Chapter 4

"Mr. Sterling. We have a lead on Mrs. Sterling." His head of security came running up with a phone.

Julian took it. Watched the video. The blood drained from his face in a way the fire hadn't managed.

His hand was trembling around the phone. The man next to him didn't dare breathe.

He'd never seen his boss like this. A vein stood out on Julian's temple. He looked ready to level the city.

The video showed me. Fully made up. Sitting on the lap of a male model. Laughing. Flirting.

When I leaned in and kissed the model on the cheek, something in Julian snapped.

"Where is she?"

"Where. Is she."

His voice got louder with every word.

His security chief was sweating. "The—the video was sent by Mrs. Sterling. We couldn't trace the location. But we have a new number."

Julian barely waited. He dialed.

I was in a private lounge downtown, being massaged by the same male model, when Julian's name lit up my screen.

I let it ring to the last possible second before I picked up.

"Mira Harrington, if you let him touch you, I swear to God I'll end him."

The volume nearly blew my eardrum.

I felt something close to pleasure.

The angrier he got, the happier I was.

Let him have a taste of watching the person he loves being loved by someone else.

A thin, mocking smile curled my lip. "Rules for thee and not for me."

He shifted gears immediately. Half threat, half plea.

"Don't do anything stupid. You know your body can't handle another man. You don't have to prove a point with your health."

"I mean it. Anyone who lays a hand on Julian Sterling's wife is dead. Tell me where you are. I'm coming."

I laughed softly, looking down at the model kneeling at my feet, working his hands up my calf.

"Such a man, Julian. But I guess your attorney didn't tell you. The court finalized our divorce thirty minutes ago."

"That's not possible. I didn't appear! They can't rule without me!"

"Oh, Julian. Either you're full of yourself or you've never read a statute. You don't have to appear for a court to rule. You lost the right to tell me anything. Congratulations on the divorce."

I laughed again. Hung up.

Not to spite him. For real this time. For the sheer joy of being free.

The model politely pulled his hands back and stepped aside.

I looked at him, puzzled. "Why'd you stop?"

He smiled. "You accomplished what you set out to do. My job's finished."

He thought I'd only hired him to provoke Julian.

I shook my head with a small smile. "Keep going. I was proving a point. But I was also enjoying myself."

Men aren't much. I have all the money in the world. I can hire as many models as I want.

Julian tried to call back. My phone was off.

He was beyond rage now. He dug his fingers into his scalp like he was trying to tear his way out of his own skull.

After two failed calls, he turned to his men.

"Don't just stand there. Find her."

He was losing it.

This was a pain worse than losing a parent, worse than losing a child.

He'd never imagined that the soft-spoken wife he'd managed for a decade could, in one day, burn down her home, divorce him, and hire a male escort.

He was about to leave when Chloe arrived.

She took one look at the ruins and gasped. Then, quietly, smiled.

She'd been waiting years for him to divorce. The messier the split, the better for her position.

She put on her concerned voice. "This is arson. She's totally out of control."

"I never would've guessed Mira was capable of this. Her emotions are all over the place. Arson today. Murder tomorrow?"

She saw the state he was in and assumed he was devastated over the property value.

Julian wasn't even hearing her. His brain was one long loop. Find her. Don't let anyone else touch her.

He strode toward the car.

Being ignored didn't sit well with Chloe.

"Julian."

Her voice had an edge.

In the old days, the slightest displeasure from her would have sent him scrambling to fix it.

This time he didn't even slow down. If anything, he walked faster.

That enraged her. She rushed ahead and planted herself against the car door.

"Are you kidding me? You think because I'm carrying your child you can treat me like this?"

"What is this, Julian? What kind of attitude is this?"

Her eyes welled up. Real tears. Big fat ones.

The old Julian would have folded.

The new Julian was too far gone. "I have to find Mira. Everything else can wait."

He tried to move her aside.

She pressed her whole body into the door.

"Find her for what? You're divorced!"

She shouted it.

Four years as his mistress. Four years of being whispered about. The man who said he loved her was chasing his ex-wife.

Her pride wouldn't allow it.

Julian froze. His eyes narrowed.

"How do you know?"

He'd just learned about the divorce himself. How did she know?

Something flickered in her eyes. Guilt. She covered fast and put on her tearful voice.

"I heard you on the phone. Just now."

It was enough to satisfy him.

She pressed on. "If you go after her, I'm getting rid of the baby. Your choice."

She was certain the child was her ultimate leverage. A man like Julian, who'd wanted to be a father his whole life, would never choose his ex-wife over his own blood.

He pushed her aside.

"I told you I'd spoil you. Not let you destroy everything. Do whatever the hell you want."

He got in the car. He put his foot on the gas. He drove.

Chloe stood there in the gravel, staring after him, unable to believe he'd just treated her like that.

She'd always thought her hold on him was absolute.

It had just evaporated.