The soreness wasn’t that bad anyway, just a slow throb deep in my thighs. Manageable.
After I ca out of the bathroom, Ashton was dressed.
Downstairs, I sat at the far end of the dining table, keeping my back straight and movents asured.
Across from , Ashton leaned on one elbow, watching .
‘You not eating?’ I asked without looking up. ‘Or are you planning to just stare at the whole ti?’
‘Not hungry.’ He added, ‘Slow down. No one’s taking it from you.’
I abandoned the spoon, lifted the soup bowl, drank half, then put it down and pressed a hand to my stomach. ‘I’m full.’
‘You sure?’
‘Yeah.’
‘So you’ve got your strength back, then?’
‘Of course—’
The words caught in my throat. I almost bit my tongue.
I looked up.
He smiled. ‘Good. Ti to pick up where we left off last night.’
‘I wasn’t aware it was a marathon.’ I shot to my feet. ‘I’m going to the studio.’
‘It’s your day off. And it’s nearly three.’
‘I don’t care. I’m going anyway.’
I spun around and bolted for the door.
I managed to make it to the shoe cabinet before he caught up with .
He grabbed around the waist and slung over his shoulder like a gym bag.
‘Forget the studio,’ he said, already climbing the stairs. ‘The bedroom’s closer.’
I had dinner in bed that night.
And breakfast in bed in the morning.
And lunch.
And...
He acted like he was trying to make up for lost ti in one long, uninterrupted session.
Every ti I opened my eyes, he was already awake, staring at like I was the main course.
I gave up on fighting by the second night.
I hadn’t left the room except to sit in the tub.
And he’d joined there, too.
On the fourth morning, salvation arrived.
Dominic Everett called.
Ashton looked murderous the second he answered.
I caught the words ‘breach’ and ‘clean it up’ before he hung up.
‘Sothing at the company,’ he said, grabbing his keys. ‘I’ll be back late. Wait for .’
‘Of course. Be safe.’
I smiled like a perfect wife and watched him go.
The second the door shut, I pulled out my phone and transferred a fat bonus to Dominic.
After a minute, my phone buzzed.
Dominic: [What’s this for?]
: [For your heroic dedication to duty. Keep up the good work. And definitely keep Ashton busy. Constant updates. Full reports. Don’t hold back.]
Another pause. Then:
Dominic: [Just doing my job. Thank you, Mrs Laurent.]
I sent him a grinning sticker with flushed cheeks and jazz hands.
My mood had never been better.
By early afternoon, I’d finally managed to get real sleep.
When I woke up, my limbs felt normal again, my spine had stopped aching, and my bladder wasn’t under siege.
I got dressed in under three minutes and slipped out of the house before Ashton could change his mind about coming back.
First stop: the studio.
Then straight to Yvaine.
She was my best bet.
If I could get her on board, she’d call Ashton, invent so ridiculous ergency, and demand I stay with her for a few nights.
***
Daniel sat beside near the front window, pretending to be interested in the sketches on my tablet.
He’d just brought back my luggage from Sunset City.
He’d packed it for after I left in a hurry with Ashton.
I hadn’t asked him to do it, exactly.
He’d offered. Probably thought it earned him points.
His gaze kept drifting over.
I ignored it.
Then his phone pinged.
He opened the ssage, glanced at it, and went still.
‘What’s wrong?’ I asked.
‘Nothing. I just need to use the loo.’ He got up and walked towards the back.
He ca back out a few minutes later.
‘Mirabelle, can I talk to you for a minute?’ he asked.
I leaned back in my seat and closed my tablet. ‘Go ahead.’
He hesitated before sitting down, then looked at like he was about to confess sothing painful.
‘What happened to you?’ I noticed his eyes were red-rimd, and his skin was damp like he’d just splashed his face. ‘Were you crying?’
‘No. I...’ He stared at the floor. ‘There’s sothing I’ve been hiding from you.’
‘Then spit it out.’
‘The na I gave you, Daniel Williams...’
‘Wasn’t your real na?’ I guessed.
‘It is. It’s just... Williams is my mother’s surna.’
‘Okay.’ I waited for him to go on.
‘I don’t use my dad’s surna. He’s Granger. Clive Granger. I’m his son.’
‘What?’
‘I’m serious,’ he said quickly. ‘I know it sounds crazy, but I’m not lying. I really am his kid.’
My brain tried to catch up.
I rembered the rumours.
Clive had a mistress once.
Louisa had threatened divorce, but then, nothing.
I thought the affair had ended years ago.
Apparently not.
I looked at Daniel again. Pale skin, downturned mouth, ssy curls.
Sothing clicked.
The shape of his face, his eyes.
I’d seen it before.
Rhys.
The resemblance was obvious now.
How the hell hadn’t I noticed it sooner?
I exhaled slowly, trying to stay level.
‘You knew I was engaged to Rhys,’ I said. ‘You still took a job here. Why?’
‘I didn’t an anything by it,’ he said quickly, then backtracked. ‘Okay, I did at first. But that’s over now. I swear.’
‘So what exactly was your plan at the start?’ I asked.
Daniel scratched his wrist, then dropped his hand into his lap.
‘I wanted to see what kind of woman Rhys was into. I hated him. I hated all of them. I didn’t even know you, but I figured if you were with him, you had to be just like the rest.’
‘And now?’
‘Now it’s different. You’ve been decent to . Treated like a human being. You’re nothing like that family.’
I stared at him.
‘You do realise the woman Rhys was into was Catherine, right?’
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