My own growing and seething rage over the past few weeks as I suspected something was going on fed into that revenge fantasy. Although it was a skewed revenge fantasy without me knowing it, at the time.
Staring down into Ward’s eyes as my cock glides through his lips and over his tongue, with the new knowledge I bear, I realize my husband never would have made Ward serve penance.
Not the way I would have chosen for him to atone.
With my new insight, I don’t think I ever could make Ward pay, either.
Pay for the two of them fucking around behind my back?
Oh,hell, yeah. This is behavior modification and my own revenge.
But…
No matter what I said to Ward, the truth is, I can…feelthe older man’s vulnerability. You just get that sense with some people, right? No matter how capable they are of adulting, there’s still that radar ping at a soul level telling you they’re fragile in ways that make you want to shelter and protect them. I don’t mean people who are professional victims, either.
Ward did what he did, despite how much he loved Liam, toprotecthim. At great expense to his own happiness. Even knowing he’d be miserable, and while thinking Liam would move on with his life and find love elsewhere.
Ward kept his promise to Liam to not be with anyone else. Over twentyyearshe’s denied himself.
I mean…how do you stay enraged overthat?
I won’t tell either of them that Mason Rutherford Callahan is now on my radar and my to-do list. The man has become my hobby. They don’t need to know that. It would only terrify Ward if I told him, and it would probably trigger some stupidly protective instinct in Liam. I mean, to the point that Liam might resign suddenly and publicly confess everything they’ve done together just to get the two of us out of DC.
The beauty of my tactics is the surgical nature of the strike, once I send it. Like a sniper. Collateral damage isn’t acceptable to me. That’s sloppy, lazy planning.
We already know how I feel aboutthat.
“Liam tells me you have a prenup we need to worry about,” I say, letting Ward speak.
“Yes, Sir. Infidelity will trigger penalties.”
“She has to have proof, though?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“We just won’t give her any, then. Will we?”
I savor the fear in his eyes. “No, Sir.”
I always recognized I was a bit of a sadist when it comes to work. Until this moment, I never realized how much of one I could be in my private life, too.
Never thought I’d need to be one.
Another benefit of being Liam’s slave was the comfort that, if I needed him to, he’d fight my battles and slay my dragons. The comfort I never had growing up. Mom did her best, but sometimes it felt like I needed to step in behind the scenes—or just outright say it—to take care of business.
Like kicking Dad out.
She never fought me about it once it was done. She knew it was the right call, even though she hated admitting it.
With Liam, I thought if the world was against me, at least I could always count on him being there to protect me emotionally, if not physically.
Nowwhat do I do?
The only thing I can do is pick up the pieces and move forward.
Tomorrow, I will focus on creating a plan to deal with this new facet of our personal life. A long-term plan to fold Ward into our dynamic and finally insert him into the placeholder he’s always occupied in Liam’s soul.
Tonight, I want to make Liam suffer and give him a preview of what he has to look forward to.
