Page 21 of Owned By a Billionaire

Chapter 5

“Aword,”Alicesaid,taking me by the arm—and not in a gentle manner.

Bristling at the way she handled me, I shrugged her off. Luckily, we were alone in the hallway, and wishing to avoid a scene, I cocked my head toward the door. “Why don’t we step outside and discuss what’s got you so worked up?”

She lifted her chin and pointed at the door.

Once we were outside, I asked, “You have a problem?”

She wobbled slightly, and I helped steady her by holding her arms. “I see that your determination for a stronger punch worked,” I quipped, reverting to a lighter tone to defuse the situation.

She pushed me away. “Don’t fucking touch me, whore.”

My eyes widened. Was this the same sweet Alice who’d been so accommodating during those awkward first days at Balliol?

I took a deep breath to stymie my rising anger. “Don’t call me that.”

The last thing I needed was a cat fight. I couldn’t afford to belittle myself by scratching and clawing with her like two overwrought teenagers fighting over a boy.

“I heard about you at that swingers’ party you attended with Helmut and how you let a married man fuck you. And now you’re trying to seduce Harry. I know your game. It’s disgusting. You’re the devil’s sister.”

I sucked back a breath, feeling like someone had just stabbed me in the gut.

Fucking Helmut.

“Does Harry know?” I didn’t know why I asked that, because all I could think about was everyone knowing I’d attended that debauched party.

“He does. He thought it was kind of kinky, but it’s fucking disgusting.”

“They were all consenting adults,” I said. “And besides, I did nothing. That’s just a vicious rumor. Helmut’s the one who deceived me. I thought I was just going to a party. I was led there under false pretenses.”

Words collided in my brain as I tried to assemble more explanations to wipe clean my sullied reputation. All the while, a part of me just wanted to run away from these horrid people whose only dark moments in life were being snubbed by someone of influence or being unable to find the right size in a must-have outfit.

Alice scoffed at my explanations, and instead of continuing to plead innocence, I went rigid with contempt. Pathetic, immature girl. “Besides,” I snapped, “I’m old enough to do as I please.”

“Does that also include fucking my fiancé?”

“Alice, for goodness’ sakes, get a grip. We were only just chatting. There was nothing untoward. I would never do that to you. You’ve been a friend to me.”

I touched her arm, and she shoved my hand away as though it was broken glass. “Not anymore. You disgust me.”

Despite Rey’s warning not to reveal Harry’s secret, I just snapped. “Then how are you going to handle being married to a man who likes other men?”

“Well, of course, Harry likes men. I mean…” Her brow creased. “In the same way I like women.”

“So you’re bisexual?” I asked.

Her face crumpled in shock and disgust, as though I’d offered her a plate of worms. This woman was far too puritanical for that hedonistic scene where pleasure and excess were as commonplace as gaining a college degree.

I stared into her eyes. “Harry is also attracted to men.”

Although we were dimly lit under a Victorian lamp on the cobbled path where we stood, I noticed the blood leave her face.

“What?” Alice shook her head. “No. You’re just starting these viscous rumors because you want him. I’ve seen how you look at him.”

“He’s been spotted on more than one occasion frequenting gay bars.”

She knitted her fingers. “Maybe he likes the music. I don’t know. He loves me. He told me he does.”

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