Page 204 of Hate Mates

When we left for different colleges, everyone suggested we break up. After all, long-distance relationships were destined to fail. But we were young and madly in love. There were doubts, sure, and in my book, there was no bigger humiliation than cheating. Then he reminded me that our love was so profound that cheating couldn’t exist. I held on to the reassurance and married him right after graduation, showing the naysayers the power of true love.

If I agreed to this preposterous scheme, we could no longer boast of our epic love story. We would be prostitutes who sold our love.

But if I disagreed, it would ruin my family’s future. We only had this one chance to turn our lives around.

It was perplexing. I should have had the moral high ground, yet it felt like I was in the wrong. If I refused to take one for the team, I would doom everyone to a life of mediocrity. The money would taunt us whenever something went awry. Every overdue bill, the kids’ doctor’s visits, problems at work—it would always come back to this missed opportunity, and eventually, Stefan would resent me for it.

Would he climb up the rooftop again and think about ending it?

With horror, it dawned on me that I had no choice but to accept the preposterous offer. Turning it down would cause more harm than accepting it.

FOUR

Kai

Amelie stormed into my living room, seething with the kind of indignation that came easily to highborn women. For the most part, she was humble and composed. But she had once been an heiress, and every so often, her pride flared up.

Like right now. Her first act wasn’t verbal. The greeting was her right hand connecting with the left side of my face. “You’re trying to buy me? What the hell!”

“And how are you today, Amelie?” I asked brightly, lightly tapping the cheek she had slapped. Was it masochistic to want her to do it again, just to feel her soft hand once more?

“I’m frigging fine,” she shouted, sounding anything but. Fury somehow enhanced her beauty.

Yes. Anger was one of Amelie’s natural attributes. Weirdly, so was optimism. Even when her family went bankrupt and fate messed up her perfect world, she brushed it off with,“As long as I have love, I don’t need anything else.”

Amelie craved tranquility, naturally she sought contentment in her new reality instead of lamenting over what could havebeen. Someone born to luxury shouldn’t be able to withstand a penniless life, yet here she was, immune to suffering.

Don’t get me wrong.

She wept and felt pain like the rest of us, but she bounced back before the tears dried. Life couldn’t take down someone so resilient to challenges.

It was the reason I approached Stefan and not her. Amelie knew how to handle disappointment and forced herself to be cheerful and optimistic. Stefan, on the other hand, sought what he didn’t have. Turmoil could only touch those who grieved the cruel hand dealt by fate.

At first, I didn’t understand how their relationship came to be. Then it dawned on me. Their relationship was based on what they lacked. Amelie couldn’t understand Stefan’s desire to escape a love-filled life, and he didn’t understand her nonchalance toward wealth.

They returned to their hometown to take care of three kids and Amelie acted like she had won the lottery. In her eyes, life was perfect as long as a home was loud and lively. Nothing could have swayed her… except for his dissatisfaction.

Stefan feared Amelie would miss her pampered life and leave him for a wealthy man. A woman of her caliber needed to be indulgenced. Before, they could fall back on her father’s cushy life. Without the safety net, he grew anxious.

Ironically, his anxiety fed her fear. He wanted to escape his modest life forhersake and now they were stuck in it together.

How could I not exploit it? It was poetic.

I had watched them countless times over the years, waiting and gathering information with immense patience. It had to be the right time and the desperation for a better life had to be just enough. The kind of money I was offering could govern lives and change their futures. It didn’t grant them divinity but it would elevate them to a godlike status.

The dinner was a test round to see how hard I had to push Stefan. It turned out, not very hard. They didn’t spend a lot of time discussing the matter and succumbed to my first offer. I received a phone call from Stefan—they were on board but Amelie wanted to speak with me alone. I knew it was a ploy to vent her anger.

“Would you like a drink?”

My question made her angrier. “Are you an utterly insane person?”

“Is that a no?”

She breathed fire out of her nostrils. “Why are you doing this?” she asked through clenched teeth. “Are all the women in Darster dead for you to pursue a married one?”

“I believe I have been forthright about my reasons. Those women wouldn’t be the right choice for me.”

She snorted.

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