Her Perfect Revenge

by Anna Mara

  "Sure, you've fallen… on your head, if you expect me to believe that!"

  "You know what, Christina? You really are a piece of work!" he shouted back before collecting his pants from the floor and violently throwing them on. "And you know what else?" He retrieved his shirt and stuffed his arms into the sleeves. "I love you so goddamned much that I'm throwing you out of here."

  "What?" Now it was Christina's turn to be flabbergasted.

  He came up to her and poked her in the chest. "That's right. I want you to pack your things and get the hell out. We're through!" Bill turned and stalked to the door.

  Christina was stunned. "What? What are you saying?"

  Still furious, he turned back to her. "I'm saying, you're free, Christina, you're free. I'm releasing you from all of your contractual obligations to me. You don't owe me a thing. You don't owe me for the car, you don't owe me for the ring and you don't have to marry me. I'll have my lawyer draw up the papers today and I'll sign them. Everything you wanted, you got. You win!"

  "But… your father… if you don't marry me, he'll throw you out! You won't have any money!" Christina was astounded at what she was hearing.

  "Yeah, well, you know what? Maybe I fucking love you more!" He screamed the words at her and then strode out the door, slamming it so hard that it rocked on its hinges.

  Christina's mouth dropped open in shock and her breathing stopped. Could it be true? Could Bill Havenwood love her—for real? If he let her walk and they didn't marry, Christina knew William would immediately cut him off. If Bill was willing to give up everything in order to set her free and make her happy—that only meant one thing…

  The rat bastard was truly in love with her!

  And she was in love with him.

  Chapter 54

  Christina woke up with a start and bolted upright out of bed. Was it true? Did Bill really love her or had she dreamt the whole thing?

  For a few seconds, she wasn't sure. Then it all came streaming back to her. He did love her! Bill Havenwood—a.k.a., the rat bastard—was in love with her. Smiling, she flopped backwards into her pillow and gazed dreamily up at the ceiling.

  Because she'd been up all night spying on him, she'd unintentionally fallen asleep after he'd left—and had dreamt of him. Bill Havenwood loved her—and what was even crazier—she loved him. She sighed deeply. But what about her revenge plan to get back at him for what he'd done in high school? What about the promise she'd made to herself all those years ago?

  Well, Bill wasn't that same person anymore. He was sober now and trying to change his life for the better. In fact, she understood a little better now why he'd been that way in high school.

  A dysfunctional home life coupled with the disease of alcoholism had made him into a pretty messed up kid. She saw things clearly now with the eyes of an adult. She'd come to know him—and she'd come to love him. And life was about second chances, wasn’t it? Everybody deserved that. He did. And so did she.

  Christina glanced at her bedside clock. It read 1:15 p.m.

  She was now going to shower, get dressed, go downstairs, find him and tell him that she loved him too. The time for lies was over. But would she tell him about her revenge plan and what she'd really been up to? Yes, but not today. Today was for love.

  Having made her decision, Christina felt a twinge of apprehension that she might be making a mistake by not telling him everything today but she pushed the feeling aside.

  * * *

  As Christina was crossing the foyer, she spotted Eudora, the elderly maid.

  "Eudora, have you seen Bill anywhere?" Christina had checked in his bedroom and he wasn't there.

  "Yes, mum. He left early this morning, for the office I assume."

  So, Bill wasn't in the house. Well, she'd just wait for him to come back and then she'd tell him that she loved him—and everything would turn out fine.

  Chapter 55

  It was almost 6 p.m. when Christina finally saw his Jag drive up to the house. The butterflies in her stomach fluttered and her heart pounded. She was nervous. How would he react; and what would he say when she told him?

  Dressed for dinner—and for him—in a sexy blue halter dress, Christina moved away from the salon windows and went to sit on the couch. She knew he'd come looking for her.

  He did.

  Bill walked into the salon—and his face was set in stone.

  He didn't smile at Christina nor greet her. Still fuming from his morning encounter with her, he marched to where she was sitting and handed her a folded document.

  "Everything you wanted… madam," he coldly told her.

  Slowly standing up, Christina unfolded the document and scanned the contents. It was legal and signed—and it released her from all debts she owed Bill. She was free.

  He continued in that frozen voice. "My lawyer says it's all legal and above board but if you don't 'believe' me…" he emphasized the word 'believe' since Christina had called him a liar when he'd declared his love for her. "Then take it to your own lawyer and have them check it out." Still furious, Bill could barely stand to look at her.

  Christina studied his set face. "No, I believe you. In fact, I…"

  He cut her off. "I've already signed it. All you have to do is sign it too and our arrangement is over. You can leave anytime." He looked at her then—with chilly, frosty eyes.

  Christina refolded the document and handed it back to him. "No, I don't think so. I'm not signing this," she said.

  Bill was taken aback. "Is there something in there you don't like? I've told you, you can take it to your own lawyer and have it verified."

  "I'm sure the document's fine. It's just… well… maybe I don't want to leave." Christina took a few steps closer and captured his eyes with hers.

  Bill was still cold towards her. "You don't want to leave? I don't understand?"

