8

James let out a relieved sigh as he dropped on his bed. The springs groaned under his weight and he sighed. The hot shower and cocoa had helped the stress tremendously. Now, he needed at least twelve hours of sleep and a few more in bed. His eyes drooped as sleep came upon him and he slowly drifted into the wonderful world of fantasies.

His satisfaction was short-lived because there was a savage knock on his door. He let out a cry and hit his bed in frustration. Who could be killing his joy in such a terrible manner? He muttered profanities as he dragged himself to the door and grudgingly opened it to look down at the black and gold dyed head of none other than his wife.

He sneered as she looked up at him. Normally, she would have smiled daintily at him with an annoying glint in her eyes but this time, she returned his sneer with a deadly scowl that turned his stomach. He decided to break the eerie silence.

“What?”

She didn’t answer his question but tried to push past him into his bedroom. He quickly used his strong arm to block her way and she looked up at him with her glassy contact-clad eyes. The silver irises shot daggers and scorpions at him.

“I said WHAT!” He raised his voice in an attempt to intimidate her. It didn’t work. She stared at him with her eyes narrowed into slits and he was the one intimidated. This was mildly shocking because Avery never behaved like this towards him. She was head over heels for him and would do anything just to satisfy him except for the occasional womanly stubbornness. After about a minute of uncomfortable silence, she finally spoke.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you had a business deal with Jean that was going to save your business?” Her voice was dry and oddly deep, like she had been crying a lot.

He let out a breath. So this was what all the drama was about. His face hardened and he faced her squarely.

“You’re never interested in any of my business deals. Your aim is just to spend the produce of my sweat. So why are you so bothered about this one?” he wasn’t even going to worry his head about how she found out.

“Because its Jean for crying out loud!” She threw her arms in the air for emphasis. There was absolutely no way she was letting this issue slide. God knew she had thought of this for two days since that phone call with Jean, she had the time on her hands anyway. “Why would you get involved with her again after all these years? I thought we were over this.”

“I owe you absolutely no explanation for any of my actions and I wonder why you’re even stalking me in the first place.” He raised his hand when she opened her mouth to reply. “I don’t want to hear the lies you will cook up for me this time. All I know is that I want absolutely no confrontations from you about anything that has to do with my business deal with Jean. My life is my business and all I want right now is some damn good sleep and not a pounding headache. Thank you very much and good fucking night.”

With that, he slammed the door in her face and locked it. Why wouldn’t that woman just leave him alone and stop pestering him all the time? Now she’s asking about the contract with Jean. James smiled as a view of her face floated into his head. Just the thought of her made him smile and he made sure he smiled till he drifted off to sleep.

Avery stood at his door gaping for about five minutes after he closed it before dragging herself to the other side of the house where her own room was located. She had sent the servants to their quarters early in case her talk with James got too heated. Now, there was not a soul to witness her misery. The tears flowed until she got to her room and still let them soak her pillow.

All was well until Jean came along…again. She wasn’t scared that Jean would steal her husband; she was positive that there was no love in the other woman’s heart for James. Her main anger was that James would do anything just to see Jean smile but he couldn’t bear to even let Avery into his bedroom. She was sure that if it was Jean who wanted to enter his room that way, she would be more than welcome.

She had sacrificed everything only to have Jean come and ruin it all for her. Never! Never would she let that woman take it all from her. She wanted her riches, her husband and most of all, she wanted his love in return.