Page 65 of What the Wife Knew

But where was she? She’d been in the bathroom for ten minutes and, real or not, I wanted this nonsense completed and behind us. “I’ll go check on her.”

One knock and I opened the door. Addison sat on the bathroom counter in a straight black sheath that landed just above her knees. The cheap material matched the gaudy gold-plated watch she wore. The whole outfit summed up her bargain-store existence.

Well, she’d remember where she came from when I dumped her back there. That would teach her to take the money and run next time. A hundred thousand dollars would have changed her sad little life.

“What’s the delay?” There wasn’t a reason to sound anything other than frustrated because we both knew what a travesty this was.

She crossed her legs, showing no signs of standing up. “We need to wait.”

“For what?” If she’d invited the kids to this abomination...

“The minister.”

“Problem solved. He’s in the other room.” I gestured for her to move. “Let’s go. You and that black dress. The dour color is a little much, don’t you think?”

“I mean the real minister.” She jumped down and stood in front of me, as if taunting me to take a swing at her.

Her grin set off a boiling rage inside me. A scalding heat that burned and destroyed all it touched.

“You didn’t really think I’d let you pick the person who married us, did you? You’re a known liar. Other people might not get that you can’t be trusted, but I do.”

I didn’t say anything. Couldn’t. The urge to strike her overwhelmed every other thought. The vision in my head of her bloody and gasping on the floor excited me more than anything had in a long time.

She brushed her hand over my jacket lapel, like she might with a real fiancé. “I checked out the so-called minister you picked. It took two calls to find out he was going away this week.” She nodded in the direction of the closed door to the rest of the house. “I checked earlier and saw the guy sweating all over the couch out there. Not sure who he is but I hope you paid him well for his time.”

“We came out today for you to make some ridiculous point? I’m a busy man, Addison.”

“We’re getting married today as planned.” She had the audacity to smile at me. “I had to rip up your prenup and make you sign mine before the ceremony could start.”

I saw the papers on the edge of the bathroom counter. That line about the marriage date had boomeranged on me. If we gotmarried my only out would be her death. Now I had another reason to end her.

“Elias watched you sign.” She sighed. “Calling the whole thing off now, without a good reason, would not work out for you. Face it. Your strategy backfired.”

The cheap bitch winked. It took all of my control not to lunge.

She wouldn’t shut up. “Before you try to grab the document and rip it up then rant about how Elias works for you, ask yourself if he’d risk lying in court for you. And, of course, I already took a photo of your signature and sent it to a trusted source.”

Anger swept through me again, invading every cell, shifting and shaking through the foundations I’d built and shored up for decades. The praise, the devotion, every minute of standing in the spotlight and repeating my heartbreaking life story, crashed in on me.

“I’m going to kill you.” It was a fucking promise.

“Yeah, that must be a hard habit for you to break. You disagree with someone then murder them.” She shrugged. “There are other ways to handle conflict, you know.”

I came within an inch of throwing her on the ground. The possible explanations ran through my head. She fell. She tripped. I could sell any of them to the men in the other room.

She didn’t seem to realize she’d waded into peril because she wouldn’t stop gloating. “You won’t kill me because then everyone will know you also killedthem. Zach. Your beloved family. The people who cared about you and never saw it coming.”

“I’ll come up with a way to get out of this.” I always did. Nothing could touch me.

“You won’t because you can’t handle having the fucked-up layers of your life peeled back and your rotten core exposed.” Thedoorbell rang but she ignored it and stayed in the bathroom. “All you have to do to make me happy is lose everything. Your family. Your reputation. Most of your money. Your freedom. The good news is we’re almost there.”

The rumble of conversation in the family room reached the bathroom. Someone entered the house. Someone who might actually bind me to this bitch.

“You’re going to mess up one day soon.”

She shook her head. “I’m actually not.”

Her self-confidence pissed me off as much as the grating sound of her voice. Killing her would be a relief. Just like Dad. She acted like him. Two people who had a sarcastic comeback ready to fire at all times.

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