inside her clothes. Waylen’s face darkens and he turns around, blocking Leonie with his back. He embraces Leilani, shielding her with his body.
“That’s enough!” he growls, “Go back to your room if you don’t want to be completely disgraced.”
Startled by his tone, Leonie runs back to the house with her head lowered and eyes red.
“No one is allowed to talk about what has happened here in private, or to speak to the press,” Mr. Francis Bamford warns the servants before returning to the house Mrs. Florence Bamford.
The servants shuffle away in silence, and the garden becomes quieter. Leilani can hear the splashing of the nearby fountain and the sound of a heartbeat. Her face is pressed against Waylen’s chest, and through his shirt, she can hear his rapid and powerful heartbeats. It sounds like his heart might jump out of his chest.
He didn’t kick her when she was down. Instead, he helped her. The pills were definitely in her pocket, and she wonders if he took them as he kissed her. The speculation makes her heart beat faster.
But why did he help her? Usually, he’s content to make her look bad in front of his grandfather. Usually, he wants Francis Bamford to know how ridiculous it was to pick Leilani to be his wife. Does he have some hidden new motivation?
Though Leilani still wears sodden clothes, Waylen embraces her tightly. He has never held a woman so close before and doesn’t want to let her go. The water from her clothes seeps onto him, but he doesn’t care that he’s getting wet.
As he holds her, he thinks. He wonders what means she used to get birth control pills without his knowledge, and he’s unable to restrain his desperate anger. He’s furious that Charles gave her the pills. Does she see the way Charles looks at her—as if he wants her for his own?
“There better be nothing between them,” Waylen thinks, “Otherwise I have no idea what I’ll do to them.”
He feels himself losing control. He’s now gripping her so tightly she seems to be struggling to breathe, but he doesn’t want to loosen his hold on her. The seductive fragrance of her hair does nothing to appease his anger.
He lowers his head and asks her frostily, “Did he touch you? Is that why he brought you pills—to cover up your indiscretions?”
Her behavior in the last few days has made it clear that she’s no longer deeply attached to him.
“The fastest way to forget someone is to love another person,” he thinks, “And the fastest way for a woman to fall in love with a man is to make love with him. So did she and Charles make love?”
Sensing his anger, Leilani realizes that even though he doesn’t love her, the thought of her having an affair is intolerable to him.
She smiles fearlessly and says, “It seems you’ve been getting quite angry recently. But I told you I would continue to cheat on you if you don’t divorce me.”
She tugs on his shirt to try to create distance between their bodies, and says archly, “It seems that you’re especially bothered by my affair with Charles.”
Her words provoke a raging fury. Waylen recalls all the ways she’s disregarded his feelings and tried to humiliate him. He never thought he’d be vulnerable to a woman, but she’s wounded his pride.
Realizing she’s gone too far, Leilani begins to back away from Waylen. She can tell he’s furious, and she’s scared of his wrath.
“Clearly I’m not good enough for you,” she says, “So it’s better to—”
“Get divorced?” Waylen growls.
“Yes,” she answers nervously.
Leilani continues to retreat, but Waylen matches her every step, backing her into the front door.
“Why do you insist on telling these lies? Do you really believe they’ll persuade me to divorce you?” he asks.
Leilani raises her eyebrows, refusing to give a definite answer. Waylen continues, “In the last few days, you’ve hardly been out of my sight for more than twenty minutes. Do you really expect me to believe that Charles can satisfy you in such a short time?”
“Not all women like virile men or want to make love for hours on end,” Leilani replies, “I prefer the way Charles does it, and I prefer his equipment, too.”
Slowly, Waylen grabs her top and begins to undo the buttons. She watches his hands in a panic and tries to cover her chest.
“What are you going to do?” she asks.
“I’m going to make you tell the truth,” he whispers.
She tries to push him away, but Waylen leans in even closer, “You know I have many ways to make you tell the truth.”
Leilani pinches her lips together tightly. She didn’t expect Waylen to catch onto her lie so quickly, but she knows that he doesn’t make empty threats. She forces herself to calmly take her hands off her chest, “Waylen, what kind of man uses force on his wife like this?”
“You’ll know exactly what kind soon enough!”
His calm and steady manner makes her shudder, and she worries that he’s going to see right through her. Suddenly he grabs her by the waist and carries her into the house. He kicks the bedroom door open, enters the bathroom, and drops her into the full bathtub.
“Waylen!” she splutters.
Warm water soaks through her already wet pajamas. She accidentally swallows some and begins to choke and cough before trying to climb out of the slippery tub. Waylen reaches for the shower knob and hot water spouts from the shower and pours over their heads.
Leilani tries to escape but slips on the smooth porcelain. A strong and powerful arm grabs her waist and steadies her. He pulls her into his arms as if she weighs nothing.
“Let me go!”
She wants to push him away, but he’s gripping her so hard she can’t free herself. He lowers his head, and his hot breath brushes against her ear.
“Cold?” he whispers, “You want me to warm your body with mine? I won’t stop until every part is burning. How does that sound?”
Leilani shivers. She isn’t sure if it’s his breath on her ear or his words, but she’s convinced he means business and she’s scared. He’s reminding her that he will force her to succ.u.mb to him no matter how she tries to object.
He nips her earlobe, “Are you willing to tell the truth now?”
Her legs weaken as his lips tease her, and her thoughts begin to muddle. She digs her fingernails into her palms to steady herself.
She can’t ever let him touch her again. If he touches her she might succ.u.mb, and if she succ.u.mbs without the pills, she’ll get pregnant one way or another. If she’s pregnant with his child and heir, it will be even more difficult for her to leave the Bamford family. She has to persist for another half a year. If she can avoid pregnancy for six months, Waylen’s grandfather will force the divorce.
She has always been pragmatic, and she knows she’s at a disadvantage if she continues to insist on her lie. She presses her head against his chest and whispers, “Nothing happened between Charles and me.”
Waylen smiles with satisfaction and releases her ear. Hearing that there’s nothing between her and Charles has instantly improved his mood. He strokes her earlobe with his fingers, satisfied that he’s found a new and effective way of making her tell the truth.
It turns out her ears are incredibly sensitive, and he feels as if he’s just discovered a valuable secret. As he kneads her earlobe, he watches her face flush a gorgeous color. She probably has no idea how enticing she looks. Her tempting rosy complexion makes him almost erect, and his lips feel dry.
He regrets that he spent the last three and a half years thinking of her as a reproductive tool forced on him by his grandfather. He was so rebellious that he refused to touch or even look at her. Throughout that time she was as meek and docile as a sheep and he barely took note of her existence.
Then a few nights ago she stood barefoot on the dining table and defiantly demanded a divorce. She was like a small female leopard exposing sharp claws for the first time, captivating him. From that moment, he found himself overwhelmed by the urge to touch and hold her.
As he gazes at her flushed face, he reminds himself that she’s still sick. He’s afraid that if he doesn’t let her go soon, he’ll be unable to stop himself from having s.e.x with her. He worries that he’ll hurt her, and it’s the first time that he’s been concerned about the feelings of a woman.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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