“That’s enough!” I barked. “Ri is my wife, that isn’t changing. You will not shame her for avoiding an abusive relationship. You will not accuse her of trying to entrap me. That’s not what happened, so stop trying to push a narrative around it. Immediately.”
Lucian sighed, pressing his knuckles into his temples. “You’re right. I apologise, Irina. That was out of line. So … do we assume she’s aware of your marriage to Henry? Is she trying to prove that it’s a bogus union?”
Ri shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. If she knows about the wedding, she will also suspect that it happened after my visa expired, because I was … I was with her, sexually, the week after the date on our marriage certificate.”
Lucian blew out a long breath. “Is there any physical evidence ofthat encounter? Photos … video? I’m assuming it was just the one instance.”
“It was just that once. I ended things with her after that.” She shook her head, sighing. “And there’s no evidence unless she was secretly recording us, which I doubt. I think at that point she fully expected me to agree to her demands.”
“I think it’s more likely that she doesn’t have that sort of evidence,” I interjected. “Because if she did, she wouldn’t be throwing money at Cockerels Cap.”
Lucian grunted. “True. We need to give them nothing to work with. Ri, you can’t return to that apartment again.”
“But—”
“No buts!” Lucian snapped. “If you make a habit of going back there, Rumi is going to be able to build a case that you and Henry aren’t living together. Do youwantto be deported?”
Ri glared at him, a defiant glint in her eyes. “Oh, yes, thank you, Lucian, if you hadn’t reminded me, I might have completely forgotten the consequences! But if you had bothered to let me finish, you would have realised that I was going to say, ‘But I have a close friend living there, wouldn’t it seem more suspicious if I suddenly stopped visiting her altogether?’”
If this wasn’t so high stakes, if it wasn’t her safety at risk, I might have enjoyed watching the two of them butt heads. As it was, my stomach swirled with anxiety.
“Ri’s right, Lucian,” I countered. “If she suddenly stopped her visits to Kat, that might in itself be more suspicious than her visiting on occasion, and it may trigger the PI to go to more drastic measures to get whatever proof he’s looking for.”
Lucian grunted. “Alright, so until further notice, Irina is on twenty-four-seven surveillance,” Ri scrunched up her nose in distaste, stroking Abernathy’s chin vigorously while he gazed up at her with love-heart eyes. “I’ll have my team do some background on our rugby-league-loving friend.”
“I’m satisfied with this plan, for now,” I agreed. It was the best we could do until we knew more. “What about you, Catnip?”
Ri threw me a grateful smile that I tried to return and failed. Theworddeportedkept bouncing around in my brain. I couldn’t let that happen.
I can’t lose her.
BREAKING NEWS: BRUNCH DATE FOR BILLIONAIRE COUPLE
The very public love affair continues for Tickle billionaire, Henry Baxter and his wife, with the pair snapped in Barangaroo sharing a very intimate brunch.
Not only were they caught red-handed playing footsie under the table, but Baxter hauled his bride into his lap when they were joined unexpectedly by none other than YouTube star turned environmentalist, River Riley.
While the TechRaker team were unable to confirm the full details of the conversation between Riley and Baxter, the word ‘island’ was mentioned more than once. A little digging revealed that Riley has been canvasing potential investors to save a small resort island in the Whitsundays from capitalist greed.
Has Baxter decided to add tourism real estate to his investment portfolio? Or is this a bid for a private island, where he and his wife can canoodle as much as they’d like, out of reach of public scrutiny? An island would be a perfect complement to Baxter’s super yacht, theGirl on Fire, where the pair live on board together.
TechRaker will continue to update you on any developments on this front. We overheard, without a shadow of a doubt, that Mr and Mrs Baxter will be attending the launch of Riley’s eco streetwear brand, Fluss. It might be the first time that the couple are pictured together outside of this publication, with many media outlets expected to attend.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Trust Me with Her Secret Parts
HENRY
“Thank fuck! I had an awful feeling that Lucian the Surly Security Guard was going to put me on yacht-arrest until further notice!” Ri exclaimed, tucking a leg up under her in the passenger seat of my SUV.
I smirked at her nickname for my cousin, accelerating through an intersection. “We need to continue to live as normal—well, as normally as a couple trying to convince the authorities that we’re in a real marriage. Which means we need to be seen in public. And …” I saw a park up ahead on the busy street and silently cheered, steering the car into it. “I promised you I had a solution for lap swimming. I used to come here on days when I couldn’t cope with the echoing noise of an indoor pool.”
Ri peered out the window, her face frozen in an expression that even I could read. “I … I’ve never swum in the ocean before.”
I reached across and slid my hand into hers. When she didn’t turn, I reached out, cupping her jaw to tilt her head towards me. “We’re not swimming in the ocean. But how did you manage to live four years in Sydney without once swimming at the beach?”
She shook her head mutely. “I’m not … I don’t like how unpredictable it can be. A nice, warm, chlorinated pool, that’s my thing. Where are we swimming, if not in the ocean? I can’t see any …” Her eyes widened. “Icebergs?”
