Page 75 of Someone Like You

“I know that it was you behind all of this, Casimir!”

“I had nothing to do with this, sweetheart. It seems that your father and a few of these men have crossed up the wrong enemy, and it ain’t me, darlin’. If I were you, I would check with that lobbyist your father was having an affair with. Didn’t you tell me that he forced her to have an abortion?”

Bethany fumed as she bolted out of her seat. “This isn’t over, Casimir. You may not have done all of this, but I know that your hands aren’t clean in it either.”

“Oh, it’s over, Beth.”

“It’s not over until I say it’s over.”

“Is that what you think?” I asked as I slid a yellow envelope across the desk to her.

Bethany glanced down at the envelope and then back at me. “What’s this?”

“Open it.”

She lifted the envelope with trembling fingers and carefully opened it. When she removed the pictures, her tanned face turned pale, and her eyes widened. She looked back up at me and asked, “How could you?”

“I think that’s the question that I should be asking. After all, we were married when you started this little affair.”

She looked up at me.

I jutted my chin at the pictures and smirked. “Keep going.”

She flipped through the pictures and her face grew even paler as she realized how far back they went. Bethany had cheated on me the night before our wedding and the night of our wedding. The night of our wedding, she left our hotel room to have one final “goodbye drink” with her friends. She never met up with her friends but slipped me to have a rendezvous on another floor of our hotel room.

One of her friends, who was all too eager to try to slip in the room with me that night, was more than happy to provide pictures of Bethany and the man she’d been having an affair with. It was her way of proving why I should cheat on my “new wife.” I hadn’t gone for it, but I had texted the pictures to myself while I held the friend’s phone.

Although our marriage was arranged, we both agreed to be faithful and make our union work. We agreed to have sex only with each other.

“Those pictures of you on your knees in your wedding dress would be a very compelling story to share with the media about how America’s princess gets down.”

“Where did you get these?”

“That’s no longer relevant. I heard that you were in the business of negotiations now. So, let’s talk about prices.”

The fury in her eyes was real, and her lips thinned out, but she spoke no words.

“Leave. Giselle. Alone.”

“Is that what you’re asking in order for you not to share those pictures?"

“That’s it. I know that you’re planning to marry Senator Dennis Oaks. You can let the world know that you were cheating with him during your first marriage and his, destroy his career, or you can mind ya business and live a happy life with him. And remember, it doesn’t stop at just destroying his career. Don’t forget who he’s married to. There’s a penalty for that type of betrayal in their world, Beth. It’s your choice, really.”

“All this for her?”

I smirked. “One day, I hope you learn the meaning of true love, Beth. And I hope you find your happiness.”

She snatched the packet, turned around, and headed for the door.

“Oh, and Beth?”

She turned back and glared at me.

“I just want you to know that the same way your lawyer is holding on to that letter for you, my attorney and Giselle’s attorney are holding on to the original and copies of those pictures. We even have some audio and videos that accompany them.”

“You wouldn’t.”

I shrugged.

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