Page 98 of Wed to the Devil

Soon after, our food arrives. Freshly made gnocchi reclining on beds of tomato sauce and topped off with generous shavings of parmesan cheese. We enjoy our lunch slowly, chatting away lightly between bites as if Dare never existed or mattered at all. By the end of our meal, I feel lighter somehow; my burden lifted somewhat by Olive's kind words and understanding smile.

The food is delightful, although I'm not very hungry. I’m more interested in my own thoughts than gnocchi. My phone buzzes in my purse. I make a face at Olive.

"Who the hell is texting me? You're the only one that I talk to."

Olive has a full mouth of pasta so she shrugs comically.

I pick it up and read the text message. Then my heart starts to pound. An icy shiver slides down my spine. The message just shows up asUNKNOWN. The same thing happened when an unknown number sent me photos as evidence that Dare and his friend Tristen tricked me into agreeing to this marriage.

My mouth goes dry. I open the text and my eyes go wide with horror.

My heart begins to race as I stare at the photos on my phone in disbelief. The photos are of Dare and I, in some car I don't recognize. The pictures are taken from an odd angle, making them seem extra seedy and illicit. There are several of me, looking extremely disheveled.

In one photo, I'm sitting on Dare's lap and kissing him, sticking my tongue down his throat and burying my hands in his hair. My brain seizes. When did Dare and I make out in a car?

Then I scroll to the next photo and gasp. It's a picture of me riding Dare's cock, my head tossed back, a shout leaving my lips.

My brain is clearly shorting out. I can't remember ever having sex with Dare in a car that looked like that. Wouldn't I remember a moment like that?

I'm so shocked that I don't even know how to feel. All I can do is stare at the photos in stunned silence while Olive looks on with concern etched into her features.

"Talia, what is this?" she asks gently, her voice full of worry.

I shake my head, my mouth opening. But I can't answer her question, because I don't understand what's happening. Before I can answer, my phone buzzes again, this time with a message from the same unknown number that sent me the photos. The message reads:

"I know your secret. If you don't want the whole world to find out, you'll do as I say. Instructions will follow in forty eight hours."

I choke on my bite of food as I gape at the pictures in disbelief. Then I look at the pictures more closely. My hair is longer and more unkempt than I keep it. My clothes are dowdy and wrinkled. My fingernails are not manicured.

My eyes widen. "Oh my god."

There is no doubt that this picture was taken by someone who had deliberately tried to make me look bad. But the photos don't show me and Dare...

These pictures were taken when I had sex with Dare's twin brother, Burn.

"Oh god!"

Olive puts her fork down and touches my hand.

"Tell me what is going on, Talia. Clearly you're having a visceral reaction to whatever is on your phone."

My fingers shake as I shove the phone towards her. Olive gasps and pulls the phone closer.

"Photos of you and Dare together?" She trails off, her eyes narrowing. "Why are they taken like they are from some hidden camera or something? And why would anybody even take them? You guys are married, for god's sake."

I shake my head. "That's not Dare."

"What?" she squeaks. She leans down, staring at the photos. "Oh! Oh shit! That's what you were wearing that night..." She stops, looking up at me. Then she lowers her voice to a whisper. "These are photos of you and Burn?"

I nod. "Look at the text that came along with the photos. It's some kind of blackmail."

"What? From who?" Olive demands.

"I don't know!" I cry, throwing my hands up. "I didn't do anything illegal. Maybe morally gray at best. But... the blackmailer must know that these photos could be shown to Remy. It seems clear to me that they know the fortune that is at risk here."

"What are you going to do?" Olive asks me.

"I wish I knew," I reply. I feel overwhelmed, not sure what to do or who is behind the text messages. Whoever it is has gone to great lengths to hurt me.

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