Page 170 of Sinclair Duet

Amber lifted her chin higher.

My gaze went to her neck as I imagined my fingers wrapping around her throat, squeezing as her face reddened...

Instead, I took a step back. “You and I are having our marriage annulled.”

“Providing the board with our marriage is your only chance to avoid the no-confidence vote. Don’t you see, it will save you.”

My nose wrinkled. “Why marry Darius?”

“To get your attention.”

“You’re fucking sick, Amber. I’m not worried about the no-confidence vote. You see, Timothy Evans is currently meeting with your mother.”

Amber laid her hand on my arm.

I pulled my arm away. “The no touching goes both ways.”

“My mom,” she said, “is innocent. She thinks we married and then had a fight.”

“You’re lying. Your mother was involved in the fucking fraud. Does the name Vallencia sound familiar?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I work with a lot of people.”

“It seems as if you’d recall the officiant at our wedding. That’s right, our wedding never happened. Your mother paid Vallencia off with cash and helped get him an extension on his visa.”

Amber shook her head. “None of that is true.”

My voice boomed, echoing through the living room. “It’s all fucking true.” I stopped and took a breath. “Your mother has served Sinclair Pharmaceuticals faithfully for many years. She is facing a choice. Either she resigns voluntarily as an honored member of our executive board, or I’ll take everything public. I’ll drag you and Gloria through the courts. Our marriage will not only be annulled based on the proof that our marriage was a fraud, but the once-respected name of Wilmott will be muddied. I’m sure the good senator would roll over in his fucking grave having the public learn you broke into homes and planted bugs so you could get off on Ella’s and my sex life.”

“That’s not why. Darius thought…” She shook her head. “Believe whatever you want.”

“Darius was the one who put you up to breaking into our homes?”

“Damien, think about this. Even if Mom’s off the board, the no-confidence vote will have to progress. I didn’t want you to find out about the marriage like this. I thought we could make it work. I wanted to help you.”

“You wanted to help yourself. Gloria wanted to tell the world her daughter married a Sinclair. No, notaSinclair. Me. Damien. We all know Darius isn’t the same catch.” I looked around. “Where is my brother?”

“Not here.”

A sinister smile curled my lips. “Did he leave you when he learned you’d played him? Or doesn’t he have the balls to leave. You left him, pledging to make our marriage work. No, you were doing his dirty work. What does he have on you?”

She looked down at her hands and back up. “I do want our marriage to work. And it can’t if you’re working with her. I agreed that finding incriminating evidence to take to the coalition would get her out of our lives.”

Amber’s focus brought my attention to the ring she was still wearing, the one Darius gave her. “She is Gabriella, and she is very much in my life.” I motioned between the two of us. “Our marriage isn’t happening. And if you wanted that, why are you still wearing his ring?”

She lifted her hand. “It’s beautiful. And I didn’tplayDarius. Ilikehim.”

“You like him.” I pressed my lips together and nodded. “Then let’s get our annulment and you two can live happily ever after.”

“He’s not…” She looked pleadingly toward me. “He needs to feel like he’s part of the family.”

“Screwing my legal wife isn’t close enough for him?”

Amber huffed. “Don’t you care about him? He’s your brother.”

“I do. I care that he leaves Dad and Mom alone. I care that he goes on with his own fucking life and agrees that his involvement in Sinclair Pharmaceuticals is over. If he wanted one big happy family, he wouldn’t have spent the last thirty-eight years trying to one-up me or catch me at something and fail at every fucking juncture.”

“That’s just what brothers do.”

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