B00BR2BOUU EBOK (22 page)

“Don’t touch me.” I looked at
Bryce, and the colour had completely drained from his face. “I don’t
understand, Rick. Why would you lie? Why lie knowing I would leave to be with
Bryce? Especially after I confessed to kissing him, I don’t fucking get it.” I
started to cry, there was no way of stopping it now. “Why did you lie, Rick?
You broke my heart. I don’t understand why you would do that.” It dawned on me
his intention was to trick me. He hadn’t been with someone else, instead I was
the one who has now cheated on him, completely cheated, not just a kiss and
some touching.
What has he done? What have I done?
I screamed at him,
“Why? Why would you do that? Why would you trick me?” He put his hands up as if
to say calm down, but I didn’t want to calm down. I wanted to know why I was
standing in this room, being told by my husband he had tricked me into cheating
on him. It was ludicrous.

“Okay, I lied for two reasons,
Lex. One, because deep down I felt you needed to go off and get this fling—or
whatever you want to call it with Bryce—off your chest, and two, because he
offered me five million dollars to let you spend a week with him.” I blinked
and shook my head.
Surely I didn’t just hear that right.
I turned to
Bryce, and the look of complete panic he met me with confirmed what Rick had
just said. He started to walk toward me, but I put my hand up to indicate that he
should stop.

I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t
breathe. My head was throbbing, and my chest was aching. I’m fairly sure at
that very moment my heart had broken in two, and the unbearable pain I felt
from it breaking surged right through me, paralysing my body. I tried to talk
but I only gasped. The voice that had been inside only moments ago had
abandoned me. I closed my eyes and turned around, willing myself to find that
voice again and uncover what strength I had left in me, if any at all.
They
set me up, both of them. The only two men I have ever loved conspired and
schemed so that they both could get what they wanted. I was a pawn, a play
thing. I’m a whore, a fucking whore.

I turned back to face them and
directed my first question and assault at Bryce. Just looking at him was
excruciating. I knew he was the type of man who got what he wanted, but to pay
money to get me? Surely, this was not true. I needed to hear him tell me it
wasn’t true.

“You paid to have a week with
me?”
Please say no.

He looked miserable but still
kept calm. “Yes, Alexis.”
Oh God.

“You paid to have a week with
me, like I’m some whore?”

He shook his head and walked
over to me, placing his hands on my shoulders. My face was soaked, and the hurt
I was now filled with was immense.

“No Hunny, it wasn’t like
that. I would never treat you like a whore.” I knocked his arms away from me.

“But you did Bryce. You did
the moment you offered my husband five fucking million dollars to sleep with
me. Did you know he never cheated on me?”
Please say no. I don’t think I can
remain conscious if the answer is yes.

“No, Alexis, definitely not,
I promise you. Claire had told Lucy they were in love, but she had done the right
thing by breaking it off because he had kids. We believed her, I can’t fucking
believe we trusted her.”

“You believed the stupid
bitch because you wanted to and that gave you the ultimate weapon to seal your
deal and pay for my services.”

“Alexis, stop referring to
yourself as a whore.” He was now getting angry at me.
How dare he.
“Alexis,
it’s not about the money, it never was. I would give it all up just to be with
you. If the week we just shared proved anything, it had to have proved that.”

 “The week we just shared
Bryce, was based on a lie. A big, fat, disgusting lie.” I was about to lose
control. I felt hot and slightly dizzy, so composed myself before I walked away
from him and closer to Rick.

“And you, you accepted his
five million dollars?”

“It wasn’t about that, Lexi.”

Bryce interrupted. “Then why
ring me yesterday asking when it was going to be transferred?”
Transferred?
He has the five million dollars in his bank account already? I can’t believe
this, this is not real.

“I accepted it because you,
you arrogant fuck, deserved to be five million dollars poorer. It was going to
be the icing on the cake when after one measly week she found out about your
deal and then left you for being such an obnoxious son of a bitch.”

