Page 109 of Seduced By You

My blood ran cold, the tips of my fingers and toes tingling. “What did you do, Fenella?” I whispered, moving toward her once more when I should probably move away. I kept waiting for fear to nail my feet to the floor, yet it never came. Strength flowed through me, courage. I wasn’t afraid of her. I wasn’t afraid of anyone or anything.

She reversed another few steps, stopping only when her back hit the kitchen counter.

“No one will want you, Leesa. You’re washed up. Useless. You’re nothing without your looks.”

Until the accident, a comment like that would’ve floored me. But in the last few days, something inside me had shifted. I’d spent so long worried that no one would take me seriously, that I’d never amount to anything outside of my looks. Yet my mind had lied to me all along. I had so much to give, starting with my modeling agency. But it wouldn’t end there. I had plans. Big plans. And none of them relied on what I looked like for success.

“You’re wrong. I pity you, Fenella. I have so much to look forward to, whereas you… all you have ahead is a life filled with bitterness and jealousy.”

“I don’t want your pity,” she spat. “At least I ruined your face. Benedict won’t be interested in you now. Not looking like that. My husband has many faults, and shallowness is one of his most prevalent.” She flashed her teeth. “It was so easy. So easy. One little cut. Not all the way, of course. See? I told you I wasn’t stupid. But enough that with every mile you traveled, the brake fluid would leak out until the reserves were empty. It’s a shame you didn’t smash into a wall, or plummet to the bottom of that mountain. But at least I got what I wanted. I got my husband back.”

Oh my God. She’d admitted it. And, fucking hell, there wasn’t a single witness to corroborate what she’d said. Goddammit. She was a wily cow. Even if I called the police, she’d deny it. I should have been smarter; I should’ve recorded our conversation.

“Attempted murder must be fifteen to life, Fenella.”

“But it’s your word against mine. And who is going to believe a washed-up, ugly, airheaded former model over Sir Darren Grange’s debutante daughter and wife of up-and-coming political heavyweight Benedict Oberon?”

“Me.”

We both snapped our gazes in the direction of the voice. My knees sagged. I grabbed the back of the nearest chair for support.

“Kadon.”

He stood in the doorway, his imposing figure filling the space. Every cell in my body relaxed. Despite his rejection, I still loved him. I’d always love him. We’d both said things we didn’t mean. And he’d come for me.

Hold on, Leesa.Just because he was here didn’t mean he’d changed his mind about us. In which case, whatwashe doing here? How did he get in? Had he heard it all, or only the last part?

Kadon held up his cell phone. “Well… me, and the police when I play them this recording.”

Fenella’s eyes darted between me and Kadon. She grabbed a knife from the wooden block to her right, brandishing it in the air. I gasped.

“Stay back. Don’t come any closer.”

“Fenella.” Kadon spoke softly, as though trying to calm a frightened puppy. “You’re in enough trouble already. Attempted assault with a deadly weapon will only lengthen your sentence.” He slipped the phone into the back pocket of his jeans and reached out his hands. “Put the knife down. Come on now. You don’t want to do this.”

She hesitated. Her fingers loosened around the hilt. The knife clattered to the floor, skittering across the tile. Fenella collapsed to her knees, violent sobs racking her slim frame.

Kadon looked at me. “Call the police.”

* * *

The gendarmerie led Fenella to the waiting police car in handcuffs. It began to drizzle again as the car drove away. My shoulders drooped, my neck spasming from holding myself stiff for so long. Kadon’s muscular frame appeared at my back. He kneaded the tight muscles, his thumbs digging into the separate knots. I groaned.

“I’m mad at you.”

“I’m mad at me, too.”

“How did you know she was here?”

“I didn’t.”

I pivoted, tipping back my head to meet his warm gaze. I searched his eyes for signs of disgust or rejection. Love shone back at me, clear and wonderful, and all Kadon. My beautiful, damaged, surfer-loving, billionaire beach-club owner.

“I came here to apologize, to get on my knees and beg you to forgive me for walking out on you, and to tell you what’s happened these last couple of days. It’s been alot.” He tucked my hair behind my ear, his fingertips lingering on the soft skin there. I shivered, my body already halfway to forgiveness.

More like three-quarters.

“The front door was ajar when I got here. I almost knocked, then I heard voices. I recognized Fenella’s. No idea what made me turn on the voice-recording app on my phone. I crept inside and hovered in the hallway, listening.” His lips twisted. “Fuck, the restraint it took not to burst in there when I heard the things she said to you.” He traced my bumpy scar with his thumb. I ducked my head.

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