Page 20 of Daring Wicked Love (Wicked Dade #2)

“What happened?”

Despite the pressure building behind my eyes and threatening to blind me with a migraine, hearing Orla’s voice was like feeling a droplet of rain during a drought.

Tugging at the tie wound tightly around my neck, I tried to focus on the pixie standing barefoot rather than replaying every horrific moment of court.

The fact that I had to go back again was the cause of my heartburn.

I didn’t know why I was surprised that Maura and her lawyer had decided to pull another stunt, but putain, my ex-wife wasn’t quite finished making my life miserable.

It’s twisted how one woman thrived so much off my misery.

“Fred,” Orla said softly, her toes edging into the living room. “Are you okay?”

My teeth sank into the soft inner of my cheek, whatever it took to keep the usual venom spewing out of my mouth. “I’m fine.”

I loathed anyone seeing me weak and vulnerable — let alone my daughter’s fucking nanny.

The same nanny who ran rampant through my mind every day. The raw memory of her naked body was forever seared into my brain, torturing me every time I closed my eyes.

All I could think about was her perky firm breasts that would sit perfectly in my palms, my fingers circling her nipples until she begged for them to be sucked. The dips in her hips, the curves of her upper thighs around that divine cunt of hers.

Only in my dreams did she wrap her legs around my shoulders as I ran my tongue down her soaking cunt, savoring the taste of her on my lips.

God only knew how magnifique she’d taste.

I knew for a fact that one taste of her would ruin me forever.

Hell, just seeing her naked in my swimming pool had caused havoc in my mind.

She was so utterly perfect, a masterpiece that I never wanted to look away from.

Being that close to kissing her, to taking her for myself, was a game of Russian Roulette that I knew I’d never come out of alive.

One kiss with her and I’d be a goner.

But I knew I couldn’t do that to her.

Maura was my first love and look how that ended. She pretended to love me while fucking around behind my back and using me for my money. In return, my heart twisted itself into something dark and cold, no longer trusting anything that resembled love.

Love ruined everything. It clouded people’s judgment and took away their ability to think rationally until it was too late.

Orla was so young, so happy, and filled with ideas of love and joy, that the ugliness inside me would find a way to destroy her.

She needed to be with someone who could love her the way she deserved.

She deserved better than me.

“You’re clearly not fine.” Orla walked toward me with paint-speckled cheeks. “Talk to me.”

“The evidence that she supposedly had proving that I knew about Penelope from conception turned out to be nothing.” The anger burned back to life as I spoke. “There were a bunch of emails that she sent when she first found out she was pregnant.”

“But she was lying, right?”

I nodded stiffly. “The emails were to a random email address that she innocently claims she believed to be mine. She said my lack of response showed how little I wanted to be involved.”

“That’s awful. I can’t believe she would do that to you, and Pen.”

“Maura will only ever do what suits her. She’s been doing it since we were in university, I was just too young and focused on other things to notice.”

“Can I ask how long she hid Pen from you?”

“Two years. It was during our separation.” I cracked my neck from side to side. “After I discovered she had tried to fuck my friend Noah, I thought it best for us to go our separate ways. She didn’t fight it either, but little did I know, she was already four weeks pregnant at that point.”

“Holy hell, I am so sorry, Fred.” She moved closer, floral perfume beckoning me to close the gap. “What did the judge say when he saw the emails?”

“He told Maura that it was a weak attempt to make contact with Penelope’s biological father, and there was no evidence to prove her claims that I wished for an abortion.”

It was the one small victory I had in court.

The look on Maura’s face when the judge ridiculed her was worth sneaking a peek over Antonio’s shoulder.

The Botox and cheek fillers couldn’t hide the bright red hue staining her cheeks and the pinch of her lips as she crumpled pieces of paper between her fists.

The emails she had were a pile of absolute shit, one’s that I was certain were fakes. Something that Stefan confirmed for me when I left court. He found the chain of emails behind an encrypted file on Maura’s computer.

She made the whole fucking thing up.

The proof was sitting on my phone, ready to use against her when I saw fit. The perfect blackmail bait.

Let’s see how she liked the taste of her own medicine.

