Tears fell down Jamie’s cheeks. Tears she had to quickly brush away. Tears of frustration, of sadness.I would find more acceptance at my parents’ commune. They might think she was silly for their own reasons, but they would make sure she was welcomed to every meal, and she could stay as long as she pulled her weight.
Jamie turned on her car. Her mind was awash with terrible, horrible, self-deprecating thoughts that made her life harder… thus, she didn’t even realize she pulled away from the sidewalk until she was already at the third stoplight.
Where am I going?She had abandoned everyone. If they weren’t already worried about seeing her drive off, they would be worried if she didn’t arrive home later. Would she go home? What the fuck was home?
She had to admit it. She never felt comfortable in that manor in the hills. It was still like an extravagant vacation home. She was a temporary resident. A decoration until it was time to be replaced with a better model. Sure, the staff was nice to her and lauded her for being down-to-earth, but that was also a criticism. Every time Beatrice thanked Jamie for being reasonable, she was really saying,“Don’t you know how to do this rich lady of the house thing? Nobody will take you seriously if they come to your house and see you playing dominoes with the maid! What the fuck is wrong with you? Class exists for a reason.”
As for the penthouse? It was cozier – because Jamie couldn’t function in an actual mansion – but there were still the doormen and other personnel who reminded her that she was living in a different world. Plus, those women were right.I was Etta’s prostitute, and that’s where she took me for our business.
Once she was out of the city, Jamie gunned the gas. Either by the grace of God or her own subconscious, she wasn’t caught by the police as she spedup into the hills.
At first, she intended to go home and be by herself. Clear her head on the trails behind the house, or at least until the others came home and wanted her attention.
Then she drove by the gated driveway. Something about those looming monsters – or maybe that was the guard in his little house – made the breath catch in her throat.
Jamie didn’t pay attention to a damn thing. She could have hit a critter and not thought twice about it. She could have run off the road and not realized she tumbled into a deep ravine until she was already dead. She could have slammed into some multi-millionaire out for a jog and merely thoughtOh wellas his blood stained her car. Deep down, she would have probably patted herself on the back for that.
Kill me.That was all Jamie could think as she sniffed up tears. Already, she thought up plans.If I turn around and go home right now, I could be moved out by the time anyone comes home.I don’t need the designer stuff. I don’t need the jewelry or the electronics. Give me my old clothes and let me go, Etta. Then she thought of Etta, and she felt so awful about what that would do to her. The day before their wedding!
The wedding.
The wedding.
That’s when Jamie pulled off the road and stopped short of a cliff. She got out, desperate for air, not giving a flying fuck that dust, pollen, and who knew what else clung to her pretty dress.Know what other dress I have? A wedding dress. Made by a designer that was not known in America… but would be the moment Jamie was seen in it, photographed in it.I will single-handedly make someone’s multi-million-dollar career.Who the hell had that kind of power? Who was Jamie kidding? The responsibility!
She paced in her heels, the pain on the soles of her feet growing, but her brain unable to comprehend blisters, rolling ankles, oreven the tiny pebbles slipping between shoe and foot. Jamie was halfway to pulling her hair out. Hair that was professionally done by a man who demanded a personal reference from Etta Coleman before he would look at her!
Sometimes, it was easy to forget that the people they cavorted with most were on another plane of existence. Even the Midnight types. They rolled up in their limited-edition European sports cars and limos without a second thought, reveling in their power, their money, and making sure the whole world knew what hot shit they were while they spanked and flogged. Who was it that introduced Jamie to that world? Etta! Jamie would have never stood for anyone to spank her until… until…
No. Not just someone paid her to do it. Until she felt the sheer amount of control and domination emanating from a woman who had made her own billions. Etta never felt entitled to it, like some of the old money freaks could. Instead, she knew her worth because she had cried and sweated until she had probably knocked at least a decade off her life. She had earned it all. She had come from nothing and worked until the world ended. What was Jamie? All that had happened was a promotion from personal assistant to wife. Was there really a difference?
What if what that woman said was true… would Etta really cheat on her, because she could? Because it was expected of her? How many of those women who looked so in love with their wives cheated here and there? Even Francesca Blake was completely oblivious to her husband’s philandering around the world. Richard Blake was not much to look at! The whole reason he could even cheat was because of his money and position. Etta, who was hotter than most people Jamie came across… sheesh.
No telling how long Jamie stayed at that overlook, pacing, sitting in her car, on her car, and even leaning against the guardrail until she looked deep into the maw of the green valley below. That’s when she realized that this was the overlook she and Etta “shared” more than once.Of course, I would come here. Jamie wanted to cry again, but the dirt kicking up with everybreeze prevented her.
Once upon a time, this view had been picturesque. Almost like a fairy tale. Etta was always her most princely, her most ladylike whenever she brought Jamie here. Those were the memories Jamie wanted to cling to, but what was the use? Jamie saw this view for what it was now. Before, she had only seen the greens, the waterways, the birds of amazing colors flying here and there. Now she saw more. The clearings making way for new mansions, new vacation homes. The smoke in the distance from illegal burnings that nobody would get in trouble for becausepay them off, honey. The invasive flora introduced because Mrs. So-and-so simply had to have this “pretty looking plant” when she went on honeymoon in Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia. Privilege allowed these people to destroy this picturesque piece of nature.
Jamie slumped against the hood of her car, tired, hungry, thirsty, but unable to do anything but sob into her hands. The more she thought about it, the more she realized what a mistake it was to legally bind herself to this way of thinking.
“I have to do it,” she said to herself. “I have to end it.” She glanced at her phone on the driver’s seat and noticed a million texts and unanswered calls.
Before she dreaded having to break up with Etta a day before their wedding, she heard tires squealing on the road behind her. Somehow, Jamie knew who and what it was.
Sure enough, without having to turn around, a black Lamborghini pulled up alongside her little red sports car. Etta opened her door before shutting off the engine.
“What the hell!” she shouted, approaching Jamie as she went to the edge of the overlook. “Do you know how long I’ve been trying to find you? One minute you were at the restaurant, and the next you were gone and nobody had any idea where you were!”
Her anger was palpable, but it wasn’t the kind directed atJamie, per se. She was afraid. Maybe if Jamie hadn’t been a kidnapping victim before, Etta wouldn’t shit herself over a sudden disappearance, let alone a day before herwedding. Even so, Jamie had a hard time caring.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, hoping Etta couldn’t see her tear-stained face. “I had to get away and clear my thoughts.”
“Would’ve been nice if you had helped me with your parents. We almost got banned from that restaurant! Not that I fucking care about French cuisine, but I do a lot of business dinners and lunches there…”
Jamie flinched. “I’m sorry about that. I’ll make sure they’re gone as soon as possible.”
“It’s only because I do so much business there that they’ll let it slide this time… wait, what?” Etta sighed. “That’s ridiculous. We’re getting married tomorrow. They can leave by the time we’re back from the honeymoon.”
“I’ll go with them. Maybe they’ll take me back to the farm. I can take the cats too, so they’ll be out of your hair.” Farms needed cats, right? Barbarossa would be in shock, but maybe she could be an indoor cat there, too.
