Scandalous Box Set

by Layla Valentine

  “I don’t want to gamble with your prospects, kid,” I said to my bump. “But you know, there are other things I can do. I minored in business, you know. I could open a spa or something. I have enough saved to launch a small business in an entirely different sector. Something creative, but not necessarily design. It would take a lot of work. I wouldn’t have a lot of time with you. Probably couldn’t afford daycare, at least not at first, but your grandma would take care of you.”

  The thought of burdening my mother with the task of raising a baby at her age steeled my resolve. I wasn’t going to let this go without a fight.

  “Everybody deserves a chance at happiness,” I said, still mentally talking to the baby. “Everybody deserves a chance to be loved. David would love you so much, I just know he would. Even if he couldn’t be there all the time. Trust me, if he knew about you, he’d be over the moon. I know I said he wouldn’t, but I was wrong. I know I was wrong. He’s a romantic at heart, and he wants a baby. It’s not fair to you or to him to keep this a secret. She just has to see that.”

  I had logic, reason, and appeals to emotion on my side. I would promise discretion and convince her, somehow, that it was for the best. If she had a humane bone in her body, she would see things my way.

  The thought comforted me as I pulled into the familiar visitor’s space at Amelia’s penthouse. I barely noticed that all of the other spots were full. The doorman greeted me familiarly and waved me to the elevators. I gave him a grateful smile and bolted toward them.

  My mind was so full of arguments and pleas that I didn’t have room to spare for small talk. The elevator attendant didn’t seem to mind. It was a different person again, and a tiny corner of my brain wondered what the turnover rate on a job like that must be. I briefly thanked the girl as I hurried through the foyer and rang the bell with a shaking finger.

  “Amelia! The door—oh, I’ll get it.” An unfamiliar feminine voice floated through the door.

  My stomach lurched. I couldn’t bring this up in front of company, could I? But before I could turn around and run, the door had opened.

  “Come in, come in! Amelia’s around here somewhere. Are you a member of the Manhattan club, or are you one of her overseas friends? Oh, never mind, there’s Charlie! Charlie, be a dear and get me a drink, would you?” The blond, bejeweled woman turned back to me with a bright, but somewhat sloshy smile.

  Oh, no. Not just company. Amelia was throwing a cocktail party for what looked to be all of Manhattan’s VIPs.

  I began to back away, but the blond woman caught my elbow.

  “Come in, dear, come in! Have you met Bert? Bert! Look at this pretty girl I found, come say hello!”

  “I’m sorry, excuse me, I’ll just—”

  “Bert, this is—oh, what did you say your name was, dear?”

  “Grace?” Amelia’s sharp voice cut through the din.

  “Grace, of course! Grace, this is Bert. Bert, Grace. There, I’ve done my social duty, now I think I’ll go find Charlie. Charlie!”

  Amelia cut through the crowd like a knife through butter. Bert, who looked half in the bag himself, blinked blearily at me.

  “What’s your name, sweetheart?” he slurred.

  I didn’t have to answer. Amelia was at my side then, tugging me along by my elbow. She seethed silently, her nails digging into my flesh, her perfect brows drawing close together over flashing eyes.

  She spun me through the door into David’s room. If I hadn’t been so terrified, the irony might have amused me. She turned on me and hissed through her teeth.

  “What are you doing here?”

  I swallowed hard. “I…um—”

  She shook my arm. “Out with it, quickly! I can’t have you seen here in that condition.”

  My mind was racing a mile a minute. She had me cornered. Her posture was like a cobra ready to strike, her eyes like a hunting cat’s. I had never felt more vulnerable in my life.

  I slipped my hand into my purse and touched a few buttons on my phone. Better safe than sorry.

  “I’m here to ask you to reconsider,” I said as firmly as my shaking voice would allow. “I don’t want anything from David and don’t want to cause any trouble. But he deserves to know. It’s his baby.”

  “Keep your voice down! Listen to me you little witch, if you say one word to my husband about that bastard child of yours, I will ruin you both. You won’t be able to get a job flipping burgers by the time I’m done with you.”

  “Beg your pardon?”

  David’s voice sent a thrill down my spine. Amelia’s eyes widened and she spun around. He was standing in the doorway, arms crossed, glaring at her.

  “David! Why, I thought you had business in Queens?”

  “Yes, and I thought you were ill. You’re looking much better, I must say.”

  “It was just a little—”

  “Month-long ploy? No, don’t speak. Your Machiavellian maneuvers are over, Amelia. How long did you think you could keep this from me?”

  “Well—”

  “How stupid do you think I am?” He shook his head, his face settling into a determined frown. “Stupid as I’ve let myself be, I suppose.”