“So does that mean the judge ruled in your favor?” Orla asked.

Unfortunately, the small triumph about the emails was short-lived.

I ran my hand down my face. “She’s contesting paternity now.”

It wasn’t as if we hadn’t already done this. When I found out Maura had tried to sleep with Noah, the rest of Maura’s dirty little secrets came out.

I wasn’t a na?ve man, nor was I totally blind to my ex-wife’s flirty ways.

Perhaps it was partly my own fault. I was too focused on growing Dade Diamonds, too wrapped up in seeking justice for my maman, that I turned a blind eye to Maura flirting with every man she crossed paths with.

I told myself it was harmless, that flirting was just part of her nature.

Merde, it was one of the reasons I fell for her. She knew how to make any man feel like the center of her universe. She knew how to play men like the strings of a guitar, making us dance to her twisted tune.

Only for Noah telling me the truth did the lid fall off everything she was hiding.

During our fight she told me every man she screwed behind my back, every cock that filled her and every orgasm she had without me.

The real kick in the balls was that she was still fucking me too, screwing with my head and of course casting shadows of doubt on Penelope’s biological father.

But like I said, we did the test. I forced Maura into it three years ago when she surfaced with two-year-old Penelope on her hip.

“You can’t be serious.” Orla blinked in disbelief. “Have you looked at Pen? She is a miniature blonde version of you.”

Walking to the decanter sitting on the coffee table, I poured myself a hearty glass of scotch and knocked it back without tasting it.

The burn only added to the rage flaming within my chest.

“I’m guessing the court granted her the test?”

Refilling my glass, I sucked scotch through my teeth.

“The first paternity test was done under the supervision of Elliott, in the hospital where he worked at the time. Therefore, there is a ‘ conflict of interest’ , as if somehow Elliott would have tampered with the results and forged the paternity papers.”

Orla exhaled heavily. “Damn. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t like your ex-wife very much.”

Warmth seeped through my shirt. Tracking the source, my lungs tightened as Orla’s hand gently ran up and down the length of my arm.

When did she get that close?

Instinct told me to back the hell away from her, but with each stroke of her hand, the flames of the inferno raging devastation within me dimmed.

Watching her chest rise and fall, her hand slowly stopped on my bicep, and her fingers curled around the muscle.

She looked up at me from beneath her lashes, and I was suddenly transported back to the swimming pool.

Except this time, it wasn’t lust clouding those pretty grey eyes of hers, it was pity.

The heartiness of the scotch turned sour on my tongue.

She pitied me. She felt sorry for me. And fuck, I hated it.

“You know what you need?” she said with a timid smile that made my stomach churn. “You need a break.”

“Excuse me?”

“A break away from work. A break away from all the stuff with the court. Just a break, full stop.”

I clicked my tongue. “It’s not that simple, Orla.”

“A week away, or even a long weekend,” she continued. “Somewhere you can just shut your mind off and not have to worry about anything for a while. Just you and Pen.”

Just you and Pen, while you can…

“She’d love it. Spending time with you makes her so happy, just imagine how excited she would be for a mini-holiday. Oh, you could do it just before school starts!”

“Stop. I already told you it’s not that easy.”

She ignored me. “Plus, I think more importantly, it would do you the world of good. Help clear your mind. All this negativity, all this stress, it’s not good for you.”

“Orla,” I warned. “Let’s stop talking about this.”

“You need some joy in your life, Fred.”

“I didn’t ask for your advice,” I snapped.

“It’s only a suggestion. I am just trying to be your friend and help you.”

“Last time I checked, I paid you to look after my daughter, not for your friendship. ”

It was out of my mouth before I could stop it.

She stumbled back, her eyes widening as if my words had physically harmed her.

“Orla , I …”

She silenced me with a glare, her hands curling into tight fists that I knew she wanted to pummel me with — and I wished she did.

Watching her walk away in silence, not even dignifying me with a second glance, I swallowed the bitter taste of regret.

I just wanted her to stop looking at me like an injured fucking puppy that needed a loving home — because letting someone in like that, letting them see beneath the walls I spent so long building around myself, scared me too much to even consider it.