Page 37 of Coercion

I look up at the stranger’s voice. It’s one of the staff. A girl I don’t recognise. Not that I know any of them really.

“You have a guest downstairs.”

My heart leaps. A guest? Is it Preston, is he back?

No, stupid, he wouldn’t be a guest would he?

And he certainly wouldn’t send someone to get me. Unless he really was punishing me. Maybe that’s his plan, have me hauled down to some sort of basement where he can take his time exacting out his own form of justice.

I bite my lip, wincing. Maybe I’d take the pain now if it meant he’d stop ignoring me.

“Who is it?” I ask. My voice sounds so husky, like it’s forgotten how to work.

What if it’s Levi, what if he came here? Or worse, it’s Gunnar? Would they have the balls? Would Preston’s men even let them in? They’re in an alliance with my new husband, I doubt he’d turn them away.

“It’s Eleri Morelli.” She says.

My stomach drops. What the fuck? Nico’s wife?

I scramble to my feet, feeling my legs shake. I’m wearing another of Preston’s shirts. When I glance down I can see how wrinkled it is. Christ, I must look an absolute state.

“Tell her I’ll be a few minutes.” I say quickly, before racing to the bathroom. I haven’t brushed my teeth all day. I haven’t washed my face. My hair is all skewwhiff from how I was lying and it’s more frizzy than ever.

But as I sort myself out, I realise it’s Nico’s wife I’m keeping waiting. Will he see that as an insult? Will she? Maybe that will anger Preston even more.

I sprint down the stairs, almost skidding across the beautiful parquet floor in my haste. All I can think is how pissed my mother would be when someone kept her waiting. She had zero tolerance for tardiness. You’d think it was a crime worse than murder the way she acted.

When I get to the room she’s sat in, my heart is thumping so loudly and then it hits me that I don’t even know what to say to her. What I’d even talk about.

She stands up, running her eyes over me and I flush with shame.

She’s pristine, in a dress that clings to her body and highlights every gorgeous curve. Her hair is coiffed perfectly to one side, and though one half of her face is covered by a massive scar, she’s devastatingly beautiful all the same.

“Come sit down.” She says gently. Like this is her domain and not Preston’s house at all.

I gulp, taking small measured steps, and sink into the couch opposite. I’ve not actually been in this room beyond peering in. It’s too fancy. Too polished. Sitting here makes me realise how much of a state I really am. How close to a rabid animal I’ve become.

“I’ve ordered some tea. Is that okay or would you prefer something else to drink?” She says.

I shrug. I’ll drink whatever she does. It makes it easier.

She smiles again before nodding to the girl, who drops a curtsey like Eleri is actual royalty. But then again, I guess she is. She’s Nico’s wife. You piss her off and you have to face the full wrath of him.

I twist my hands, hoping that whatever this is, I don’t fuck it up, but I feel so wholly unprepared.

“Did Preston send you?” I whisper. I don’t know if I want her to say yes or not. If she does, at least it will put an end to this torture, but if she doesn’t, then what?

She frowns before shaking her head. “No. I meant to pop in earlier to see how you were after the wedding but some things came up.”

“What things?” I say before biting my lip, practically drawing blood, because I shouldn’t ask. It’s none of my business. I don’t want them to think I’m trying to rifle for information. I want them to like me for me, not see me as just another piece on the chessboard.

She shakes her head smiling. “Just business.” She says like it doesn’t matter. “Tell me, Ruby, how are you settling in?”

“Okay.”

“Preston has a beautiful house.” She says, looking around.

“He does.” I agree. It’s hard to deny that. It makes me wonder if he bought it like this or paid someone to decorate it. Or did he have someone before, a woman who made this home and now I’ve come in and usurped her space? Is that where he is now? In her arms, wishing he never married me?