  Christina breached the last few inches between them and wrapped her arms around his neck. She stared into his eyes. "Do you love me, Bill Havenwood?" she purred, in her sexiest voice as one finger traced his cheekbone.

  "Yes, I love you." Mesmerized, his words came out in a gasp. "But you don't believe me."

  "I believe you now." Her finger moved to his lips.

  Bill was skeptical. "You do?"

  Christina nodded her head. "Yes."

  Bill kept his arms to his sides. "And what brought on this change of heart?"

  "Well, you were willing to give up everything for me and that proves you love me." She paused and stared deeply into his eyes. "And I love you too." She held her breath, waiting for his reaction.

  She didn't have to wait long as surprise flashed in his eyes.

  "You love me?"

  Christina smiled. "I love you, my darling and I don't want to go."

  "You're saying you… really love me?"

  Christina nodded, "Yes."

  Suddenly, Bill's hands came around her in a steel grip and he beamed with happiness. His next words came out in a rush, "This is… amazing. I can't believe it. You love me? You're saying you're in love with me?"

  Christina nodded again before bringing her lips up to his and tenderly kissing him. He reciprocated in kind, as he clung to her for dear life.

  Their lips broke apart and he smiled into her sweet eyes. "How… god, this is incredible… how long have you known?"

  "A while."

  "But… you didn't say anything? You let me believe that…"

  Christina put a finger up to his lips and stopped his words, "Shhh… I know… and I'm sorry but I was afraid you didn't feel the same way. Now I know how wrong I was."

  "Does this mean you'll marry me… for real?"

  "Yes, my sweetheart, I will marry you."

  Christina was secretly breathing a sigh of relief. Everything was going so well that she almost wanted to pinch herself. Maybe she was dreaming and none of this was real?

  She raised her lips again to his and he gave her another warm, ravenous kiss and she knew that—no, she wasn't dreaming�
�that kiss had been real, as was his passion—and it was all for her.

  Bill tore his lips away and stared into her beautiful eyes. "Darling, you've made me the happiest man on this planet and there's something very special I need to say to you before we start our lives together."

  Christina smiled at him, her love now freely shining in her eyes. "So tell me."

  "No, not here; I want to say it outside by the rose garden. I want you to remember this moment and I want us to be in a special place when I tell you what I have to say."

  "Then, let's go," Christina laughed as, grabbing his hand, she tugged him towards the doors that led outside onto the mansion grounds.

  They half walked, half ran as Christina laughingly pulled Bill towards the beautiful rose garden by the pool. The warm breeze fanned their hair as the sun shone brightly over the green, well-manicured lawn. It looked like a magical fairyland.

  They reached the roses by the pool; and with her eyes and face flushed by the excitement of newly found love, Christina turned to Bill. "What is it you want to tell me, sweetie?"

  Bill smiled at her—then reached down and scooped her up in his powerful arms. Happy, Christina giggled as she was lifted off the ground.

  "I want to tell you this…" Bill replied.

  Then, before Christina had an inkling of what he was intending, Bill—with one good swing—launched her—cocktail dress and all—into the pool!

  She hit the water with a resounding splash and sunk to the bottom. One second later, she resurfaced, gasping for breath. Splashing to get her balance, she quickly pushed her wet hair out of her face and looked up at a furious Bill who was standing by the pool's edge.

  Spluttering water, Christina half gasped, half shouted, "What… what the hell did you do that for?"

  "That… was for fucking lying to me in there!" Fuming, Bill shouted as he pointed to the house. "How dare you tell me that you love me!"

  Frustrated, Christina hit the water with her fists, "But I do love you. I wasn't lying!"

  "You expect me to believe that? That you suddenly love me and want me and want to marry me when you've talked about nothing else for weeks but getting the hell out of here?" He yelled at full volume.

  Christina, still splashing in the middle of the pool, started to get mad. "I do love you, goddamn it… you stubborn, crazy fool! Why would I say it if it wasn't true?"

  "Look around you. Look where you are. It's the lifestyle, baby and the money; and you don't want to lose it. You've had all day to think about what you'd be giving up if I released you from our deal, so you decide to bullshit me with your lies of love. Well, it's not going to work because I'm on to you, honey."

  Wet to the very core of her being, Christina again hit the water with her angry fists. Sprays of water shot up in the air.

  "That's not true. And even if it was, what do you care so long as I marry you anyway. You were prepared to marry me yesterday when it was all bullshit for your father's sake, so why not now?"

  "Because today I told you I love you and that changed everything," Bill yelled back. He then turned and stalked back to the house.

  "Come back here and help me out, you louse!" Christina shouted at his retreating back but Bill ignored her and kept walking. He disappeared into the mansion.

  An angry Christina again pounded the water hard with her hands before swimming to the edge of the pool. Climbing the stairs, she hauled herself out and pushed her sopping wet hair back.

  Looking down at herself, she saw that her beautiful blue halter dress was ruined and plastered to every curve of her body. And she was barefoot. Both of her shoes were now resting at the bottom of the pool.

  What an idiot that man was!

  She'd been telling him the truth about her love for him and he hadn't believed her. Yes—she had done the exact same thing to him this morning and maybe it did serve her right but damn it—she was still mad as hell!

