Page 206 of Hate Mates

A normal relationship was boring to someone of Kai’s stature, so, instead, he was testing how far he could push another man in his marriage. People with obscene amounts of money orchestrated elaborate charades for their amusement.

Stefan was hypnotized by Kai’s glamorous life, elevating him to God status. It gave Kai the upper hand, and Stefan believed every word that came out of his mouth, including his convictions that we couldn’t make it without his wealth.

But I wasn’t intimidated by Kai Cavendish’s money. Kai was no God; just an ordinary man corrupted by power and a god complex. He wanted to make everyone dance to his tune. After finalizing the divorce proceedings, he wasted no time flying us to the Philippines for an impromptu elopement in the morning and a minimoon at night.

Once more, it was worrisome how easily things came together where Kai’s plans were concerned. The kids were at a sleepaway camp this week, courtesy of the same man. Coincidentally, he had also connected Stefan with the editor of a travel magazine this week. Stefan flew to Africa to take safari photos the day we left. It was his dream job, and he couldn’t be more grateful to Kai for the introduction.

Stefan was blind to Kai’s manipulations. Kai intentionally threw Stefan a bone to keep his mind off his wife’s remarriage and our impending honeymoon at the beautiful beach resort in Boracay.

Stefan had often chided me for looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, but this time, the wool was over his eyes, not mine. I might have been cornered into agreeing to this deal, but for once, I wasn’t content with making peace with my fate.

I was pissed, and my number one target for my unvented anger was Kai Cavendish. Especially now that we were alone, standing face to face in the beautiful penthouse of the hotel where the deed was to be done.

He didn’t change out of the white, airy shirt and blue linen pants he wore to sign our marriage license. When I first saw him in his crisp shirt—sleeves rolled-up to expose his perfect, golden arms—I wondered for a moment whether he was the statue Michelangelo had meant to carve. It was easy to see why people bent to his will. It wasn’t just the physical beauty he possessed; he was something of an enigma, too. It was impossible to resist. The momentary lapse was quickly dismissed when Iremembered how he had manipulated me into this, and my rage came crashing back.

“We’ll only have the next few days without the kids,” he started. “If you want to yell at me, there won’t be a better time than now. I recommend getting it out of your system.”

He had predicted my ire and prepared for it. I didn’t want to disappoint him, but damn, he had taken away the satisfaction. Fighting with a man only had vindication when they participated. Yelling at someone who was composed was simply frustrating.

I scrapped my previous plan. This man knew everything about me. My fierce nature wouldn’t surprise him, but the lack of it would. An indifferent approach would hurt his ego more.

“Why would I yell at you?” I asked dismissively. “After all, you’ve paid me well above mymarket rateto be here.”

He hadn’t expected me to treat tonight like a transaction. For the first time, Kai seemed visibly taken aback.

Satisfaction cooled my blood. Finally, I had shaken his perfected poise just a fraction. He knew everything about me since he had investigated us, and I loved acting out of character to stupefy him.

With a contented hum, I moved toward the floor-to-ceiling window of the panoramic bedroom. His eyes tracked me as I looked out at the white sand beaches with my back to him.

“It won’t work.”

“What won’t work?” I asked innocently.

“You intentionally trying to push my buttons.” I sensed the fake amusement in his assessment. Kai wanted to remain in control and refused to believe I could flip the script on him.

“I wouldn’t dare to do such a thing,” I replied nonchalantly.

I heard the shuffle of his footsteps. A few moments later, he stood next to me with two glasses in hand. He had made a pit stop at the minibar, and by the looks of the generous pours, hefigured we could both use a large drink. He handed me a glass of wine. There was an amber-colored liquid in his cup.

The sun was setting, and the weak rays fell on his face through the window. My God. He had to be the most beautiful man on the planet. If only his inner beauty matched what was on the outside. Unfortunately, it didn’t. This cruel man had a black heart, breaking marriages and playing with people’s lives for his pleasure.

I turned my face away from him.

“Can we skip this part?” he asked, sounding equally impassive. “I prefer your anger to you icing me out.”

He drank the liquid in his glass in one sip while I nursed my drink. I realized he was masking his restlessness by mimicking my unemotional approach. In reality, Kai was on edge. It was written in his charismatic eyes, which carried the impatience of a man waiting to be paid what he was owed.

He had invested a lot of money and time into making this marriage happen. This night was his hard-won prize. He wanted to savor this moment while simultaneously get on with it. But my detached attitude was making his win seem like a loss.

The thought brought a smile to my face. It was Kai’s turn to be aggravated with something that was out of his hands.

“I have no anger to vent, Mr. Cavendish. Perhaps there’s something you want to discuss?”

I never knew I possessed the quality to act unaffected; it came with the added benefit of pissing Kai off. “Stop it, Amelie. You’re purposefully acting apathetic to get a rise out of me. It’ll be a mistake to start our marriage on the wrong foot.”

“I think that boat has already sailed. Don’t you?” I drank the wine and left the empty glass on the windowsill.

His veneer started shedding. “I’m giving your family the opportunity of a lifetime. Do you only plan on giving me grief in return?”

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