When we got ho, I undressed and went for a shower. When I ca out, I realised my evening gown was missing.
I turned to Ashton and asked, ‘Where’s my dress?’
‘I got rid of it.’
‘Are you serious? Why would you do that? It wasn’t even mine.’
‘Exactly why I got rid of it,’ he replied, still frosty.
‘How am I supposed to return it now?’ I complained. ‘You threw it away. What do I give back to him?’
‘He can afford a dress.’
‘He didn’t ask for it back. I want to return it. I don’t want to keep anything from him,’ I said, shooting him a look. ‘And you went and binned it.’
‘I’ll have soone find an identical one tomorrow. They’ll have it delivered to him. You’re not to handle it yourself, and you’re not to see him. Understood?’
‘You’re jealous, aren’t you?’
‘Let’s just go to bed. It’s late.’ He pulled down to the bed with him.
‘Genevieve must’ve been bailed out by now, don’t you think?’ I thought out loud.
‘No idea,’ he said flatly, as if he couldn’t care less.
‘You don’t know, or you don’t want to know?’ I knew I shouldn’t talk about her, but I couldn’t help myself.
His answer was a kiss that stole all the oxygen from my brain, and made forget Genevieve ever existed.
But troubles wouldn’t go away just because you ignored them.
The next afternoon, I received another call from Rhys.
‘Hello,’ I answered, already frowning.
‘Was returning the dress your idea, or his?’
‘It was mine,’ I said, surprised Ashton had actually followed through.
‘Why?’
‘Because my husband doesn’t like accepting gifts from other n.’
Rhys sighed, then said, ‘You kept your end of the bargain by coming to the event with , so I should honour mine. I have the recording for you. Let’s have dinner tonight. I’ll fill you in on what I’ve found.’
‘You can tell over the phone.’
‘It’s not sothing I can explain quickly, and I have so things to show you. I’ll wait outside your studio tonight,’ he said, then hung up before I could refuse.
I cursed him.
My phone rang again.
‘I’m taking you sowhere tonight,’ Ashton said after I’d answered.
‘Where?’
‘Sowhere nice.’
‘I can’t tonight. I’ve already made plans.’
‘Another ti, then.’ I could hear the disappointnt in his voice.
‘Since when did you start planning spontaneous nights out?’ I asked. It wasn’t like him.
‘Naomi suggested it. She said with everything that’s been going on, we could all use a relaxed evening. Ryan’s coming, and Cassian too. But if you’re busy, it can wait.’
‘Tell you what, I’ll join you after I’m done. It might be late, though.’
‘That works. I’ll pick you up afterwards.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll make my own way.’
That evening after work, I reluctantly went to et Rhys.
‘Well? Are you going to tell what you found, or not?’ I asked as soon as I sat down.
Truth was, I knew Ashton’s resources and connections were far better than Rhys’s. If I asked him about Frank, he’d probably uncover more, and faster.
But until he was ready to be honest with about Genevieve, I didn’t want to bring it to him.
A marriage should be built on mutual trust, not one-sided openness.
‘Are you in that much of a hurry to leave?’ Rhys asked, looking hurt.
I ignored his expression. ‘If you’re not going to talk, I’m leaving.’
He picked up the nu. I stopped him. ‘Talk first. No ordering until you do, or I walk.’
Rhys gave in. ‘Fine.’
He handed a small flash drive. ‘This is the recording you heard before, but I had it cleaned up. The audio is clearer now. I’ve listened to it myself.’
‘And?’
‘Frank ntioned an address. I looked into it—it was a hotel. But when I called, they said he’d already checked out.’
‘Did they say where he went after?’
Rhys shook his head. ‘Client confidentiality. Even if they knew, they wouldn’t tell .’
I was disappointed. So he didn’t know where Frank was. What was the point of this eting, then?
‘But I did find out sothing else,’ Rhys added.
‘What?’
‘He wasn’t alone. The hotel front desk ntioned he’d booked a single room, but he was often seen coming and going with another man during his stay.’
‘Who was it?’
‘No idea. The hotel wouldn’t provide a photo—sa privacy excuse. I thought if we could access their security footage, we might see for ourselves.’
‘Do you know how to do that?’ I asked, thinking he ant hacking, which reminded uncomfortably of what had been done to my studio’s database.
‘No, not really. It was just a thought,’ he admitted.
I considered it. ‘There might be another way.’ A legal way that wouldn’t land in prison.
‘What?’
‘Give the na.’
Rhys told . I looked it up. The hotel was owned by a hospitality group, which was in turn owned by several companies and investors. It didn’t surprise to find that one of those parent companies eventually traced back to LGH.
If I asked Ashton, as CEO, he could request that the subsidiary company ask the hotel managent to hand over the surveillance footage. They could even provide Frank’s room number, transaction records, length of stay—everything they had on him.
But...
‘What are you thinking?’ Rhys asked.
‘Nothing,’ I said, shaking my head. I didn’t have to share my plans with him. I took the flash drive. ‘Thanks for this.’
I stood to leave.
Rhys hurried to his feet. ‘Wait. Don’t go.’
‘I don’t think we have anything else to discuss.’
‘At least have a al with . We’re already here.’
‘I have sowhere else to be.’
‘You should be careful,’ Rhys blurted out.
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