Page 4 of Bittersweet Revenge

My plan was working the wayI’d expected it to. I’d needed them to find me but… I looked at Caleb again as he typed away on his MacBook.

Why him?I sighed. There was no point asking him. He had always had a cold edge, but now it ran deeper than before, so much deeper, and I couldn’t help but think it was somehow caused by me.

Betrayal isn't something Caleb will take lightly,Archie had warned me before I’d left and I could see the Caleb in front of me now was not the Caleb I’d left behind. He was not even the Caleb from the beginning. He was a colder version, seemingly unaffected by me and I found that somehow scarier than his anger.

He didn’t speak a word to me when the plane landed. He just stood up and left me sitting there as if he couldn’t care less if I followed him down to the waiting car or not. The silence was oppressive; it felt so ominous, so final. On the ride to my father's house, he kept looking out of the window as if he was fascinated by the landscape. I was sure he’d seen it a million times.

“I gave you your freedom back,” I blurted when I couldn’t take it anymore.

Heturned slowly toward me, his face as expressionless as ever. “Did you?” He nodded. “Is this why you slept with me? To free me?” His words, even if said placidly, had a little bite in them.

I simply looked at him. Saying ‘yes’ would be a lie. It had served a purpose in the end, but at the time it was not the reason I’d done it, no matter how much I tried to convince myself to the contrary. I'd wanted to connect with Caleb at that level. I'd wanted to be with him. It was only after the fact, that I'd thought about using it to free him. It had been more than a gift to him. It had meant something to me, but I knew he wouldn’t listen to me – not yet, not now.

He nodded as if my silence gave him his answer. “Ah, it’s good to know that you were not just being a basic whore, but one with a purpose. I respect you a little more.”

I recoiled at the word. “Whore?” I repeated as if I’d misheard him.

He chuckled. “Well, you did give up your virginity awfully fast, Esmeralda. It took one fake date and your panties dropped, especially when you were supposedly in love with that Ken guy.”

“Do you mean Ben?”

“Ken, Ben, whatever.” He shrugged. “Even Aleksandra took two dates.”

I couldn’t help but gasp at the pain his assessment brought. He held my eyes a little longer to show me that my hurt didn’t affect him in the slightest.

“Then why come for me?” I asked, angry at the slight tremor in my voice.

“You’ve made a commitment. You need to honor it.”

“A commitment you don’t want,” I insisted.

“A commitment you want even less,”he replied with a smile. It was a horrible smile, a smile mirroring my father’s – cold, hateful, with a promise of pain that sent shivers down my spine.

He turned toward the window again and I looked at him with my mouth hanging open. It was his vengeance; he was ready to sacrifice his freedom to make me pay.

“You know what Confucius said about revenge, Caleb –‘Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves’.”

Caleb didn’t reply or even acknowledge my comment until we reached the house and the butler opened the car door. “You better start digging too, Esmeralda, because you started along this path. I’m just joining you forthe ride.”

“Mr. Forbes is expecting you in his office,” the butler announced formally. “Miss Esmeralda,” he bowed slightly toward me. “I trust you enjoyed your trip to Paris.”

I frowned with confusion.What trip to Paris?But I didn’t get a chance to ask what he was talking about as Caleb rested his hand on the small of my back and nudged me up the stairs.

“Paris?” I whispered as I looked around for Sophia’s friendly face, but she wasn’t here. Was she mad at me for escaping and leaving her behind?

“Ask your father,” Caleb replied through gritted teeth and I could tell he was not happy being here either.

Caleb knocked, which was so different from the air of defiance he’d had when we’d gotten engaged.

“Come in.”

Caleb pushed me into the room and I was surprised to see Archie there, leaning against the bookshelf. He looked so stoic, but I knew better now.

“Esmeralda…” My father trailed off and my name itself sounded like a threat; the man was skilled. He walked toward me slowly and once his back was to Archie, Archie let his mask slip for a second looking at me with both concern and puzzlement.

My vision of Archie was blocked by my father’s shoulder. “Did you really think you could run?”

Yes, I did, and you only caught me because I wanted you to,I thought, but looked down. I was scared he would see too much. He needed to think I had fallen into his trap.

---