Page 3 of The Billionaire's Secret Wife
He slowly let go. “I understand how it is now.”
“Good,” she said, rubbing her arm. “Now if I can—”
“I’ve let you use me for far too long.”
She pulled up short. “Huh?”
“Because I liked you.” He swallowed a bitterness that threatened to suffocate him. “Good enough to fuck in private, but not good enough to be seen with in public? I get the message loud and clear.”
“What? No, that’s not it.” She took a step forward, her arm extending. “Justin—”
He pulled away, making sure they didn’t touch again. “Don’t even try. And don’t ever act like you know me.” The finality of what he was about to say burned his throat. “From now on, you’re dead to me.”
Then he spun and stalked away, blocking out Vanessa’s cry. He’d had enough of this emotional rollercoaster bullshit.
Chapter One
Present day
Vanessa let out a long breath as she and Felix walked out of the firm’s glitzy lobby to grab a latte from Starbucks. Her head throbbed, but she clenched her hands to avoid rubbing her temples. The client was guilty as hell, that was obvious, but she and other lawyers at the firm would spend endless billable hours to ensure a Desirable Outcome.
“You okay?” Felix lowered his voice. “You seemed really distracted in there.”
“I’m okay.” But she wasn’t. Her oldest brother Dane had texted her in the middle of the deposition: Parents are divorcing. And now the jerk wouldn’t answer her calls or texts.
“Miss Pryce!”
Vanessa stopped as two young girls ran toward her. Just like that the throbbing in her head started to dissipate, and she felt her mouth start to curl into a smile. They were clients from a previous case on which she’d worked pro bono. She turned to Felix. “Do you mind getting me a tall skinny latte? I’ll meet you back upstairs.”
He nodded and walked away, leaving her alone with the girls. “What are you two doing here?” she asked. “Does your dad know?”
The younger girl nodded. “Dad drove us. He was coming to downtown anyway.” She hugged Vanessa’s legs, her small hands sticky. “Dad’s so awesome.”
The older one, Suzy, added, “We wanted to see you and say thank you again.”
Vanessa grinned. She’d fought long and hard to get their no-good drug addict mom and her abusive boyfriend away from the kids. It hadn’t been easy to convince the court that the girls were better off with their father. The man was a gruff, blue-collar high school grad, while their mother had gone to community college and knew how to work the system.
“Aunt Sally said you didn’t get paid. Is that true? I brought some money.” The younger one reached into her pocket and pulled out a small change purse.
Vanessa put a hand over the girl’s. “I’ve already been paid, just to see you guys this happy.”
Their father rushed over and gathered the kids around him. “I’m so sorry they’re bothering you. I told them they weren’t going to be able to see you again, but they just wouldn’t listen,” he spoke fast, his face flushed.
“It’s all right. I was on a coffee break. It’s great to see them doing well.” When she’d first met them, they’d been skinny, dirty and wary. Now they clung to him, their gazes certain of his love.
He sniffed. “Couldn’t have done it without your help. Thank you.”
“I’m just glad everything worked out.”
“I don’t want to take up too much of your time. I know you’re a busy woman, helping people like me.” He turned to his daughters. “Hey, say thank you to Miss Pryce, real polite now, and then we can go have ice cream.”
The girls crowed, their faces flushed, then thanked her again in a loud chorus. Chuckling, the man started herding them across the street. Something warm and sweet unfurled inside Vanessa as she watched them laughing and joking around. She blinked away sudden moisture in her eyes. Now that, she thought, was a Just and Proper Outcome.
It sort of sucked that her paying clients rarely fit into the same category.
She started to turn away, then stopped when she saw her mother climbing out of her car. She was dressed as elegantly as usual. Nothing about her hinted that something as disastrous as divorce was about to impact her life.
“Mom!” Vanessa started marching toward her mother at a rapid pace.