  He looked over at me. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes,” I said, awash in relief. It was all out in the open now. They would be forced to deal with it, and I might finally have the answer I’d been waiting for since London.

  “Don’t say another word to her, David. You are my husband. Her little problem has nothing to do with you. Now get back out there and mingle!”

  David shook his head. “No, Amelia. You’ve controlled me long enough.”

  “If you had any control of yourself, maybe I wouldn’t need to! You see what happened? The second I had my back turned you went and did…that! You will not embarrass me in front of my friends, David. I won’t have it.”

  “Have you seen images of the baby yet?” David asked, ignoring her.

  “Yes,” I said. “She looks like you.”

  “You can’t tell that from an ultrasound,” Amelia sneered. “That baby could be anybody’s.”

  “But you know it’s mine,” David said coldly, his eyes fixed on his wife. “And you threatened Grace in order to keep it from me. Time and again I’ve allowed you to manipulate me, Amelia. This is the final straw. Our marriage, what there was of it, is over.”

  Amelia began to shake from head to toe. She took a step toward him and I followed, instinctively protective. She looked like a bomb about to blow.

  “Over? Very well, David.” Her voice was low, quiet and dangerous. “I’ll give you your divorce. I’ll take everything you’ve ever worked for, and why not? What more compelling evidence of infidelity than a bastard child full of your dull and dusty DNA?”

  He matched her movement, stepping toward her. He towered over her, glaring into her eyes. “Do it. Threaten me with anything you like, Amelia. Your threats are purgatory compared to this hellish sham of a marriage.”

  I had to act now.

  I glanced down at my hand, then turned to David. “David, why haven’t you simply annulled the marriage? You sleep in separate bedrooms. You’ve never consummated. Why is this even a question?”

  His gaze softened slightly when he met my eyes. “Because—”

  “Because I’ll deny it,” Amelia said coldly. “I’ll tell everyone that I was a faithful, loving wife who tended his every carnal need. That I simply wasn’t enough to satisfy his wandering gaze. I’ll cry when I tell them how much I”—she shuddered—“loved him. Ha! How could you love a man who bought you with a buy-a-parcel, get-a-wife coupon?”

  A flash of regret crossed David’s face. Amelia was on a roll now.

  “Once the lawyers get involved, everyone will believe we had a hot and heavy honeymoon period, well and truly consummated, before his cheating tore my heart out.”

  She lifted her chin arrogantly. She knew the power of her tears, the persuasion of her shapely body. She glanced down at herself, running
a hand over her ribs and waist.

  “I’ll wear something little and slinky. Nobody will believe for a second that he didn’t jump all over me the instant I allowed him to. My lip will quiver when I tell them how I tempted him with silky little teddies and whipped cream.”

  She looked up at me with the aforementioned pout. It was indeed convincing before it shattered into an unsettling laugh.

  “The truth isn’t what actually happened, you stupid girl. It’s what you can make people believe. I can sleep soundly knowing I never let him in my bed, while he sleeps on a rusty twin mattress in a hovel somewhere. You see, Grace…I hold all the cards. He can’t leave me. Ever.”

  A tense silence fell over us. David’s face paled ever so slightly. Amelia smiled like a snake.

  Slowly, deliberately, I pulled my phone from my purse. I touched the screen twice.

  “Because I’ll deny it. I’ll tell everyone that I was a faithful, loving wife,” her voice said from the speaker.

  “There’s your evidence,” I said to David. “I recorded her whole speech.”

  Amelia’s eyes widened beyond what I thought was possible and she paled until she was nearly translucent. All at once she clawed both hands into her hair and shrieked so loud the whole building must have heard it. I never knew real fear until that moment, and it froze me to the spot.

  David grabbed my hand and pulled. We ran through the crowd of tipsy, curious guests, out the door, and down into the parking lot. David’s car was parked directly behind mine, blocking me in.

  “I followed you,” he said, almost apologetically.

  “I’m so glad you did.” I looked behind me, fearful that Amelia would be flying through the parking lot with murder in her eyes at any moment.

  He touched my shoulder, drawing my gaze back toward him. “She won’t come,” he said softly. “She’ll be smoothing things over with her guests. She won’t want everybody talking about this. She has to come up with a story and spread it as quickly as she can.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  Finally able to relax a touch, I looked up at his beautiful eyes. They creased at the corners for a moment, then he pulled me into a warm embrace. Closing my eyes, I buried my face in his shoulder, inhaling his scent. The embrace was everything I had remembered it to be. His scent, his strength, his warmth, all of it. I melted against him, so wholly content that I could hardly breathe.

  “You were amazing back there,” he murmured in my ear. “She’s been holding that threat over me for years. You’re a genius.”

  Reality rushed back, bringing a heaping helping of guilt with it. I pulled away and looked up at him.

