“You’re such an idiot, Demitri,” he muttered under his breath, shaking his head as he walked past Elena.
Demitri moved to the dimly lit parking lot, his thoughts racing and his fists clenched at his sides.
His chest felt heavy with regret, a weight that seemed to grow with every step he took.
Lying to Elena about Ashley being a barren at the time seemed like a convenient way to placate Elena’s growing desperation, but now the consequences of that lie loomed over him like a storm cloud.
He exhaled sharply, raking a hand through his hair. He had no excuse for his actions, but strangely, he didn’t regret them. Not entirely.
Elena’s behavior tonight had opened his eyes. The woman he once thought he loved—the woman he had pitied for so long—was nothing more than a desperate, conniving opportunist.
He didn’t see Elena approaching until her sharp voice pierced the air.
“So, you’re just going to walk away?” she demanded, her heels clicking furiously against the pavement as she stormed toward him.
Demitri turned, his expression cold and unreadable. “What do you want, Elena?”
“I want an explanation!” she snapped, folding her arms across her chest. “You told me she couldn’t have children. That’s why you married her in the first place, isn’t it? To protect me?”
Demitri’s jaw tightened. “It was a lie, Elena. Ashley isn’t barren. I made that up to stop you from obsessing over her.”
Elena’s face went pale, her lips parting in disbelief. “A… lie?”
“Yes,” he said firmly, his voice low and unwavering. “A lie. Just like everything else about us.”
She staggered back slightly, her expression shifting from shock to fury. “How could you?”
“How could I?” Demitri repeated, stepping closer. “How could you? You dragged Ashley’s name through the mud in front of everyone tonight. You insulted her, ridiculed her, and for what? To satisfy your own insecurities?”
Elena’s eyes flashed. “Don’t you dare blame me for this! I did everything for us—”
“There is no ‘us,’ Elena,” Demitri cut in, his voice rising. “There hasn’t been for a long time. The only reason I ever stayed was because I pitied you. I felt sorry for you because of what happened, but that’s over now. Tonight, you proved exactly who you are.”
Elena slapped him hard across the face, her hand trembling with rage. “You think you can just walk away from me?”
VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Real Heiress Strikes Back (Ashley and Dimitri)