Page 188 of Hidden Ties

“I’ll clean the table and put the food away.”

“I’ll come help.”

She almost argued that she preferred to do it herself but decided it would be quicker to escape his company if she accepted his help.

The cleanup only took twenty minutes. Self-consciously, she was aware of him climbing the steps behind her after they finished.

“I’ll just grab a pair of shorts and something to wear tomorrow, if you don’t mind,” he said, following her into their bedroom.

She went to turn down the bed as Creed disappeared into his section of the bedroom. She folded the thicker part of the comforter at the bottom of the bed and was heading to her closet when she heard her cell phone ring.

No one called her except Tayla or Glory. Frightened something might have happened, she rushed back to the nightstand, where she had left her cell. Concerned, sheautomatically answered despite not recognizing the number. Tayla’s husband constantly had to switch providers for their cell phones, so the unknown caller could be her.

“Hello?” she rushed out. “Is everything all right?”

“No, you slut! Everything is not all fucking right!”

FORTY-FIVE

Livvy’s venomous voice was instantly recognizable. Sage didn’t even have to wonder how she had gotten her number. Livvy had texted her numerous times when she had worked under her at Hollingsworth.

“I’m not going to talk to you.” She pulled the phone from her ear but could still hear Livvy’s loud voice as she started to press the end key.

“You hang up on me, I’ll call your fucking sister and tell her what a fucking slut you are!” She had given her Glory’s number as her emergency contact.

Sage sat down on the bed and put the phone back to her ear. “If you use my contact number to harasses my sister, I’ll sue you for harassment.”

“I’ve lost my job, and I don’t have Kent. There is no way I’m going to let you have everything that is mine! Did you let yourself get pregnant? Is that why he married you?”

“Livvy, calm down—”

Sage jumped when the phone was taken from her.

“Livvy, if you try to contact Sage ever again, or her sister, or even come within five miles of her, I will make sure you regret it. Unless you’re willing to spend the generous severance moneyGarrett gave you to pay legal fees to defend yourself against embezzlement charges, I would delete Sage’s number.”

She might be unable to hear Livvy’s response to what Creed had said, but from his reaction, he wasn’t disturbed. In fact, he seemed bored.

He ended the call before he handed the phone back to her.

Then he picked up the clothes he must have laid on the bed and headed to the door. He wasn’t even going to bother apologizing for his ex-girlfriend calling to harass her on their wedding night? Maybe it wasn’t a traditional wedding night, per se, but he could at least ask if she was okay.

“How did she know we got married?”

“I don’t know. I told several people at work yesterday. I didn’t keep it a secret. One of her friends at work could have told her. I didn’t care if she knew or not, to tell you the truth.”

Her smoldering anger at his deception regarding Livvy flamed hot again.

“What’d you do, Creed? Flip a coin?” she asked sarcastically.

“Excuse me?”

“I heard you with her! You seemed much more comfortable having sex with her than me. What made you to decide to marry me instead of Livvy if you wanted to get married so badly?”

Creed tossed his clothes back onto the bottom of the bed while moving closer to her until they stood abreast of each other. “You really want to know?”

A chill radiated down her spine at the way he looked at her.

“Yes!” she yelled at him, pushing her fear aside.