Page 45 of Bittersweet Revenge

She nodded, extending her glass toward him. She looked resigned, which wasn’t really a look I expected.

“Sorry,” Caleb whispered so softly that I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right.

I looked up at him, but he was looking straight ahead. “Let’s sit down,” he added, letting go of my hand to rest his on the small of my back,directing me to a chair.

“Why don’t you let your beautiful fiancée sit beside me?” James beamed, already pulling out the chair closest to him.

Caleb tensed, his fingers digging in my back. “No, I think it’s better for me to sit beside you so we can discuss a few business points. I’m not sure Esmeralda would like to be caught in the middle of a business talk.” He pushed me toward the chair he'd pointed at and sat on the chair his father had pulled out, creating a buffer between me and his father. Based on James’s pursed lips though, Caleb would have to pay for this.

The evening was just as painful as I knew it would be with James's eyes always drifting over me with the glint I hated. With every look Caleb tensed and his mother drank.I couldn’t believe the woman had any liver left, she was drinking so much.

Finally, after dessert I couldn’t do it anymore and faked a yawn. “I’m sorry, but it has been a busy day of studying. I had quite a lot to make up for.”

“Of course,” Caleb stood up, extending his hand to me. “Let me walk you back.”

“That’s what happens when we run away like a petulant child,” Jacklyn snorted into her glass.

“That’s enough!” James bellowed. Slamming his fist on the table, he caused his crystal wine glass to fall on the floor and shatter into a hundred pieces.

“What?” She threw him a matching glare, her own glass still secured in her hand. “Are we going to pretend it didn’t happen? That she belongs?” She looked me in the eyes. “This girl doesn’t belong in this house, in our lives, in Stonewood.”

“She belongs more than you do, Jacklyn. Remember whereyoucame from. She has founder blood in her; you don’t. Just…just be careful.”

I hated that he was threatening her because of me. I didn’t want to be the reason for any fight between them.

“Please don’t. It’s okay. She is right to be upset. I did break the trust when I left. There is nothing she can say that I don't deserve.” Actually, I didn’t deserve any of it, but it didn't bother me. I really didn’t care what the senior Astors thought of me.

“You never broke my trust; you didn’t have it in the first place,” she cackled before taking a long swig of her drink. “I’m not an idiot driven by the Astor hormones for whom your genes seem to be kryptonite.”

“Mother–” Caleb sighed with weariness before turning toward me. “Let me walk you back.”

“Oh, and Caleb,” James interjected, “please make sure to come back right after. I will be waiting for you in my office. I need to talk to you.”

I winced at the barely veiled threat of his tone and couldn’t help but worry about Caleb, unsure what his father was going to do to him.

“Thank you for the meal,” I said to James with a small smile, hoping to pacify his anger toward Caleb.

He smiled at me, the threat in his eyes dimming slightly. “It was a true pleasure, Esmeralda dear. I’ll see you real soon.”

I nodded, hating the sound of that promise.

“I’m sorry,” I told Caleb as soon as we were out of earshot.

His steps faltered with surprise. “What are you apologizing for?”

For the parents you have, for the love you never got, for walking away and betraying you when I didn’t think you’d care, for crushing the little trust you managed to give me, for not showing you that you were worth fighting for… Take your pickI thought. But all I could do was shrug and say, “I don’t know.”

His face softened as if he could read all of this on mine. His grip on my hand relaxed as his thumb started to gently rub the side of my hand up and down without him realizing it.

“Don’t apologize. She was using you as an excuse to start a war. We never have family dinners. They always turn ugly. This is not on you.”

“And it shouldn’t be on you either,” I replied as we stopped in front of my room.

He gave me a sad smile. “Yeah, well, you understand better than anyone that sometimes life deals you a hand that is not what you would have picked for yourself.”

Without even thinking, I raised my free hand and cupped his cheek. I wasn’t sure why I attempted to show him this tenderness, this comfort. He hadn’t done anything to warrant it. Yet, I needed to comfort him more than I needed my next breath. And he accepted it, even if for just a few seconds. He leaned into my touch and closed his eyes. It barely lasted though. He caught himself almost immediately, then straightened up and let go of my hand as if I’d hurt him.

“Don’t, Esmeralda. Don’t…ever. Not again.” He turned around and walked away without another word.

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