HIS DOE, HIS DAMNATION (An Erotic Billionaire Romance) novel Chapter 104

At first, Clarissa didn’t say anything. I watched her, hands still tucked in my pockets, as she strutted toward her desk, where I noticed the boxed wine sitting on it.

“You know, someone got me this,” she muttered, opening it up and pulling the bottle out of it. Clarissa uncorked it slowly, as if my fury wasn’t filling the fucking room. “A friend from back in high school. You probably wouldn’t know him.”

She raised her gaze to mine as her lips twitched. “Very sweet vintage. It’s a thoughtful gift, don’t you think?”

My nostrils flared at the same time the bottle popped. “I asked you a question, Clarissa.”

“I know,” she murmured. “Oh, fuck. I don’t have any glasses here. You wouldn’t mind drinking directly from the bottle, would you? You used to love that-”

“I did not come here to drink,” I gritted out, stepping toward her desk. Toward her. Clarissa’s brows drew together, and for a second, she actually seemed confused.

“You didn’t?”

I simply arched a brow.

Her eyes glinted with mischief. “I assumed that’s why you came here. Thought you’d like to… you know, drink.” Her head tilted slightly. “Like I told Meadow we did.”

A dreadful shiver shot down my spine and I clenched my fists harder inside my pockets. “You what?”

What the fuck did she really tell my wife?

Clarissa raised the bottle to her lips and took a sip, letting out a tiny moan that made me want to wrap my hands around her neck and strangle her until she took her final breath.

It was hard to believe that I used to love this woman–then again, she wasn’t always like this.

She swallowed, and then sighed. “God, that is good wine.”

My nostrils flared again, and I stepped forward, stretching my hand out for the bottle. Clarissa arched a brow, seemingly surprised that I was about to take her on her offer to drink.

But I wasn’t.

The moment I took the bottle from her hand, I flung it across the room, smashing it into pieces. Red liquid spread across the wall onto the floor.

Clarissa’s gasp was loud as she shot me a glare. “What on earth is the matter with you? Do you have any idea how much that paint job cost?” She stormed toward me. “These are new floors, Alaric!”

“Stay back,” I said firmly when she was only a few feet away from me. “Come any closer and I’ll ruin much more than your floors and walls.”

She halted, clenching her fists at her sides. And for a moment, all she did was narrow her eyes at me, as if I was at fault. As if all this couldn’t have been avoided if she had answered my question.

It wasn’t a big deal, of course. I could get her new walls or floors or whatever the fuck she wanted. And she knew that.

Clarissa heaved a sigh, looking away from me as she ran a hand through her hair. She leaned against the edge of her desk. “Don’t you ever get tired of being so…. moody and violent with me all the time?”

My jaw ticked. “Don’t you ever get tired of being a meddling, avoidant bitch?” I countered, shoving my hands back into my pockets. “What did you tell my wife, Clarissa? That I drank with you?”

She pursed her lips. “Hurts so much that I’m not the one you call your wife.”

I gave her a blank stare until she finally folded, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“You two are so pathetic, you know that? Meadow would rather die in silence than tell you that she was with me, all because she doesn’t trust you enough to tell you about what happened to her family.” She chuckled, shaking her head. “But of course, you already know what happened to her family because you’re the one who ruined it-”

“Clint Russell ruined his own fucking family when he killed my father,” I cut in, taking a step closer to Clarissa. “And whether or not I tell Meadow is none of your goddamn business. I said…” Another step closer and I was directly in front of her. “Tell me what the fuck you said to her that got her upset.”

Meadow didn’t want to tell me about her family, not because she didn’t trust me, but because she was ashamed. Ashamed and terrified of being associated with the things that had happened to her.

I didn’t need her to tell me that. And I definitely did not need Clarissa trying to manipulate me into thinking that Meadow didn’t trust me. She did. Inexplicably.

Clarissa swallowed, her gaze dropping to my mouth, and I took a few steps back, away from her.

“I so much enjoy riling you up like this,” she said smoothly. “Fine then. I may have hinted at the fact that we were in Vegas together… and I also may have… exaggerated some things.”

I stopped breathing. My gaze narrowed. “What things?” I asked slowly.

Clarissa shrugged. “Long story short, your wife thinks I was the one who convinced you to release Juniper.”

“Convinced?” Red hot anger threatened to burst out of my chest. “You fucking blackmailed me to…‘”

I trailed off. All of a sudden, it all made sense. Meadow’s defiance, her subtle anger. She put the receipt in her bra because she was upset with me. Because of the lies Clarissa fed her. Because there was no other way to talk to me about it without letting it slip that she was with her.

I never got drunk with Clarissa. I never even fucking got drunk at all. I’d only summoned her to the penthouse after she threatened to tell Meadow everything that I was keeping from her if I didn’t release Juniper. And I gave her a strict fucking warning to stay away from my wife.

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