I’m not hearing this. I have
to get out of here.
I couldn’t stay
in this room with the two of them any longer.

“I can’t do this, I can’t be
here.” I went to turn and leave but I had no bearing on which direction I
needed to go. I think I did an entire 360 degree turn and still couldn’t figure
out which way to leave.

“Alexis, come home, and we’ll
talk it out, just the two of us.”
Come home?
I composed myself and my
sense of direction and looked him in the eyes.

“Rick, you may not have
cheated, but you lied and tricked me, you tricked me into sleeping with another
man so that you could cash in. You whored me out for five million dollars. I
hope it was worth it. I suggest you spend it wisely.” I walked over to the
coffee table, picked up my bag and headed for the door. Bryce tried to stop me.

“Don’t leave me, you promised
you’d never leave me. I told you that I would do anything in my power.”

Tears were flooding my eyes,
and I sobbed uncontrollably as I stood in front of him. When I woke up this
morning with the knowledge I would get angry, confused, hurt and emotionally
fucked, I never once thought it was going to be by the hand of Bryce.

“You propositioned my husband
with money, Bryce, and you bought me. I’m not for sale, I never was. If power
to you is based on what you can buy then I want no part of it, or you. You
promised you’d never hurt me, and you have, more than you’ll ever know. You
have ruined everything.” I pushed past him and slammed the door behind me.

CHAPTER
SIXTEEN

Rick and Bryce.

Both of them watched in
disappointment as Alexis left the room. As soon as the door slammed behind her,
Rick turned to Bryce. “I hope you’re fucking happy with yourself, Bryce Clark
‘the billionaire homewrecker’. So, did you enjoy your week of fucking my wife?”

Bryce wanted to pick the
annoying prick up and toss him out of his office, but if he did, it would give
Rick the chance to catch up to Alexis, and that was the last thing he wanted.

“Yes, Rick, I did and we did
a lot of it. Obviously you are not adequate in that area.”

Rick took a few steps closer
to Bryce, ready to knock his head off, but instead he stopped and mockingly
laughed.

“You have no fucking idea,
Bryce. She is going to hate you for what you’ve done. You have forced her to
sleep with you and be unfaithful. Alexis will never forgive you for that.”

“I have not forced her to do
anything. You were the one who gave her up. You took her for granted and
decided five million dollars was a more attractive offer. I reckon you would
have accepted a hell of a lot less, too.” Bryce noticed what he thought was a
slight twinge of hesitation on Rick’s face. “Yeah, I thought as much. You’re a
shallow man Rick, and at the end of the day, you were the one who chose the
money over her, and she is going to hate you for that.”

Rick dragged his hands
through his hair in disbelief, and took another step closer to Bryce, now
within reach of planting his fists into his ‘pretty boy’ face.

“I can’t believe you, you’re
a fucking lunatic.” He shoved Bryce in the chest, but Bryce barely moved. “You
come into our lives like the cocky fuck that you are, throw yourself and your
money at Alexis, treat her like a prostitute and then blame me.”

Bryce flexed his hand into a
fist at the very mention of ‘Alexis’ and ‘prostitute’ in the same sentence. He
wanted nothing more than to break Rick’s filthy jaw for even suggesting such a
thing, but he wouldn’t touch Rick. As much as he hated him right then, he had
no intention of causing Alexis anymore pain, and breaking the jaw of the father
of her children would inevitably do that.

“I have not treated her like
a prostitute, and for you to even suggest that about her proves you don’t
deserve her. She wanted to be with me and still wants to be with me. You may
think that I am a lunatic, Rick, but you are the most senseless, naive dickhead
that I have ever come across.”

Rick looked at the ground
momentarily, and then he swung his fist right into Bryce’s jaw.

“You’re a fucking arsehole,
Bryce, and I hope you rot in hell.” Rick walked towards the door. Bryce rubbed
his jaw, then casually walked back to his desk and took a seat, tasting the
blood that now coated his tongue. He kept his calm, even though he wanted
nothing more than to lay into the selfish prick.

“Tell me, Rick. Do you think
that Alexis would ever have come to me if what we have is just a ‘fling’? If
you do, then you obviously don’t know her very well.” Rick was still shocked
that Bryce hadn’t swung back.
He looks like he could hold his own in a
fight, but still, he didn’t even flinch.
Rick was even more pissed as to
Bryce’s blatant disregard of his own accountability, and gall that he would
even suggest he knows Alexis better than him. Bryce continued his smooth,
controlled tone. “What Alexis and I have, Rick, is unbreakable. Yes, she is
shocked, hurt and angry, but when she has had time to come to terms with
everything we will be together once and for all. I’m sorry that this has
happened to your family as a whole, really I am, but I’m not sorry I have
fallen in love with her, and her in love with me. She is the best thing that
has ever happened to me, and I’m not about to let her go.”

“I do know
MY
wife, you fuck. I have known her for seventeen years. We have shared half our
fucking lives together, and we share children. You can’t compete with that, and
if you do try to, you will lose. You’ve had your fun, now go back to your
billions of dollars and leave us the fuck alone.” Rick turned and reached for
the door.

“This is not a game to me
Rick, there is no win or lose, there is no competition. Yes, you share a past
and children, but you no longer share her love. I now have Alexis’ heart and
you don’t. You may have held it once, but you gave it up for money. I am here
to stay, whether you like it or not. I’m not going anywhere, and I am certainly
not letting her go anywhere either.”

Rick never turned back as he
opened the door, and before slamming it shut behind him, said. “We’ll see.”

Bryce

I watched the self-righteous son of a bitch leave the room.
“Fuck.”
How the fuck did that happen?
I ran my hands through my hair.
What
have I done? No, you did what you had to.
I knew she was going to be hurt
when she found out I paid Rick, and as much as it was going to kill me when I
saw the look of pain on her gorgeous face I was prepared to wear it, deal with
it, and do everything in my power to make up for it and take her hurt away.
Rick had cheated on her though, and I had no idea that was going to change, but
now it had changed, and he didn’t fucking cheat on her.
Again, how the fuck
did that happen? Something is not right.
I walked over to the mini bar,
still seeing Alexis’ traumatised face in my head.
I should go after her. I
could easily catch her in the Aston. No, it’s too dangerous.
I already felt
sick at the thought of her driving in the state she was in.
Fuck.

I opened the fridge door, took out the ice cubes, and
grabbed the napkin which was neatly folded on the buffet. I wrapped the ice
inside of it and placed it on my jaw. There was a slight sensation of pain as
the napkin pressed against my skin, but it was nothing compared to the pain I
felt when Alexis had walked out the door. I made my way over to my desk,
pressed speaker, and dialled Lucy’s number.

“Hey, how’s it all going, Bro? How’s Alexis?”

“She’s fucking gone.” A stab of pain pierced my chest as I
said it out aloud and realised it was real. I flexed my hand, which I often did
when I was losing my shit.

“What do you mean she’s gone?” Lucy sounded shocked.

 “Claire fucking lied to you. Rick never had an affair with
her. Those photos she gave you were only a few in a collection, a collection
that showed Rick turning her down. She set him up, and she set us up. How the
fuck did that happen?” I could feel the onset of a major headache, so I put my
fingers to the bridge of my nose.

“Bryce, settle down. Where is Alexis?”

“I think she’s gone to her parents. Rick came here this
morning and showed her the entire set of photos then told her I paid him. She
was so upset, Luce. Fuck, I screwed up.”

“Okay Bryce, firstly, I can guarantee you they had an
affair.  He transfers $2,000 into her account on the first day of the month,
every month, and has done so for the past five years. Its hush-money, it has to
be. Anyway, I know a liar when I see one, and she was not lying when she said
they had slept together. She was a little hesitant, and more than likely hiding
something, I did pick up on that, but she wasn’t lying. You’re right though, it
doesn’t add up. There must be more to it.”