Page 44 of Borden 3

“What’s his name?”

“You think you’re going to find him?” I turned around now to face him. “Because you won’t.”

Borden studied me carefully. “Why won’t I find him?”

“Theo is smoke—”

“Theo,” he cut in, nodding, as though logging that information in.

“Stop doing that.”

“I’m not doing anything—”

“I’m trying to open up and you’re playing detective.”

“Because getting a fucking answer out of you is like pulling teeth, Doll.”

“God forbid I want some time to myself!”

“But you don’t want time to yourself. You came out of that bathroom, in your dress, looking straight at me—”

“I want your comfort—”

“And I want you safe.” He moved to me now, stopping before me. I craned my head up, breath thinning because I felt so little in front of him. “That man is dangerous.”

I didn’t argue that, and his brows rose, like he didn’t expect that from me. He raked his teeth over his bottom lip. “What did he do to you?”

I trembled. “It’s what I did to him, Borden.”

“So what did you do?”

I shut my eyes. “He needed me, and I let him down.”

“Quit talking in riddles.”

I opened my eyes, heavy with tears. “Imagine Kate was still alive…”

He looked like I’d slapped him. He took a step back, shaking his head at me, saying nothing.

“Imagine if she came to you at a charity—”

“Emma—”

“That’s Theo to me. And like you would suspect with Kate, it’s the same with Theo. He loathes me.”

I stunned him.

But it wasn’t for long. He recalibrated fast. I envied that about him. Borden could be falling apart and still carry on.

His eyes narrowed now as he studied me. He looked suddenly cold. I didn’t feel like his wife at that moment, but one of his enemies he interrogated. He sharply asked, “Did you fuck him?”

My eyes widened, but I had expected it. “Does it matter?”

“To me, it does.”

“It wasn’t sexual with Theo.”

But Borden looked warily at me. “Is that what he’s going to say when I find him and chain him to a fucking chair?”

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