Billionaire's Bounty Cost Of Love And Revenge novel Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Asher’s POV

I stepped into the family mansion. The air inside was warm, with the scent of freshly prepared food wafting from the dining room.

There, sprawled at the table like she owned the world, was Janine – her legs propped up on the polished surface, as if she had no idea what decorura meant

Servants bustled around her, setting plates and dishes on the wide table, their expressions carefully neutral.

“If it isn’t my evil little sister,” I stated, arching a brow at her casual insolence.

She turned to me with a giggle, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Hello, my favorite big brother!” she chirped in a sweet tone of voice.

I rolled my eyes all the way to the back of my head.

Before I could reply, Marcus strolled in, a bottle of wine dangling from his hand. “I heard that, Janine,” he said in his usual unbothered manner

Janine rolled her eyes dramatically. “It’s no secret that Asher is my favorite. You never really had my time, Marcus,” she retorted with a teasing grin.

Marcus slid into a chair, placing the wine on the table with a soft clink. “If you were working as hard as I was, you wouldn’t have had your time either,” he shot back, leaning into the chair with a tired smirk.

“Pfft,” she snorted, sticking her tongue out at him like a petulant child. It was so very Janine.

I crossed my arms and fixed her with a stern look. “I told you to care for Ivy, not take her on a vacation to flirt with men.”

She giggled again, completely unfazed by my tone. “I didn’t do anything, Asher! Ivy is an adult woman – a hot one, for that matter. The men were flocking to her.”

Her laughter echoed through the room, but I didn’t join in. My frown deepened, my patience already wearing thin. “You were supposed to be on my side, Janine. You’re my sister.”

“Uhn… uh,” she shook her head, “The moment I met her, I told you I was on her side now. That’s my sister for life! I love the both of you, and I’m not going to support you just because you’re my brother. What you did was terrible…”

“Does anyone have any idea why Mom and Dad are not at the table yet?” Marcus chimed in. “I mean, they called for this dinner, they should be here.”

Janine and I turned to glare at him.

“Okay, so I’m the only one who is worried?” he asked with a perked–up brow. “Okay.” He mouthed.

I turned my attention back to Janine. “I deeply appreciate you sticking out for my wife. I’m glad she has you in her life, but taking her on a vacation, the

men… that was a little bit over the top.”

She shrugged. “Like I said, I didn’t do anything.” She reclined on her chair and popped a grape into her mouth. “That was all her. I mean, she was just sitting there, and the men were ogling her, acting like they wanted to eat her up whole…”

I gripped the edge of the table. “Janine,” I called out to her in a controlled voice.

She glanced at my white knuckles gripping the table hard. “If you cared so much about her, why did you hurt her like that?” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Really, explain it to me like I’m a child. You love your wife so much, the thought of her entertaining another man makes you grit your teeth in frustration like this, and yet you take another woman to bed – now not just a random woman, but her ex–best friend. The same woman she caught in bed with her ex, the only reason she went into your arms in the first place…”

She paused to let it sink in. “I don’t know, but can anyone else not see how bizarre this is?” She looked at me affectionately. “I l brother, but if I were Ivy, people would be dead, a lot of people, and you’re at the top of that list.”

so much, my dear

1/3

Chapter 87

Marcus let out a light chuckle.

I chose to ignore him. “It’s hard to explain it, Janine, and I wish you and Ivy would at least give me a chance to. I don’t know what happened between Taylor and me, but I know one thing for certain: I didn’t sleep with her on purpose. I don’t even remember what happened that night. I had a complete blackout, and in a couple of weeks, she’s showing me the pictures of us…”

“Those pictures…” Janine shook her head with disgust.

I squinted at her, my glare accusing. “Did she show you them?” I asked.

She gagged. “Eww, God nol The shirtless magazine covers are just enough,” she said in a repulsed tone.

“Margaret, could you check on our parents for us, to see why they aren’t down yet?” Marcus said aloud to the lady who was setting down the last item on the table.

Janine and I frowned and turned to glare at him.

He glanced in our direction. “What?” he asked in an amused voice.

“Can you bear not being the center of attention for a few more minutes, Marcus?” Janine asked.

He sipped his wine. “Really? I am the one craving to be the center of attention at this table?” He gestured at me with his glass. “Not my brother, who chose a family dinner to lament about his woes of being a man–whore and the accompanying consequences? Like, My hot wife is bothered about my affairs, and now she’s entertaining thoughts of other men. “Shocker!”

Janine chortled. “Marcus has a point, Asher.”

“You’re not hearing me out. I don’t remember that I slept with Taylor. All I know for certain is that I would never do anything to deliberately hurt Ivy,” I

swore.

She sighed and reached forward to cover my palm with her hand. “Asher, you’re going to have to try to convince Ivy yourself, but…”

Marcus leaned closer. “It’s not looking good at all for you, I promise. You have a terrible record with women, and there’s no way in hell she’s going to believe a single word you…”

“Good evening, children.” Our father’s authoritative voice interrupted our chatter.

We all turned around and murmured our response. It didn’t matter that it was a family dinner with his family in the comfort of his home – my father was still wearing a custom–made suit tailored to perfection.

“Mum…” The word was still on my lips when she walked up to Marcus and patted his back. “How are you, my prince?”

Marcus blinked repeatedly, unable to utter a single word.

She moved toward me with a wide smile on her face, but my expression was that of total and complete shock. I was sure my reaction mirrored my

siblings‘.

“My little charmer,” she ruffled my hair lightly, “How’s it going?”

I swallowed. “Good.” My voice was croaked; I cleared my throat. “Good so far. What about you, Mother?”

She smiled the brightest. “I’ve never been better.

It was foreign – my mother taking her time to greet each of us at the table. She walked up to Janine, all the pairs of eyes at the table following her as she kissed the top of Janine’s head. “My little princess,” she crouched low and pulled at her cheeks playfully.

Janine stared at her in surprise, a hint of a smile on her lips. “Mom,” she whispered.

Our mother smiled at her before she walked back to her seat. I caught the look that crossed my father’s face, but it was gone before I could make sense of

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify