Page 15 of Judgment Day

He narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips as he chewed. “I see,” he said, wiping the corners of his mouth with a napkin. “Well, give her my regards.”

“Absolutely.”

Mission accomplished. Everything was a process. A game of illusions. Seeds planted to be watered with the imagination. What kind of wife missed her husband’s first birthday party in years?

I’d created the first crack in our flawless façade. Now, when we announced our divorce, people could whisper,I saw it coming.Then she would truly be free.

The moment I let her go to Tatum’s wedding, I knew I’d probably never see her again. We were on a downward spiral to the inevitable. I just never expected to hate the way it felt.

Sadie watched me carefully as I stepped behind her. There were two pearl buttons at the nape of her neck, clasping her dress together, then a wide keyhole opening that closed again just above her ass.

“You look exquisite.”Tell me we’re not broken.

She moved to peer over her shoulder at me.

“No. Don’t turn around.”Tell me I’m wrong.

She turned her head back to face the crowd.

Good girl.

I moved close to her ear, letting my breath warm her skin. “Look at them and smile as if we’re discussing the prosciutto.”Let me try again.

My eyes scanned the guests. Women in evening gowns sipped champagne and shared whispers as they tried to discreetly glance at me and Sadie. Men in tailored suits gathered in small groups while they sipped whiskey and laughed too loud.

“Do you have any idea how many of these parties I’d wished I could do this? Walk up behind you and tell you how beautiful you are?” It wasn’t a line. I’d thought about it more times than I could count.

The column of her throat rippled as she swallowed. A beat of silence passed. She inhaled a deep breath. “Grey—” she began but stopped when Mrs. McTavish approached.

“Pardon the interruption, but the king is causing quite the commotion in the library.”

Sadie tensed against me.

Fuck.Back to the beginning.

“Thank you, Mrs. McTavish.”

Her gaze flickered between me and Sadie, but she said nothing. She’d worked for my family since I was an infant. She watched me fall in love with Sadie. She witnessed the way I crumbled when I realized Sadie had been taken. And she embraced the heartless demon who walked back through that door after spending five years in hell. She knew things about me that I probably didn’t even know about myself. I trusted her.

“I need to check on him,” Sadie said as if he were a child and she a concerned mother.

“Stay here with Mrs. McTavish. I’ll handle Winston.” He’d already taken every good and perfect thing about her and turned it into a shell of fear and brainwashed loyalty. I didn’t want her anywhere near him when he was normal. I damn sure didn’t want her near him when he was out of his mind.

Sadie steeled her spine, shifting into defensive mode and staring at me like I was a threat. “He doesn’t need to behandled,Grey. He just lost his son. He’s grieving. He needs to be comforted.”

I brushed her cheek with my fingertips. “My sweet Sadie, what has he done to you?”I’m not the bad guy here.Not where she was concerned, anyway.

She held my stare. “He gave me a kingdom and made me a queen.”

Her words were a punch to the gut. She couldn’t be serious.

“He made you a prisoner. He made us both prisoners.” I leaned down, dropping to her eye level. “He’s a monster. Tell me you see that.”

“I see a lot of things. I’m not the one blinded by a thirst for revenge.”

A thirst for revenge. There would be no need for revenge if he hadn’t stolen everything from me.

My hand fell. “You think I’m the villain in your story.” It was more a revelation than a question. That was why she said it was too late.

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