Page 3 of Provocation
But the closet is still there.
In a move borne of habit, I glance over my shoulder to make sure there’s no one watching as I enter my old room. I can’t wait any longer. My movements are almost jerky as I kick off my heels and sprint across the room. I tear open the closet door the way I wanted to downstairs, but I shut it silently behind me, taking in the blackness all around me.
And I breathe.
I’m not sure how long I stand there in the dark, listening to nothing, staring into the black. I dig my toes into the thick pile of the carpet. I touch the dress I’m wearing, feeling the soft crushed velvet.
I want to scream and rail and tear at my hair.
But I don’t.
I can’t. It’s not allowed. I’d be heard, and, if I’m seen in disarray, they’llknow. But will John really have me carted back to The Heath when he’s just given me away to Marcus’ brother?
Maybe he’s done this so that I’ll be the Bandervilles’ problem now. Is it what they signed up for? There must have been rumors when I was taken abroad. What have they been told about me, what I did?
My stomach drops. What if Banderville senior orJoebecomes my guardian in John’s place? Can that happen? Is absolute power over one’s spouse still legal in these circumstances? And, if it is…with a second son I already know is so devoid of decency, what willthe othersdo to me?
And, even if the law was on my side, would it matter? John has the money and power to do what he likes. I already know the Chief of Police is in his pocket after Lu’s cousin found those two accident reports on my mom’s accident.
I was planning to fight John in a court to be free of him, but realize with sudden clarity that no judge would rule against him.
My breathing quickens again, and I find my back against the wall behind the hangers in my preferred spot. I slide down to the floor and wrap my arms around my knees, rocking back and forth a little.
And that’s where Shade finds me. The door opening suddenly has me curling away from the light, but he closes the door as soon as he’s inside with me.
‘Daisy?’
I let out a breath, so he knows where I am, but I don’t speak. I don’t want to.
He lets out what sounds like a huff of relief and a moment later I feel him at my side. He sits down next to me and finds my hand.
‘I didn’t know,’ he whispers. ‘I didn’t know. I promise you I didn’t.’
I believe him and something inside me relaxes minutely. He didn’t do this.
I squeeze his hand to let him know and his head brushes against mine.
‘We’ll figure this out,’ he says.
But I already figured it out. I made Envy viable. I made my Plan B a real option and I’ll be using it. Are things all that different than they were before dinner, really? I have a few months of leeway. I know that much now. There’s a timeframe to work within before I need to be gone. I didn’t have that an hour ago. In some ways, maybe I’m freer than I was before I came here tonight. If this marriage deal is in the works, I won’t be sent back to The Heath. I just need to stay ahead of John.
The wheels in my head are already turning. I need to make the best of this. Maybe I can convince John to let me finish the year at Richmond U before the wedding is supposed to happen. He doesn’t know I’m a senior, so he won’t besuspicious. Maybe I can even spin it that I want to be able to give my new husband my full attention.
Ugh.
‘Does Marcus know anything about what you were doing in the lab?’ I whisper.
‘Does he know about Envy, you mean?’ I hear Shade’s soft snort. ‘No. No chance. He was only there because of his dad. He’s not an academic in any sense of the word. He’s only doing it because his brother is next in line to take over the Bandervillebusinesses and he was told he needed something to do. Keeping him in the dark was simple.’
Shade lets out a long breath. ‘But he knows about your change of majors. He knows you got the assistant spot after he was fired. He hasn’t tattled yet. If he had, we’d know. But that makes me nervous. He’s waiting, which means he wants something.’
I nod in the dark. So long as Marcus doesn’t know about the drug, the rest doesn’t matter. I don’t have time to worry about that right now as well. If he’s kept his mouth shut, it’s for a reason and he’ll come to us with his demands.
‘How much time before Envy begins to make money?’ I ask.
‘As soon as you start making it.’
I nod in the dark. ‘Tomorrow. Take me to your lab as soon as possible.’
