A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 312

At Darleen’s command, everything she had built could have been frozen solid. But not anymore.

Now she had Yardley and the entire Hoggart Group at her back. The tables had turned completely.

From the driver's seat, Rudolf sighed. “If only you’d found Ms. Hoggart sooner, sir. She wouldn't have had to suffer so much with that family.”

The mention of her suffering sent a chill through Herbert, his jaw tightening. Sooner… Yes, it should have been sooner.

“Perhaps this was her mother’s will,” he murmured, his voice laced with a cold resolve. He was determined to watch Starla tear Fairfax to shreds—not just Fairfax, but the entire, rotten Yelchin family.

...

Back at Cosmos Summit, Starla saw the string of missed calls from both Fairfax and Gabriel. She had ignored them at the restaurant, but now, she decided to call Fairfax back. The act of returning his call, rather than ignoring it, was a power move in itself.

The phone was answered on the first ring. Before she could speak, Fairfax’s voice, tight with fury, shot through the line. “Are you done with Herbert?”

“Yes,” she replied, her tone even.

That one simple word was like a lit match to gasoline. Fairfax exploded.

Her laughter only fueled his fury. “You’re laughing? Starla, I never realized you were this…”

“And I never realized you were so good at playing both sides until after we were married,” she cut in smoothly. “For six months, I told you Brinley had feelings for you, and you told me I was imagining things, that she was just your sister-in-law. I told Brinley you two needed to keep your distance, and she told me you were family and there was no need. You both love a crowd, don't you? So why not invite more people in? Let's make it a real party. Let’s see how messy it can get.”

If he wanted chaos, she would give him chaos!

“Things are fine now, aren’t they?” she continued, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “You have your Brinley, and Herbert and I are just friends. What are you so worked up about? You seem to think any relationship can be explained away as normal. Well, by your logic, there's nothing wrong with how Herbert and I spend our time either.”