Page 28 of Due Process
When I pulled back, I made a show of checking her out, lavishing her form like the goddess she was.
After a seductive spin and dramatic roll of her eyes, Stella sat down at our table, and I immediately followed, grasping her hand over the top, refusing to lose contactever again.
“I missed you, my wife,” I whispered, pushing a full champagne flute her way.
Stella went to take a sip when her gaze caught on the iridescent ring gleaming at the bottom. I helped fish the platinum band out with a spoon, and the waiter provided a cloth to buff it out.
When dry, I gently pushed the jewellery onto her stiff finger. My poor girl was so seized with shock from my amazing gift that she had turned into a robot.
“You deserve this, babe,” I said, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. “It’s one of a kind,special, just like you.”
Stella was so overcome with gratitude she was speechless, choosing to down the rest of her champagne in her enthusiasm.
“That’s just the beginning,” I said. “We have a whole night ahead of us, sweetheart. I can’t wait for you to see what I have planned. I’m excited for the finale,” I finished, out of breath and ecstatic at how our night had begun.
My beautiful wife’s lips stretched into a beaming smile, so wide it took up half her face. “So am I, honey.So am I.”
Chapter 16
STELLA
Felix parked at our special place—the mountain lookout with a clear view of the city skyline. That hidden spot always held a certain majesty. It was a shame it would now be tarnished.
The night was filled with bittersweet memory, which left the aftertaste of arsenic behind.
It was sad in a way, Felix saw what he wanted to see: a clueless wife besotted with her husband. It couldn’t have been further from the truth.
When he pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth, I had to cut off a growl.
As he tracked my frame in lust, I spun and made a show, flaunting what he would never have again.
And when he gifted that ring, that stupid fucking band that sat on my finger like a heavy weight of sin, I had to pull myself back from stabbing a fork into his eye.
My husband had pulled out all the stops. My favourite restaurant. Our special spot. Acting all loving, attentive, nurturing.
The pull was tempting. It would have been easy—so fucking easy—to give into the fantasy of a happy marriage, to pretend like he hadn’t committed all those atrocious acts against me.
Alas, I was not built for that type of sentimentality. Our marriage was a ruse, a sham that I was about to bring to light.
Felix squeezed my thigh in the passenger seat. “Come on, babe. I want to show you something.”
As he prepared a blanket, I sent a text message from my phone before joining him on the edge of the cliff.
He wrapped me up tightly and hugged me from behind, his chin resting on my shoulder as we stared out at the twinkling lights stretching far in the distance.
This used to feel warm. But now, it just feels cold… So blisteringly cold.How could he not feel that piercing chill?
“Do you remember my proposal?” he asked, tone nostalgic and filled with affection. “It was the best night of my life. My most cherished memory.”
A distant echo swept through me. It was one of my happiest moments too… until it became one of my most painful.
We had made love on the edge of the world—young, free and consumed in each other. Felix’s sweet words and sacred vows had filled me up that night.
“I’ve stolen your heart, sweetheart…”
“I’ve taken claim to your soul…”
“I’ll always protect them,cherish them.”
