Page 159 of Chandelier Sin
“Who have you been speaking with?”
“I don’t go anywhere, remember?”
He shook his head slowly. “Ben was my best man.”
With that, he turned and walked away, taking the seat beside Jewel.
My throat tightened as I tried to fathom how he could do this to me with such ease. His cruelty worsened over time.
He studied my left hand. “Where’s your engagement ring?”
I’d not worn the orange diamond for days—not wanting anything on me that reminded me of him.
“That ring proves to everyone you are mine.”
“Your actions prove it,” I seethed. “It’s not in what you give me.”
“This is how we honor Pendulum,” he said, his expression defiant.
A shadowy figure in the corner stepped out into view. The soft lighting shimmered off his salt and pepper hair.
My body froze as panic gripped my body, squeezing my heart, annihilating my breathing. The room faded into a hazy blur. Voices became muffled.
Lance Merrill had been in the corner the entire time. He’d not walked in with the others, which meant he’d hidden in the shadows like a predator, quietly observing my dread, watching his victim beneath the microscope of his sick mind.
He swaggered towards me, wielding a leather crop, reveling in this opportunity.
I pushed to my feet. “It can’t be you!”
“It most certainly is,” he said. “Flattered?”
My throat tightened and I was close to choking. “What did he offer you?”
“Why?”
“I’ll offer more.”
My scrambled thoughts cleared, and I remembered that before me stood a billionaire, and no amount of money would dissuade him.
He craved me, wanted me so badly that there would be no escape.
Aemon looked intrigued, like he was watching a victim’s struggle in a coliseum. Not me, his wife, who he was meant to protect.
I refused to let them have their way.
“If you touch me—”
“Sit!” yelled Lance.
Stunned, I sat back down on the bed, cringing at this impossible situation.
The lights dimmed, setting the scene of my agony. Every noise,every movement of the crowd became exaggerated as time slowed, dragging out this torture.
I’d kick him.
Bite.
Scratch.
