Page 34 of A Linton Scandal

Observing Juliette, I couldn’t help the smile that came to my lips.

I’d expected her to wallow a little bit longer in shock, after all not many people could have gone through being kidnapped and nearly killed and walked it off. But apparently my wife was a lot stronger than I’d first assumed. Not only had she recovered but she’d even regained her temper.

It felt weird, seeing the ring on her finger. When I’d married my first wife, I’d given her my grandmother’s ring, which was expected. It was tradition for the eldest son to propose with grandmother’s ring, but it hadn’t felt right giving that ring to Juliette.

I’d sent Nao out to go to my parents’ house and bring one of the other rings my mother kept in the safe. The one I’d picked had belonged to my great-great grandmother, it featured a single black diamond surrounded by white diamonds, the metal was platinum and meteorite.

The ring had been made with a meteor that my great -great grandfather found when he was a kid.

The minute I saw it I knew it was the one. Seeing the ring on her, did something weird to me. The relationship between Juliette and I began and ended with the child she carried, but every time I looked at her I instantly thought of her as mine.

As if our relationship should be more than what it was. And having sex with her hadn’t helped, I felt even more that she belonged to me. Holding her hand, and being around her came as easy to me, as breathing. And for me that was different, some part of me knew I should keep my walls up in case she turned out like my former wife.

Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to believe for even a second that she’d be anything like her.

In fact, after seeing her with my son, I couldn’t help hoping that she could help him open up a bit. As his father I felt helpless every time Nelu avoided me, the mistakes of my inattention were thrown in my face every time the child therapist told me there hadn’t been any improvement.

Yet, just by being lost Juliette had been welcomed by him with open arms. While I did wish to protect her, having her close would do that. I also did it out of my desire to see my son to recover.

Looking away from her I continued thinking over the changes that were to come.

Welcome Home

Juliette

When we arrived at Mihai’s house, I was surprised at how simple it looked, and that was saying something since the neighborhood we’d entered was filled with luxury houses, his was white with a row of windows that lined the top.

As I got out of the car, I tried to press down the bubble of nervousness that kept rising at the idea of moving in. I knew I should have already been prepared for this moment but honestly with the speed of things happening around me. I could barely prepare myself for the next day, and with the threat to myself confirmed it was taking everything in me not to simply run away.

Over the long drive, I’d checked my messages to find I’d missed five from my mom and ten from both Sophie and Noah. Overwhelmed, I’d decided to text them later, one thing at a time.

“What do you think?” Mihai asked as he came around the car and stood beside me.

“I think it’s nice.” I wasn’t lying, the house was nice, but I couldn’t really judge considering we hadn’t entered yet.

He took my hand, surprising me. “Let’s go inside.”

As he dragged me along behind him, I stared at our joined hands. When had holding hands with this man become normal? And why was it comfortable to me?

I usually tried to keep from touching people, it wasn’t a conscious thing, but I had never been big on being touchy feely and yet, every time my hand was grabbed by Mihai I allowed it. I mulled over this, as we entered his house.

The minute I entered I could spot the difference between Mihai’s taste, and his parents’. He obviously didn’t believe in clutter. The hallway was completely empty. A single painting of a bright red camellia greeted us, the color stood out in sharp contrast to the white paint on the walls.

The sound of slippers filled the empty foyer as two people came around the corner. One was an older male in a black suit and the other was an older woman. They both greeted us with polite expressions. “Hello, Mr. Linton and Mrs. Linton.”

“Juliette, this is Mrs. Forton, she’s the housekeeper, and Mr. Simian, he is my butler.” Mihai explained. “If you need anything just ask them.”

I almost missed his explanation, as I’d been dealing with the surreal feeling of being called Mrs. Linton. As everyone looked at me I quickly spoke up. “Ah, yes. Thank you.”

They both smiled, Mrs. Forton stepped forward and said. “You’re welcome, the young master is in his room currently waiting for you to wish him a good night, Mr. Linton.”

Mihai’s expression stiffened; he gave a nod, and then gave me a measuring look. “Would you like to meet my son?”

Clueless as to why the mention of his son caused him to grow tense I nodded. “Sure.”

“Come with me.” As I followed him, I started to realize that I wasn’t going to have an easy time navigating his home. I would have to ask Mrs. Forton to show me around, to make sure I didn’t end up in another kid’s fun room.

Thinking about said kid, I wondered if that had been a nephew or cousin to the Linton’s who’d been staying over. While I was thinking over the child’s identity. Mihai stopped in front of a door that had a name plate in the shape of a dragon. Nelu had been written in stylized letters on it. Giving the door a slight knock, Mihai called out. “Nelu, I’m coming in.”

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