<b>Chapter </b><b>211 </b>
-CELINE’S POV-
Paint clung to my fingernails as I stepped out of my art room. The smell of turpentine followed me into the hallway. My baggy jeans hung loose on my growing belly.
Paint stains covered my old t–shirt like a rainbow explosion.
Red, Blue, Yellow. Green.
I touched my messy hair buns. Hunter always said I looked beautiful when I painted. Wild and free.
The mansion felt too quiet. Caesar was upstairs with his nanny. The woman Hunter hired was strict but kind. She sang lubies in French. Sally had left for the grocery store twenty minutes ago.
That left me alone with Ana and the other staff.
Ana. Just thinking her name made my jaw clench. She still acted like I didn’t belong here. When I asked her to bring me tea, she would roll her eyes.
When I requested fresh flowers for the dining room, she would mutter under her breath.
“She thinks she’s the queen now,” I’d heard her whisper to the gardenerst week.
I rubbed my belly. The baby kicked softly. Soon there would be two children calling this ce home. Ana would have to ept it.
I walked toward the living room, nning to read by the window, when sounds drifted from upstairs.
Footsteps. Heavy ones. A door closing with too much force.
“Ana?” I called out.
Silence.
“Maria? Thomas?<b>” </b>
Nothing. My heart picked up speed. I ced one hand on the banister and climbed the stairs. Each step echoed in the empty hallway.
When I reached the top, I froze.
Mia ckwood stepped out of my bedroom.
My bedroom. The one I shared with Hunter. She wore a ck dress that cost more than most people made in a month. Her heels clicked against the marble floor. Her red lipstick was perfect. Not a single hair was out of ce.
But something was wrong with her eyes. They darted around too quickly. Like a trapped animal.
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“What are you doing here?” I asked.
She turned toward me. Her gaze swept from my paint–stained clothes to my bare feet. Disgust flickered across her face..
“Geline.” She forced a smile. “You look… creative today.”
“How did you get inside?”
“Through the front door, obviously.” She adjusted her purse strap. “Your security let me in.”
My chest tightened. The security let her in without telling me? Without asking? Did they not see me as thedy of this house?
“I came to drop off work documents for Hunter,” Mia continued.
I stepped closer. “Work documents? What kind?”
“Business contracts. Very important ones.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Nothing you would understand.”
Her words stung. But I kept my voice steady. “If it’s work–rted, why didn’t you go to his office? Whye to our home? To our bedroom?”
“Hunter wasn’t at his office.” Her fingers drummed against her purse. Tap. Tap. Tap. “What I had to deliver was urgent. It couldn’t wait.”
“What made you think he would be here?”
Her smile tightened. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“I’m asking if you are lying.” The disguise slipped from her face. Raw anger shed in her eyes.
“Don’t feel bad, Celine.” Her voice turned syrupy sweet. “The people here are still warming up to the idea of you being Hunter Reid’s wife. After all, it’s unbelievable that he married someone like you.”
My hands curled into fists. I said nothing. Once she left, I would have a long talk with all the staff. Mia began pacing. Three steps to the left.
Three steps to the right. Her heels clicked faster now.
“You know,” she said, still pacing, “Hunter and I have history. Real history. We would build his empire together. Side by side. Late nights. Early mornings. Shared dreams.”
She stopped and looked at me directly.
“He told me everything back then. His fears. His hopes. His ns for the future.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “ns that never included a maid wife and children.”
My heart hammered against my ribs. “You’re wrong.”
“Am I?” She started pacing again. “Tell me, Celine. When he holds you at night, does he whisper sweet
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promises? Or does he just… perform his duty?”
I wanted to scream that she was lying. That Hunter loved me. That he chose me.
But doubt crept in like poison.
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“Still so naive,” Mia continued. Her fingernails were bitten down to the quick. Red and raw. “Do you really think this willst? This little fantasy marriage? Hunter Reid doesn’t do forever. Trust me. I learned that the hard way<b>.” </b>
Sheughed, but it sounded broken.
“Enough.” I stepped toward her. “Whatever games you’re ying, stop. Leave <i>my </i>house. Now.”
“Your house?” She spun around to face me. “This was to be my house long before you showed up with your… condition.”
She looked at my belly with pure hatred.
“Mia.” My voice came out sharper than I intended. “Get out.”
She turned away from me and started walking toward the stairs. That’s when I saw it. Something gold and delicate dangled from her closed fist.
My ne.
The one Hunter gave me on our night outing together. The small pendant shaped like a crescent moon. I had left it on my nightstand this morning.
“Stop.” She froze but didn’t turn around.
“What’s in your hand?”
“Nothing.” Her knuckles went white.
“Show me.”
“Celine, you’re being paranoid.”
“Show me what’s in your hand. Right now.” Slowly, she turned. The ne swayed from her fingers like a golden pendulum.
My dating anniversary gift. My most precious possession.
“You went through my things.” My voice shook with rage. “You’re a thief.”
“I found it lying around.” Her words came too fast. “Carelessly left on your nightstand. Really, Celine. If you can’t take care of your jewelry…”
“Liar.”
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Her face twisted. “Excuse me?”
“You stole from me. In my own home. In my own bedroom.”
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“Stole?” Sheughed bitterly. “This cheap little trinket? Please. I have jewelry worth more than everything <b>in </b>your closetbined.”
“Then why take it?” She had no answer. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish.
“Give it back.” I held out my hand.
“Or what?”
“Give it back now.”
“Make me.”
That’s when I lunged. I grabbed for her wrist. She jerked away. The ne chain caught the light as it swung between us.
“Let go!” she hissed.
“It’s mine!”
We struggled. Her long nails scraped against my forearm, leaving red marks. I could smell her desperation mixed with expensive perfume. Her breathing was ragged.
“You crazy bitch!” she snarled.
I managed to grab the chain. She pulled in the opposite direction. The delicate links stretched between our hands.
“You have everything!” she screamed suddenly. “Everything that should have been mine! His ring! His name! His children! And you don’t even deserve it!”
Her face was red now. Tears streamed down her cheeks, ruining her perfect makeup.
“Hunter was mine first! Mine!”
She yanked hard on the ne. I stumbled forward. And then–Did she push me? Did I lose my bnce? Did she mean for it to happen?
Everything slowed down.
The stairs rushed up to meet me. My body twisted in the air. The ne flew from both our hands. <fn90d3> Original content can be found at </fn90d3>
I hit the first step with my shoulder. Pain exploded through my arm. Then my head cracked against the marble edge of the second step.
The world spun. Colors bled together.
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I tumbled down. Down. Down,
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When I finally stopped moving, I was lying on the cold marble floor at the bottom of the <b>staircase</b>. Warm liquid spread beneath my head. Blood. So much blood.
I tried to move. Nothing worked. My arms felt disconnected from my body. My vision blurred at the edges.
Through the haze, I looked up toward the top of the stairs.
Mia stood frozen. Her hands covered her mouth. The ney scattered in pieces on the steps between us. Her eyes were wide with shock.
“I didn’t…” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to…” But then another figure stepped into view.
Ana.
She moved slowly, calmly, like she had all the time in the world. Her arms crossed over her chest. Her head tilted slightly to one side.
And she was smiling. Not a smile of concern or shock. Not the expression of someone witnessing a terrible ident.
She looked… pleased. Satisfied. Like she had been waiting for this exact moment.
“Oh my,” Ana said softly. Her voice drifted down to me like a luby. “What a terrible, terrible ident.”
Thest thing I saw before darkness took me was that smile. Cold and knowing. And I realized with growing horror that this was no ident at all.
This was exactly what someone had wanted to happen.
<b>AD </b>