Page 137 of Bitter Confessions

“Were you able to fix things with Christoph Braun?” His grim expression made her already heavy heart sink even further. “I’m sorry.” And he’d also slighted Amos Faulkner on their way out. Thanks to her, he lost two valuable contacts and declared war on Cecil. “When you were with Nathaniel, I was circulating with Charlotte and met businessmen, politicians, an admiral, even a prince who requested an audience with you. I can write down their names… You should have stayed. In fact, you should go back. Mo, turn around.”

“I don’t give a fuck about that right now.”

“You will tomorrow,” she predicted. “You shouldn’t waste this opportunity. Here.” She extracted the business cards from her sleeve, but her hands were shaking so badly, they scattered over the seat and floorboard. “You should reach out to them immediately.”

She leaned down to pick up the fallen cards, rattling off details she had filed away during the conversations. She was so focused on her task that when Roth touched her cheek, she reared back violently. The impact of her head hitting the window was loud enough for Mo to take his eyes off the road to see what was going on.

“What the fuck?” Roth exploded as he grabbed her head and rubbed the spot where she collided with the window. “Did someone touch you?”

“No!” She pushed at him. “I just want to be left alone! I respected your need for space, now you respect mine. Back off!”

He gripped her wrists and squeezed to break her out of her mounting hysteria. She stared at him, panting, eyes burning with tears she refused to shed.

His eyes glinted with temper. “Tell me what happened.”

“Nothing happened.”

His fingers flexed on her wrists. “Don’t lie to me, Jasmine.”

“Why not? You lie to me.”

“What have I lied about?”

That he was going to change. That he wasn’t going to hurt her anymore.

“Jasmine,” he bit out, his patience clearly gone. “What did Warren do to you?”

She twisted out of his hold and was relieved when he released her. She rubbed her wrists like someone who just got out of handcuffs. “I already said, he didn’t touch me.”

“He doesn’t have to touch you to hurt you.”

She let out a harsh, humorless laugh and ran her fingers through her hair to soothe her prickling scalp. “You’re going to go after him for hurting my feelings?”

“It’s more than that. Whatever he did made you physically ill and spooked Colette.”

She bit her lip and tasted blood as she tried to contain the pain that was slamming into her with the force of a freight train. When she tried to turn away, he clamped a hand on her nape, keeping her facing him.

“What happened, baby?”

His attempt at a gentler tone paired with the endearment savaged her insides, because she knew he didn’t mean it.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Tell me what he did. I’ll take care of him and anyone else who was involved.”

No force on planet earth could make her repeat Warren’s interpretation of Roth’s actions or the distasteful origins of her birth. Maximus ranted more times than she cared to remember about how her mother had trapped him. What had never been mentioned was that her father was just one of many Elena had tried her wiles on. She couldn’t even begin to process the disturbing sexual details Warren had shared about her parents or the fact that her father’s cronies expected to have a turn with her. They didn’t see her as a person with her own identity, but a reincarnation of her mother. Had her father reinforced that belief in the degrading way he used to speak about her?

Despite what Dad said about her in the past, in the end, he loved her. Right? She hadn’t imagined the last years they had together or the relationship they built. Or was she kidding herself like she was in her marriage, cottoning the edges of her brain, because she couldn’t bear to see her life for what it truly was—a wasteland of superficial, one-sided relationships with people who tolerated her because they needed something from her?

Roth massaged her nape, strong fingers digging into the taut muscles. “Breathe, princess.”

She took a shuddering breath, unaware that she’d stopped. The agony was so great, it was ripping her apart. She bowed her head, hands tumbling in her lap as she tried to think of something else.

“I’m sorry for making that scene with Cecil,” she said hoarsely. “And causing more problems. You said Hennessy & Co. is costing you more than you anticipated. I can liquidate?—”

“I don’t need your money.”

Then she would find another way to get rid of her inheritance. She didn’t want it anymore. If managing her inheritance required her to deal with society, she would rather scrape by in life. And if Maximus had known she’d end up with Roth, he would have given the money to her sisters or burned it anyway. Lyle was right. Everything that came from her father was tainted. That included the money and her. But she wasn’t completely useless.

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