Page 80 of The Wrong Fiancée

"Elika's colleagues adore her." I'd seen it firsthand, except for her former manager, who Dante had fired after finding out how he'd gone along with Felicity instead of supporting his employee.

"Dean, I had nothing to do with that."

If I didn't know better, I'd believe her. I was a moron…used to be one, at least to have proposed to this chameleon. It didn't speak well of my powers of perception.

"Right." I shook my head, amused by her nerve. "You know no one believes you, right? There's a reason why no other hotel or resort will let you stay there. You fucked with Elika, you fucked with Archer, you fucked with Dante. What did you expect would happen?"

Felicity's mask cracked, her frustration showed. "My father has influence here. You don't want to make an enemy of us."

Itook another slow sip of my cold brew, savoring the way she squirmed as the reality of the situation sank in. "Your father has influence—sure. That’s the only reason the cops haven’t arrested you and Ginny for framing Elika," I said, my tone calm but pointed. "But you know as well as I do how extensive the reach of Archer Arts & Antiquities is. If you’re having issues with Archer, you should take it up with Damian. I’m on sabbatical for a few months. Honestly, I have no idea what the fuck he’s up to."

This wasn't true. Damian had told me what he'd do and how. He'd been livid. "She did what? Are you kidding me? She had her arrested? Fuck this. I don't want to work with snakes like her."

For once, Emilia, his wife, who was a sweetheart, agreed that Damian should do whatever he could to ruin Felicity. Elsa had talked to Emilia about Elika, and they'd decided they liked her for me—which was good news because that meant they'd do whatever they could to convince Elika to forgive my sorry ass.

"Elsa is really invested in us being together. Your father, too." Elika was surprised at how much my sister-in-law liked her.

"My whole family, baby."

"But they haven't even met me?" Elika protested.

"Dad's fallen in love with you. Which is no surprise since I'm madly in love with you. He's asked everyone to help me win you."

"Your family is nothing like I imagined."

"Yeah, we're all whack jobs."

Her eyes narrowed. "Why is Damian doing this?"

"Like I said, he didn't like that Elika was arrested because of you."

"When didshebecome so important to all of you?" Felicity cried out. Her outburst drew the attention of some of the patrons.

I leaned back in my chair, feeling the warmth of the sun on my shoulders. "You and Ginny tried to ruin her, Felicity. You wanted to punish her for something that was never her fault. And now you're pissed because it's backfiring?"

I could see the anger bubbling under the surface, the way her grip tightened around the handle of her mug. She wasn't used tothis—losing, not with me, not with anyone. I didn't care. I wasn't here to make her feel better.

"She stole you from me." There were tears in Felicity's eyes. Just a few weeks ago, I'd have done anything to stop that, now it was like whatever I felt for her had shut down. Her getting Elika arrested meant we couldn't even be civil to each other.

"No, Fee. She didn't. Even if Elika didn't exist, you and I were not going to happen."

"Why?" she demanded. "We were…so good together."

"I didn't know you very well. I rushed the engagement. I'm sorry about that. Seeing you here in Kauai made me realize that you and I are not a good fit."

"You're an asshole, Dean."

I shrugged. "You should go back to New York," I instructed. "Stay away from Archer Arts & Antiquities. Stay away from my family. And yes, that includes Elika now."

Her face hardened, the polite smile long gone. "That bitch," she spat, her voice filled with venom. "You're choosing her? Over me? After everything we had?"

I leaned forward, locking eyes with her. "There's no choice here. You and I are not together. She and I are."

Felicity's jaw clenched, and for a second, I thought she might throw her coffee at me. But instead, she stood, grabbing her designer purse with a sharp jerk.

"You're going to regret this, your whole family is," she hissed, her voice full of rage. "You're going to regret throwing me away for her."

I shrugged, watching as she stood up and tried to gather whatever dignity she had left. "I doubt it."

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