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“That’s not completely uncom—”
“After Augustus had already gotten himself off,” she adds, lips pulled into a tight smile. “Let’s just say he took the whole ‘toys are partners, not competition’ thing to a whole new level.” She shakes her head. “And the worst part is, he never saw anything wrong with it because it’s not like I wasn’t getting off. He was simply outsourcing the job.”
I rub my palms up her arms, wanting to comfort her. “Kira… I’m so sorry…”
A single tear falls down her cheek, and she quickly wipes it away with the back of her hand. “So that’s how the first crack formed. I wanted more than he was willing to give me, and I guess he felt emasculated by it.” She tilts her head and adds, “That, and he made me feel so dirty for even asking. Told me I should be grateful he saw me differently than my public persona. That he was my only hope to change the story.”
She blinks another tear from her glassy eyes, and I wipe it with my thumb. “Sweetheart, you are anything but dirty. You are so much more than any labels given to you,” I say, fury rising in my chest. I fucking hate that prick.
“It comes with the territory.” She shrugs, and I watch her sadness harden into anger before my eyes. “I’ve gotten used to people thinking what they want about me. Besides, it’s what got me my role as Demonatrix.”
Selfishly, I’m tempted to revisit Augustus’s lackluster sexual performance, but I don’t want to make her dwell on it any more than necessary. I can read between the lines well enough to get the picture.
I’m just glad she gave me the opportunity to show her how she’s supposed to be treated. And she should accept nothing less from anyone.
Settling in, I tug her hips higher on my waist. “Why’d you agree to the role, knowing you and Augustus were splitting?”
Her eyes drop from my gaze, and she blows out a sigh. “Because I needed the money.”
That revelation has my muscles tensing, but as much as I want to interject, I bite back my words and give her space to open up.
“Augustus and I were married before my career took off.” She looks up, and I see the storm of pain brewing behind her eyes. “Of course, we both signed prenups.” She shakes her head. “But I was young and in love and didn’t have a reason to dive into the fine print.”
My brows furrow as I try to follow what she’s telling me. “You don’t have an attorney reviewing contracts for you?”
“I do now,” she scoffs. “A very expensive one. But at the time, I just used Augustus’s attorney. I didn’t have any reason to believe I was getting fucked over in the deal.”
“What do you mean?”
“Basically, the terms I agreed to were that once we were married, we’d split all assets either of us earned fifty/fifty. It seemed fair at the time, but what I didn’t realize was that it would basically give Augustus half of everything I had, since I didn’t bring much to the table from the start. Meanwhile, he would retain all his assets before we were married—which includes the house we lived in and all the vacation properties. Everything acquired before our marriage would legally belong to him. And since everything we purchased together was in his name—including my vehicle and every other major purchase we made—it’s hard to divide up how much I actually own.” She swallows thickly, her tone heavy. “The litigation process is all extremely complicated and tedious, which, of course, was by design.”
My grip tightens on her hips. “That fucking asshole.”
“His ego was bruised when I ended things, so he’s dragging out the divorce just to spite me. I think he thinks if he can drain me of all my money that I’ll have no choice but to go back to him.” She shrugs. “If it weren’t for my sister and the kids, I’d have filed bankruptcy and disappeared a long time ago…”
“What do you mean?”
“Greer and the kids deserve a comfortable life. She’s been through so much, and she works so hard—”
“Not to sound crass, but your sister is a grown woman, Kira. She’s not your responsibility.”
“Maybe not, but I can’t help but feel like I owe it to her. This was always supposed to be her life, not mine. It feels so selfish to only think about myself.”
She opens her arms and gestures over herself. “I’m not special in any way. A team of experts created everything about me. It’s not exactly a secret. Everyone knows it. And if it weren’t for Greer’s actual talent, I wouldn’t have had any of the opportunities I did starting out. It was always her name that got me auditions. I’ve been riding on her coattails my entire career, while she was cast out and forgotten.”
I stare at her, dumbfounded and shocked. “You really believe that?”
Her blue eyes soften, and she blinks at me, holding my gaze. “Trust me, I’m keenly aware of all my shortcomings. Everyone makes sure of it.”
On the side table, my phone buzzes with a notification. I glance over and see Leo’s name light up on the screen. I grab it before she can read anything and quickly flip it over.
As if it’s her turn to study me, she lifts a brow and asks, “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, just work stuff,” I lie.
She goes quiet for a moment and then shakes her head. “You’re a terrible liar.”
“What? No, I’m not.”
