Page 45 of Coerced Wife

“Saverio,” Anya whispers, pulling at my sleeve. “Please.”

I’m not done yet. “You’ll never make contact. If I catch you anywhere near Anya or the baby, you’ll wish you were born with a cunt instead of a cheating dick. As far as the paperwork goes, you’re nothing but a sperm donor. Make that a free-for-all sperm bank.” I stare him down. “Got that?”

His Adam’s apple rides up and down his throat. I want to grab the knife on his plate and stab it through his windpipe so badly that I have to count to ten to prevent myself from acting on the fantasy.

“Was that a yes?” I ask with a smile that will give grown men nightmares.

Ms. Kearney tilts her head, bitter disillusionment glittering in her eyes as she waits for her husband to deny my accusation, to say he has no idea what I’m talking about.

He bobs his head.

The wife pushes back her chair, gets up, and walks with a stiff back from the restaurant.

I straighten, only marginally pacified.

Anya goes after the woman, but I still have shit to say to this clown. “Anya is mine. If you fuck with her, you fuck with me. Got that, pretty boy?”

He nods again.

“Good.” I straighten his tie, pulling hard enough to yank him forward in his chair. “You’ll hear from my lawyer in the morning.”

The hostess tiptoes over, her face and neck flushed. “Mr. De Luca, is there a problem?”

“No.” I hold Kearney’s eyes. “Not any longer. Isn’t that so, Kearney?”

He squeaks out a yes.

“Can I offer you appetizers?” the hostess asks in a too high voice, but I don’t bother to answer.

I walk outside to find Anya and the wife in a heated argument on the sidewalk.

“He didn’t wear a ring,” Anya exclaims. “He gave me a false name and told me he was single.”

The wife turns up her chin. “You’re not the first young girl who thought you could catch yourself a wealthy man by falling pregnant.”

“Stop right there,” I say, advancing on them.

The woman’s eyes flare when they land on me.

“Your husband is a sack of shit.” I point a finger in her face. “Don’t you dare pin the blame for that son of a bitch’s actions on Anya. I suggest you both get the hell out of here.”

She doesn’t let me invite her twice. She flags down a taxi and jumps inside. The justice comes running out of the restaurant just as the taxi takes off.

Good.

His wife deserves to know she’s married to scum. Or maybe she knows. In that case, I have no sympathy for her.

He hops into the next taxi without a backward glance.

I take Anya’s arm to lead her back to the restaurant, but she yanks free and steps back.

“Anya,” I say in a way that warns her not to walk away from me again. “Let’s go back inside.”

“After the scene you made?” Her nostrils flare. “I don’t think so.”

“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. He’s the guilty one. The only person who should be ashamed is him.”

She presses her arms against her sides and fists her hands into balls. “I’m not ashamed of my baby or of my actions. Yes, I was irresponsible, but I’m not running away from the consequences.”

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