Page 56 of In Love and Revenge

‘That’s right.’ I look between the two of them as they exchange more knowing glances.

‘Harold said you’d invited Seraphina,’ Mum says.

My poker face comes into full play as I digest this news. I mentioned the wedding to Seraphina at dinner a couple of weeks ago, and she said she’d love to go with me if I needed a plus one. But I never accepted her offer. I was too busy watching Aurora across the room with her loser ex.

‘Maybe you’ll be coming home with your own news.’ My father hitches both brows.

They’ve wanted nothing more than for me to get married and start producing grandchildren. My mother’s made no secret of the fact she can’t wait to do the whole bedtime story and baking cakes thing. And my father no doubt sees it as a second chance to this time successfully mould a miniature version of himself of whomhe can actually be proud. But I’ve vowed never to get to that point with anyone. Dating, sex, it’s all fine. Anything that keeps women at arm’s length, where they won’t cry over me if something were to happen with my—

‘Ooh, yes!’ my mother squeals excitedly. ‘One of these days soon a woman will have your heart, darling. Mark my words.’

‘Maybe.’ My smile is tight. If she knew I hadn’t so much as kissed Seraphina anywhere other than her cheek, I don’t think she’d be looking so ready to dust off her wedding hat.

Movement in the corridor outside my office catches my attention. Aurora walks past with Steve from underwriting, her head tilted back, laughing at something he’s said. I grind my teeth together and suck in a breath through my nose. Even the sight of the powder-blue pencil skirt I bought for her, artfully wrapped around her hips and arse, can’t dowse the flare of outrage that seeing herlaughingwith him has brought.

‘You’re angry with the world.’ That’s what she told me. Her words that resulted in me getting my hand stuck in a bloody crisp tube in order to prove a point. She thinks she knows me. But if she’s so bloody smart she’d know I’m not a man who’s angry at the world. Why would I need to be when my anger is so much more effective when it’s aimed towards myself instead?

Aurora Thorne has no idea of the lion’s den she’s walked into by working here. It’s time I stopped allowing myself to become distracted by blue eyes and tight little skirts and start remembering what she did. I have two hundred and forty million reasons to remember. Who the hell cares if Bad Suit Steve makes her laugh? The only interest I have in her is vengeance. It’s time to make her pay. The begging starts now. My dick stirs and I ignore it. The idea of her begging has become an obsession that’s threatening to take over. To derail the one thing that actually matters.

My money. And finding out what happened to it.

Recovering my dented pride is the bow on the package. I’m not so pig-headed that I don’t understand that it’s also about that – my pride. Reaffirming to myself that I can do this. I can be the CEO Fairfax Guardian needs me to be after the colossal fuck-up I made in my early days. And making sure that my father never has a reason to look at me again like I’ll be this firm’s downfall.

Like I’mweak.

This stops now. An obsession for revenge is one thing, but an obsession with Aurora Thorne in general? That’s just madness. I need to stop watching bloody fashion vlogs and wanking alone in my office like a sad loser. It’s time I had actual sex again. With a woman I don’t hate.

I turn my attention back to my parents, matching their smiles with one of my own.

‘I’m looking forward to some time away with Seraphina. I’m sure she’ll love Cape Town.’

Chapter 15

Aurora

‘How are you?’ I try to keep the anguish from my voice as I slide into the plastic chair opposite my father.

‘Good. They’ve had me out gardening all week. We’ll have the best veggies in the country at this rate.’

He smiles at me, his silvery stubble already beginning to show from where he’s shaved.

‘That’s impressive. You didn’t have a clue about growing anything before.’ I laugh a little, but it trails off.

My father reaches for my hand, then stops himself, glancing at a guard. Physical contact is limited to arrival and departure only. His solicitor told us that we’re fortunate because this place is low security. And my father’s allowed to wear his own clothes and do things like gardening whilst he serves his sentence.

But I don’t feel lucky.

Only seeing my father for ninety minutes once every weekend when visiting hours permit makes it feel like I’m serving the sentence with him. We manage phone calls during the week, but I used to live with him. I’d see him every day and eat dinner with him mostevenings. It’s always been him and me, with the occasional girlfriend of his sometimes, for as long as I can remember.

My father chuckles. ‘You’re right, I wouldn’t. Not a green finger on these hands. Until now.’ His eyes crinkle at the corners as he smiles. ‘You need to stop worrying, sweetheart. Your old man’s fine. I get three cooked meals a day here. I eat better than before. And bedtime’s a thing – no more staying up late trudging through investment documents. No rat race in the mornings.’ He opens his hands, palms upturned. ‘Why, it’s like being on holiday in here.’

I love him for trying to make light of this whole situation. For trying to make me feel better.

I roll my eyes with a smile. ‘All right, fine. It’s The Ritz.’

‘Exactly.’ He winks at me.

‘I thought ...’ I reach down to my bag and pull out some paperwork I printed off to show my father. ‘I thought we could take a look at these together. They’re copies of things I asked your solicitor for.’