Birdsflyhigh: Men like your husband would get a pat on the back if a picture of them getting a blow job was released to the media. But you’re a nobody. Always have been, always will be. Once these pictures hit the internet, you’ll be the nobody who only got the ring because she’s her husband’s unpaid sex slave. I can see the headlines now. Millionaire Marriage to PennilessFisherman’s Daughter Revealed. Playboy’s Plaything, Kept at Home on a Leash, with a Plug in her Ass.
Swallowing thickly, I clench and unclench my fingers, fighting the urge to tell her we know who she is and where she is and that she’s picked the wrong person to mess with. Instead, I blow out a breath and start to type.
Me: What do you want?
Birdsflyhigh: You have nothing I want.
Me: You said you could be convinced not to release the photos.
Birdsflyhigh: Divorce him, and I’ll delete the pictures and videos. End your sham of a marriage and crawl back into the gutter where you belong.
“What the fuck?” Sebastian growls from his position behind me. “That crazy fucking bitch.”
“I was expecting her to ask for money, or shares, or something. Wanting you to get a divorce is fucking cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs,” Sammy says.
“She wants you,” I say, twisting around to look at Sebastian. “All of this is because she wants you.” I can’t help it, I laugh.
“Is this funny?” January asks quietly.
“No,” I say coldly. “There is nothing funny about this, at all.”
“I’ll fix this,” Sebastian says, his expression hard and cold.
“No,” I snap. “I’ll fix this. But first we need to figure out how the hell she got close enough to us to do this.”
TEN
SEBASTIAN
The nauseous feelingthat pooled in the pit of my stomach the moment Courtney said she wanted Starling to divorce me, is still there hours after we leave Sammy and Evan’s place. All of this is my fault, even though it’s been years since I even spoke to my wife’s former best friend.
To be honest, I barely knew her name, even when I was using her to provoke Starling. On the rare occasion that I actually spoke directly to her, I think I called her “sweetie” or “babe,” or some kind of generic nickname that men use when they can’t be bothered to learn a woman’s name.
When I first saw Starling, Courtney was the only person my little bird spent any time with. After I did some research into her, I realized that both she and her family were wealthy social climbers. Her parents are both lawyers, and although they have family money on both her mom’s and dad’s sides, they’re still nobodies in our social circle.
During freshman year, as we watched my little bird and her friend navigate high school, it was clear to me that Courtney was only maintaining a friendship with Starling because Starlingis fucking gorgeous, and even though Cassidy had no money to speak of, Starling’s looks raised Courtney’s stock.
By the summer before they started their sophomore year, it was clear that Courtney intended to see how her friend fared once the shelter of being a freshman had faded. If her star shone, she’d maintain the friendship, if not, she’d dump her at the first opportunity.
The moment I claimed Starling, Courtney decided that she was willing to do anything, including siding with virtual strangers over a friendship she’d maintained since elementary school, if it helped her climb the social ladder toward the upper epsilon.
When Starling pushed back against our relationship, Courtney was easily swayed to our side, and she almost immediately helped me to trap Starling by being willing to overlook her friend’s worries, protests, and fear in exchange for popularity.
Once Starling left me, Courtney truly believed we planned to keep her around. She hung off the guys, soaking up the popularity that came from being part of our social circle. When I brought her to Cassidy and Harry’s wedding, I thought it would enrage Starling. I thought seeing me with the friend I told her I’d take from her if she dared to leave me would break her. But it didn’t. In fact, seeing Courtney on my arm didn’t affect her at all.
By the time she came back for the wedding, my little bird was cold, distant, and already broken beyond repair. Looking back now, I should have seen the damage we caused, but I was blinded by anger and rejection, and all I wanted to do was hurt her the way she’d hurt me.
In the face of Starling’s indifference, we cut ties with Courtney, making sure that everyone at school knew that we were no longer associated with her. I hadn’t realized she wascoming to Kingsacre until we ran into her at the first bonfire I took Starling to, to show everyone at school that she was mine.
I don’t really remember the conversation, but now that Starling has reminded me, I have a vague memory of Courtney spitting some vitriol at Starling and Starling laughing. Beyond that, I haven’t seen or spoken to Courtney since.
She, like every other woman on the planet, holds no interest for me. The only person I’ve ever wanted. The only woman I’ll ever want is Starling. My wife, my little bird, and now my little whore.
Pushing out of my chair, I step from behind my desk and make my way into the living room, where Starling is cyberstalking Courtney’s socials, searching for anything to explain how she got close enough to take invasive photos of us in our own home.
Dragging my top up and over my head, I drop it to the floor, pushing my shorts off as I walk, not bothering to pick them up as I close the distance between me and my wife. The urge to claw back control when so much of my world is spiraling into oblivion pushes at me, and the moment I’m close enough, I take the tablet from Starling’s hands and dump it on the table.
“Sebastian,” Starling snaps angrily.
