Chapter 64
Chapter 64
“Adelaide
She was in my house. She had some nerve to show up here when I was not present to meet with my husband. Damon didn’t see it but when did men ever see it? For someone who was so attentive he could be so blind.
The woman wanted him. It was clear to see that. Even a blind man could see that she was after what was mine.
I wasn’t worried about Damon’s eyes straying. He was only interested in me. We were destined to find each other in this world. But her on the other hand-she was a viper in the grass.
I didn’t buy this nice girl act she was trying to portray. I knew a fake when I saw one. I had been surrounded by enough to know what they looked like and how they moved.
We sat on the empty porch sharing a bottle of my favorite red-Dom Bilió.
“How did you get into law?”
I sipped the wine watching her over the rim of the glass. Damon sat beside me, my hand firmly clutched in his on the table. We always held hands, we were affectionate that way. But I especially loved the way Angela’s eyes kept looking down at our hands. I could see the envy and bitterness swimming in those eyes of hers.
“I wanted to help people and I love a good fight,” the way she said it made it feel like there was a slight jab behind it. “I’m someone who doesn’t give up when she has her eyes set on something.”
“I bet you’re very successful in your field.” I hope she understood my implication. Damon was not in her field of expertise.
“I would like to think so.” I didn’t miss the little spark in her eyes. She thought she had one up on me and that annoyed me. “What about your career in film? I heard it started off quite dismally.”
This bitch …
“You could say that but with my latest project getting the acclaim it deserves I think it’s safe to say that I have honed in on my craft.”
“Oh baby, don’t be modest.” Damon squeezed my hand drawing all attention to him. “She’s a fantastic writer and an even better director. The ideas that come from this woman’s head are just insane. I’m in constant awe of her.”
“Thank you, my love.” Take that you husband stealing wench. “So how did you two meet? I don’t think Damon ever got around to explaining that to me.”
“It was quite funny actually.” Angela flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. It was then that I noticed the small clip sticking out at the back of her head. Was she wearing a wig?
“We met the day you stood him up at the hotel for your date night. The poor man was sitting all alone at the bar and since misery loves company I thought why not? From that day we just clicked. It was like instant friendship.” Her eyes moved to Damon in a lovey dovey type way.
I was going to murder her and my husband was going to have to help me hide the body. She was flirting with him in my face. Did she think that I was just going to sit back and take it like some kind of weakling? If so, then she had another thing coming.
“I see.” I took in a rage breath before releasing it. “And what about a partner? Are you single? Married? Dating?”
The sinile on her face sobered. “Oh, well… that’s kind of a sore subject for me. You see, I was in a long term abusive relationship with my ex. I only got the strength to leave last year. But before then I had been subject to his abuse and his
hatred.”
Some of the anger I had held toward her slowly evaporated. Well, this was a major turn of events.
“I’m so sorry.” My tone toward her even changed. “We don’t have to speak on it if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t mind,” the sad smile on her face gave her a less sinister face, more human-like. “I really did love him and things weren’t always bad. In fact, the first year of our marriage was great. We were happy and planning for the future. Then I graduated from law school and got the job at the firm I’m currently at now. The more successful I became at work the more resentful he got. He was a big tech guy and had a startup that tanked due to some errors he made. So for a time, I was the sole breadwinner.”
I sat and listened to her story intently. It eerily mirrored what my sister was currently going through. I had seen the pain. that Corinna was in, I could only imagine what Angela was feeling.
“It made him mad of course. He hated to be out-done by his wife and that’s when it started.” She smiled bitterly. “At first it was just yelling and screaming in my face. Then he moved to throwing and punching things-the wall, the door, and even the windows. Then eventually it was me. Punch after punch. I took it all blaming it on the stress he was feeling for his startup. I saved up about 100K for him to start his
business again. I had been planning on surprising him but what I didn’t know was he already knew about the account and had managed to drain it.”
After that I decided that enough was enough so I filed for divorce but he got mad and came after me. Had to get a restraining order after just so I could feel safe.”
My heart squeezed. She had been through hell and back and she was still alive. She was still standing and I had to commend her for that. Not everyone could walk out of a storm like that and still be able to stand.
“And where is the bastard now?” This time it was Damon who spoke. “Has he tried to reach out?”
This was classic Damon. When he saw injustice being done he sprang right into action. He didn’t waste any time at all. It didn’t matter if you were someone living on the street or the king of England. He cared for those in need of a helping hand.
“He’s long gone now. He hasn’t tried to reach out or anything like that. The last I heard he was in Alaska with his father.”
“If you ever need help, Angela, don’t hesitate, okay? I would be more than happy to step in.”
“Thank you, Damon. I knew from the moment I met you that we would get on swimmingly.” I didn’t miss the little glint in her eyes. It was subtle but it was there. She wanted Damon in ways that were beyond friendship.
“And how are you now?” I asked. “I’m sure none of this was easy on you.” Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.
She tore her gaze from my husband to meet my eyes. “It’s been hard but it’s been over a year now and I feel like I’m healing. I’d lost my faith in me but seeing people like Damon being so good and kind to their wife it gives me hope that there are good men out there.”
“Yeah.” I watched her carefully. I didn’t want to think the very worst of her but I couldn’t help it. The woman was trying to come onto my man and I had already lived a story like this once before. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”
The invite was impulsive but I didn’t want to make an enemy of her just yet.
“That would be lovely, thank you.”
I felt sorry for her and all that she had to endure to get to this point but if she ever tried to overstep the boundaries that were clearly there, then I was going to rage. No one touched my man least of all her.