  * * *

  With her head proudly held high as if she was wearing a jeweled tiara, Christina walked through the French doors from outside into the salon.

  Her wet hair was plastered to her head, her drenched cocktail dress was plastered to her body, her mascara was running, her makeup was ruined—and she was barefoot. William was sitting on one of the couches having his usual pre-dinner martini and Bill was leaning against the fireplace with a club soda in his hand.

  As she walked in, Christina stopped in front of a shocked William. "William, will you be so kind as to delay dinner until I've had a chance to change, please?" she elegantly requested.

  Stunned at Christina's wet appearance, William shot up out of his seat. "My God, Christina! What happened to you?" he gasped.

  "I ran into a skunk. A big one," she retorted.

  "That's impossible. We don't have any skunks here."

  "Oh yes, you do," she replied, then turned towards Bill and shot him a dirty look. Bill raised his glass in a silent salute to her.

  Still livid, Christina turned and gracefully walked out of the room.

  Bill watched her walk out—his eyes glued to her luscious, curvy ass clearly emphasized by her wet dress. In fact, every juicy curve of her sexy body was on display for him in that soaked piece of blue cloth she called a dress. And the way she was walking out—with pride and dignity—Bill had to admit the lady had class, even if she was a big liar.

  William had seen the angry look that had passed between the two. He rounded on his son. "What, in hell, is going on here?"

  Bill stood up to his father. "That's between me and her, so stay out of it, dad. I'm warning you."

  William wanted to keep prodding to find out what had happened, but he very wisely decided to keep his mouth shut and let the two of them handle it themselves. His son was showing some moxy lately—in the way he was handling Christina and in the way he was standing up to him—and William was beginning to respect him for it.

  Chapter 56

  It took Christina exactly thirty-five minutes to shower, change, blow dry her hair and apply a light makeup before she was presentable enough to go back downstairs.

  She'd chosen to wear a low-cut, black dress with spaghetti straps that exposed her creamy arms and chest. Even though she'd rushed to get ready, she knew she looked good.

  When Christina reentered the salon, both men were still there, waiting for her. William had a curious expression on his face while Bill's was set with a stern, icy look. William smiled and gallantly led her into the dining room. A sulky Bill followed.

  Dinner was a quiet affair with William doing most of the talking. He tried to draw them both out but all he got for his efforts were one-sentence responses.

  Neither Bill nor Christina addressed each other or even looked at each other. By the time coffee was served, a frustrated William had had enough.

  He forcefully threw down his napkin and rose out of his seat. "I don't know what's going on but it's going to stop tonight. The wedding is less than two weeks away and things better be patched up before then," he threatened, before stomping out of the dining room.

  When the doors slammed behind him, Christina turned to Bill and glared at him. She was still fuming about the dunking in the pool that he'd given her—and the fact that he hadn't believed her love for him.

  Bill glared back. He was still furious at her for pretending to love him so that she could keep her cushy, Havenwood position—and the fact that she hadn't believed his love for her.

  Neither said anything to the other. It was an impasse.

  As if on cue, they both rose up out of their chairs at the same time, intending to leave.

  Christina shot him a dirty look. "I can't believe I'm in love with a bastard," she announced.

  He returned the glare. "And I can't believe I'm in love with a bitch."

  "Go to hell," she angrily retorted.

  "Same to you," he seethed.

  Christina's blood was boiling and she was about to burst. How dare he! How dare he—about everything!

  Acting on impulse, sh
e looked down at her half-eaten plate of food. Scooping up a handful of mashed potatoes, she turned back to him—ready to fire.

  Reading her mind, he threatened, "If you do what you're thinking about doing, then let me warn you, I won't be a gentleman."

  "When were you ever a gentleman?" she snapped back.

  "I was a gentleman tonight by the pool. That dunking you got… let me tell you, you got off easy," he angrily replied.

  Christina still had the fistful of mashed potatoes poised at his head. "It figures someone like you would think that," she shot back.

  "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

  "It means… you are an asshole, Bill Havenwood; and you don't know the first thing about how to treat a lady."

  "Show me a lady and I'll show you how well I can treat her."

  "Are you implying I'm not a lady?"

  "Hey… you're the one standing there with food aimed at my head and I don't think that definition is in the dictionary if you look up the word 'lady', do you?" he taunted her.

  Christina's anger went up two more degrees, hitting the danger zone. Her hand went back—ready to fire the gooey potatoes at him.

  Bill softly warned her. "Don't you…"

  He never got that last word out as the mushy mess hit him squarely on his right eye and cheek. Slowly, Bill's hand came up and wiped off the food. He stared at her hard—then reached down and scooped up his own handful of mashed potatoes and aimed it at her.

  "You dare throw that at me and you prove that you're a louse," Christina warned.

  "Then I'm a louse," he replied, before promptly launching the food at her.

  It landed on her hair and face; and specks fell on the table, on her chair and on William's wildly expensive rug on the floor.

  Christina gasped in shock at his audacity. How bloody dare he! With her napkin, she wiped off as much of the mess as she could.

  Fuming, she rounded on him. "You've got some nerve, buddy!"