Page 23 of Bitter Confessions

Her voice was soft, so it wouldn’t startle or incite him. She waited a full minute, but he didn’t react.

“Roth?”

He stirred, rolling his shoulders, before he said in a gruff tone, “It doesn’t matter.”

“I think it does.”

“Maximus mixed enough truth and lies to make them sound like the same thing. There’s no point repeating it.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

The small gesture would have been overlooked by most, but for men like Roth and her father, who controlled their body movements so it wouldn’t give away their thoughts or emotions, it was significant. That simple action told her Roth was so rattled he wasn’t suppressing his tells.

“I have a right to know.”

“Maximus made a fool of me for the last time.” He sounded like he was talking to himself.

“Roth.”

He turned. She assumed the danger had passed, but if her father had been present, Roth would have killed him with his bare hands.

“Maximus said you realized how much you gave up, marrying a man with no pedigree. No matter how hard I worked, I would never get to where you wanted me to be.”

Her mouth sagged before she snapped, “Where I wanted you to be? I never had any expectations for you! You accomplished more in the first third of your life than most will in ten lifetimes—why do you think my dad resented you so much? You blitzed past people standing on generations of work. The night we met, I stuck my neck out because you deserved to be in that room. The strength of character it took to stand there and allow yourself to be humiliated and ridiculed to get to the next level floored me. I knew you were destined for great things, but I never imagined you’d accomplish what you have. You hold yourself to impossible standards and supersede all expectations. The commitment and sacrifice it takes, no one has a clue.”

“But you left me.”

Something about the way he said that made her stomach flip. She looked away. “I left because you didn’t love me, not because you weren’t good enough. You’re married to your career. That’s not out of the ordinary for driven men like you. That’s what it takes to make it to your level. I’m selfish. I wanted someone to put me first.” She restlessly spun her ring. “I would have been happy with you even if we’d struggled and worked two jobs. I would have cheered you on if you walked away from it all. I just wanted you, but you needed...” Her eyes flicked to their surroundings before she curled her hand into a fist, flinching when the diamond speared her palm. “Regardless of what happened between us, I was always proud of you. It didn’t surprise me to see your face on the news. Your talent for choosing the right investments still holds true. It’s ridiculous to think I would hold you to a standard I’d never meet. You’re exceptional, Roth. You always were. You shouldn’t let my dad or anyone else take that away from you.”

She didn’t understand the buzzing silence that greeted the end of her speech, or the aggression radiating from him. It seemed his tension had increased. What the hell?

“The things your father said played a part in my treatment of you this time around.”

His confession zipped through her so quickly she didn’t feel anything but a minor sting in the space where her heart used to be.

“It was easy to believe Maximus when you refused to speak to me. When the one and only time I lost my temper resulted in divorce papers. I didn’t understand where your head was or why you acted like I was worse than your father, a monster you would do anything to get away from.” He put his shoulders back, making his shirt gape to expose his chest because of his missing buttons. “I vowed that one day I would rival your family in wealth and influence. I would become so powerful that you couldn’t ignore me. I planned to be your worst nightmare.”

Jasmine tried to align her thoughts, but they skittered in every direction. Only one stuck out like a neon sign.

“So your mother was right. You married me to ruin me,” she whispered.

“I had plans for you,” he said without inflection. “Plans that are now moot.”

“Is that why you went after Hennessy & Co.?”

“I did that to destroy your father’s legacy.”

“But you married me to punish me?”

“Yes.”

CHAPTER 7

There was a strange roaring sound in her ears, as if she’d been shoved underwater. Her limbs went weightless, and her chest seized, but she didn’t fight the paralysis—she let it consume her.

He’d just confirmed her worst fear.

All the signs had been there—his anger and resentment, his takeover of Hennessy & Co., and his insistence that they marry for this charade. He’d wanted legal ties to... what, take her inheritance? That niggling worry that there was some vague clause in the prenup that would come back to haunt her returned full force. Everyone had warned her Roth had ulterior motives, but she’d arrogantly assumed she could handle him.

What the hell had she been thinking, sacrificing herself to save Hennessy & Co.? She cared nothing for society, so why had she felt responsible for upholding the family name? As Roth had pointed out countless times, she and her sisters weren’t close. Yet she hadn’t hesitated to throw herself onto the train tracks to save them from a problem they’d created. Who would willingly remarry an ex-husband she couldn’t trust, who’d never claimed to love her, and who had upended her life for his own selfish reasons? What the fuck was wrong with her?

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