Page 26 of Michael

“Just leave now, Michael.” Her mind was racing with what to do, and she just wanted him gone. He had hurt her so much, and now her sister was a part of the family’s craziness.

“I just wanted more time with you. I am sorry that I kept this to myself, but—”

“Get OUT!” she hissed, staring at him coldly.

He nodded, looking as if she had struck him. She wished she had as she followed him with her eyes, heading to the door.

“I will be back tomorrow.” He faced her with a sorrowful but determined expression on his face.

She glared and then blinked back the tears of anger, disbelief, and hurt when he disappeared from sight. She waited until she heard the click of the door and then grabbed her keys from off the bed, heading out to get some answers.

When she arrived at Ben’s home, she knocked insistently, as if she was trying to break in.

The door opened in a flash, and Ben stood there in front of her, wearing pajama pants that looked like they had been thrown on in a hurry. His face was flushed, and he had what looked like a scratch mark on his chest. She noticed that his nipples were pierced.

Wait, what? When did he do that? Never mind, she thought as she saw red at the stone-cold look on his face.

“You bastard. Where is my sister?”

“Come in,” Ben said solemnly, just as she pushed him roughly to the side and entered the foyer of his townhome.

“Diamond, Ambra is here,” he said, pressing an intercom button by the door. He walked around her to wait by the stairs as they both heard Diamond’s high-heel satin slippers on the floor and she came into view.

Diamond looked like a Hollywood star as she made her way down the stairs. She looked beautiful and immaculate in her night wear, her hair perfectly done. But as she got closer, her sister noticed how tired she looked. She glared at Ben when he stood in her way, until he gave her a look and moved away when she raised her chin.

“I will leave the two of you to talk. Good night.” As usual, Ben was a man of few words. He left them at the bottom of the stairs.

Diamond glared at his back as he made his way up, and Ambra could have sworn she heard, “You’d better finish what you started.” But then her sister pasted a smile on her face and turned to hug Ambra, shocking her, because even though they were close, Diamond was not much of a hugger.

“Come on Diamond, we can talk in the car. I will take you home and we can fix—”

“No, you can’t. You can’t get involved; I don’t want you anywhere near this. You just go home; I will be okay, and we can talk tomorrow. I want to hear everything that happened with you and Michael.”

“Diamond, I can’t leave you like this.”

“It’s okay, I am not in any danger. Just in trouble right now, and Ben is helping me out.”

“By forcing you to marry him. Diamond. Come on.”

“Yes, that is the price for me getting out of this mess,” Diamond said bitterly before pasting on another false smile. “But you know me. I will make this situation work and come out with the upper hand.”

She then eyed Ambra with concern. “Go home before you fall down, and get some rest. Everything is okay for now, and hopefully we will have all of this resolved soon.”

“Yes, I will see what I can find.”

“No, stay out of this please. I can’t be worried about this having an impact on you too,” Diamond said, suddenly looking even more tired.

Ambra paused, knowing that she should wait and revisit this with her sister another time. She knew how stubborn Diamond could be, especially when she was protecting the ones she loved. “Okay sis, I will back off for now, but not for very long. We can’t let whoever did this get away with it.”

“Yes, thank you.” Diamond just nodded, and for a second, her mind seemed to go somewhere else. She looked flustered.

Ambra cleared her throat, adding, “And then we can get this sham of a marriage annulled.”

Her sister suddenly looked funny.

Ambra recalled what Ben had looked like coming down the stairs. His hair had looked as if someone had messed it up, and the scratch on his chest... “Sis, did—”

Diamond interrupted her. “We agreed to stay married for at least a year after everything is all cleared up. For appearances’ sake and all.” She waved her hand around, not looking her sister in the eye.

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