Page 15 of Raw Deal

A knock on the penthouse door gave her something new to think about besides the sting of rejection. Nik must have sent someone on staff to come for her. He was done with her and wanted her gone. Now.

She hurried to the door and flung it open without asking for the knocker’s identity. Her eyes widened in surprise when she found her sister waiting on the other side.

“What are you doing here?” Chloe asked.

Kristina sighed before dragging her luggage across the threshold and shutting the door behind her. “Why aren’t you dressed? Everyone else is ready to go. We have a plane to catch.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “It’s Nik’s jet, so I’m sure it will wait for us.”

Kristina’s hands went to her hips. “I got a call from the concierge about an hour ago telling me the free ride is over and we’re taking a private plane home. Then he informed me that you’re coming with us. What gives? You just got married. Is your new husband tired of you already?”

The dam burst, and Chloe couldn’t hold the tears back. Pain ripped a hole through the center of her soul. She knew she shouldn’t have gone to bed with him. Just like that, he was under her skin again. All the hurt she had held in for the past six years came spilling out. She never cried in front of people, and her sister knew that for a fact. It was that bad. She couldn’t stop herself.

With an alarmed look on her face, Kristina rushed to her side. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay. I didn’t mean it about him getting tired of you. I was just being my snarky, lovable self.”

Pride had kept her from telling her sister or anyone else about her previous engagement to Nik or the subsequent breakup. She’d pretended it never happened, even after the birth of her baby. People assumed she had indulged in a one-night stand. Like mother. Like daughter. That was the word on the street back home.

“What did he do to you?” Kristina asked. “I’ll punch his lights out, if you want. He won’t even see it coming.”

Chloe shook her head and sank down on the couch. “It’s not his fault. He thinks I cheated on him six years ago when we were engaged. His mother set me up. She got one of his cousins to force a kiss on me, and she snapped a picture.”

“That bitch!”

Chloe smiled. It was nice to finally have someone take her side. Her tears dried up as she explained the entire story to her sister. Kristina sat next to her and wiped her damp face with a tissue.

“I should have known something was up when his mother insisted on throwing us an engagement party. She was not my biggest fan. From the start she made sure I knew she thought I was white trash, because I hadn’t been born with wealthy parents.”

Kristina shook her head with compressed lips. “Point me in her direction, and I will slap the taste right out of her mouth.”

Chloe appreciated the support, but she didn’t want her sister physically attacking Nik’s mother. The woman had to be in her seventies by now. Maybe she had mellowed with age. Maybe she was sorry for her part in destroying their relationship.

Chloe continued with her story. “The engagement party took place on their family estate, a sprawling mansion with about a hundred rooms set on ten acres of land. There are tennis courts, a swimming pool, and I think Nik said they even have a home theater that seats a hundred.”

“Sounds dreamy. But it’s not worth putting up with that vicious bitch. I hope you tore her a new one on your way out the door.”

Chloe shook her head. “I was too busy watching my life go up in smoke. Nik and I barely knew each other and had no business getting married in the first place. He swept me off my feet and proposed the month after we met.”

“Wow. He moves fast. No wonder I didn’t know anything about it.”

“I thought it was too soon. I asked him why the rush. He told me he always knew when something was right, and he always trusted his gut. I tried to put on the brakes. Being with him was a hypnotic drug. I went with whatever he wanted every single time.”

“That doesn’t sound like you.”

Chloe shrugged. “I trusted him. It’s too bad he didn’t trust me.”

Kristina gaped at her. “Are you saying he believed his mother that you kissed another guy without any real proof?”

“Not just that. She pushed a check for half a million into my hand seconds before he came down the hallway and caught me with it. I tried to tell him it was all her, but he cut me off. He tore the check into a hundred pieces. Then he told me to leave Vegas and never show my face here again.”

“What a jerk!” Kristina sprang to her feet. “Before we leave town, I’m going to have a talk with that pig. He doesn’t deserve you, and I want him to know it.”

Chloe stood so she could tackle her sister if Kristina tried to make good on her threat. “I don’t want you to do that. Please. This is all for the best. Trust me.”

“How can you say that? You married him.”

“It’s not a real marriage. I mean, it’s legal and will have to be annulled. Sure. But he only married me to get even with me for making him look bad. He just wanted to parade me in front of people and then dump me.”

Kristina’s jaw dropped. “That is... psychotic.”

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