Page 65 of Bitter Heat

“Mrs. Roth!”

She flinched but didn’t stop.

“Mrs. Roth!”

The manager skidded into view. She averted her face, but that didn’t deter him.

“I’m so sorry, ma’am, for our treatment of you earlier. We had no idea Mr. Roth was married.”

He wouldn’t be much longer. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Is there any way I can make up for our mistake?”

“A car.”

“Of course. Immediately, Mrs. Roth.”

Chapter 12

Jasmine lay on the couch under her weighted blanket and watched the play of lights on the lake. She woke feeling like she was starting to get the flu. She avoided her phone as she forced herself to eat and then collapsed on the couch in the library where she had been for hours. While she slipped in and out of sleep, she tried to figure out what to tell her sisters. Maybe she should lie and say she hadn’t been able to meet with him at all… Or be honest and tell them to brace for the worst.

Whore. She buried her face in the pillow and drew her legs up to her chest as she curled into the fetal position. He was a master at making her feel worthless, and the fact that she had cried on his chest in Colorado made her sick. She had trusted him to comfort her while he just saw it as an opportunity to get off and make her feel cheap and sullied.

She didn’t write. She didn’t try to do anything. Keeping the doors to the library closed made her feel insulated and safe. The princess was locked in her castle, and she didn’t want anything to do with the outside world. She imagined Dad sitting at his desk. She could almost hear the pages turning as he read. She missed him so goddamn bad, she couldn’t stand it. He would know what to do. He would be able to handle Roth, but she and her sisters weren’t a match for him. Would he go for Lyle’s and Rami’s companies as well? Her head throbbed. She pulled the blankets over her head and drifted off again.

When she woke, the sun was setting. Time to dash her sisters’ hopes. Still lying on her side, she reached for her phone on the side table and turned it on. She would tell them the truth. They had to watch their backs. Roth would do whatever it took to annihilate them. She listened to the beeps of voicemails and texts before she glanced at the screen. The excessive messages under the sister group text got her attention. She read a few and leaped to her feet.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she chanted as she dialed Ariana.

“Where have you been?”

“Is she okay?” Jasmine asked, clutching the phone in a death grip.

“For the moment. She’s in premature labor. Lyle’s on his way back from Australia. I—”

She was only half listening as she raced out of the library and grabbed the keys to the Land Rover. There was no time to call Sunny for an escort.

“Kye is sick, so I’ve been home with the kids. Rami won’t be back for another two days. She’s at the hospital alone.”

“I’ll be there in forty minutes,” she said as she revved the engine. “If anything changes, let me know.”

She slammed her foot on the gas as she barreled down the gravel drive. Colette’s sky-high stress levels had sent her into premature labor. Dammit. She prayed under her breath as she made her way into the city. The traffic added twenty minutes to her commute. When she reached the hospital, it took a few minutes to locate her sister. Colette’s housekeeper and two assistants were standing outside her hospital room. She walked in and found Colette in bed with an oxygen mask over her mouth and an IV in her arm. Her sister’s blond hair was dark with sweat, and she was as white as the sheets. The moment Colette saw her, her eyes bulged, and she held up a hand. She rounded the bed and took it.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Your sister’s blood pressure needs to come down immediately,” the nurse said briskly. “She has preeclampsia, which can be fatal to the mother and child if we don’t monitor her.”

“Roth?” Colette asked behind her mask.

Jasmine ignored her and focused on the nurse. “What does she need?”

The nurse gave Colette a stern look. “To remain calm and relax.”

“Roth,” Colette said urgently.

“Where’s the father?” the nurse demanded.

“Out of the country. He should be here soon.”

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