  “I’m so sorry you had to find out that way. I wanted to tell you about the baby. I almost did so many times, but—”

  He put a finger on my lips, gazing at me with soft, hazy eyes. “I couldn’t be happier, Grace. Truly.”

  “Really?”

  He smiled. “I’ve always wanted a family. Always. Now it’s finally happening. I am so sorry that you’ve had to go through it alone until now. I’m so sorry it took me so long to fight for what I wanted. To fight for you.”

  “She was blackmailing you.”

  He cut my excuses short with a shake of his head. “No. You were right, back in London. When you asked me why I didn’t just leave her if I was so unhappy. I should have, consequences be damned.”

  Tears spilled down my cheeks as happiness swelled in my chest. “It doesn’t matter now,” I said through a sob. I held his face in my hands. “You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

  He breathed a shaky sigh and pulled me close once more, kissing my hair, rubbing my arms, as though making sure that I was really there. I never wanted to let him go. If everything could go exactly right just this once, maybe I would never have to. But I couldn’t imagine that Amelia would let this go easily. She would be out for blood.

  “What are we going to do, David?” I asked, feeling as small and helpless as my voice sounded.

  “Whatever you want, my love,” he said. “Trust me. Everything will work out.”

  I looked up at him and searched his face. He looked determined and not a bit afraid. My mind was still racing with all of the worst possible outcomes, and it must have shown on my face because he smiled down at me.

  “Grace, you beautiful genius. I do believe you just finished a massive project. How would you like to celebrate? I think it’s about time I took you on a proper date.”

  I grinned up at him. Maybe everything was going to be okay, after all.

  Chapter 24

  David

  September 1

  “Grace, darling, would you get down from there before you hurt yourself?”

  I had just walked into our new dining room to find my heavily pregnant girlfriend standing on a step stool, hauling a chandelier up to a hook in the ceiling.

  “Oh hush, I’m fine. Besides, this needs to be up before the baby comes. I’ve already painted and done the drapes, the table is supposed to be delivered sometime today so we’ll be able to get rid of this one, and—oh!”

  She wobbled slightly as the chandelier’s mount slid over the hook, and I rushed to catch her.

  She caught her balance herself, looked down at me, and laughed. “What would you have done if I had fallen? I would squash you!”

  “Of course you wouldn’t,” I said with a grin. “I’m strong as an ox, and you’re light as a feather.”

  “You’re a terrible liar.”

  She made her way slowly and carefully down the ladder. She had only been a couple feet off the ground, but still my heart pounded anxiously until her feet were safely back on the floor.

  “There,” she said. “Finished. Now the kitchen—”

  “You really should rest,” I said a bit desperately. “You’ll be going into labor soon. Your body needs to rest.”

  “Oh, I’m not due for weeks.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Besides, I want to get this place finished before the baby comes. I have to get it finished. Oh! The baseboards need vacuuming, and I’m really not sure about the yellow in the bathroom. Maybe a green would be better?”

  “She won’t even notice the bathroom,” I said with a laugh. “She won’t be using it for a couple of years anyway.”

  “Oh yes, she will,” Grace said, twisting her hands together. “She’ll need baths, and her teeth brushed—when she gets teeth—and let’s be honest, she’ll probably have to come in there sometimes when we do. My mom says I was terribly clingy as a baby.”

  “All right, but will she really notice if the chandeliers don’t match?”

  “No, because now they do. I did the one in the living room this morning.”

  “Grace! Will you stop climbing things? What if your water breaks while you’re up there? You’ll slip and break your neck!”

  She sighed in adorable frustration. “Fine. Can I at least do the kitchen? I swear I won’t fall or poison myself.”

  “As long as you swear, I’ll accept it.” I kissed her forehead. “Oh! I have a surprise for you.”

  “A surprise? What is it?”

  I winked at her and pulled a large envelope out from my jacket. “Read it.”

  “Dear Mr. Harris,” she read out loud. “After reviewing your petition…” She stopped reading out loud, but her lips kept moving. She stopped halfway through. Her eyes widened, then she sped through the rest of it. Finished, she looked up at me, beaming.

  “It’s over! You’re officially annulled!”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’m officially a free man. I can go on dates, pick up women on the street—”

  “David!”

  I laughed and pulled her close. “I’m teasing, my love. I’m all yours.”

  “Mm.” She snuggled into me, inhaling deeply through her nose.

  I loved it when she did that. It somehow made me feel like all she needed in life was what I had to offer. With the annulment finalized, I could offer her my whole world.

  She pulled back and looked up
at me with a puzzled expression. “So Amelia never contested it at all?”

  I shook my head and took Grace’s elbow to lead her to the kitchen. “She couldn’t have borne it if our dirty laundry was aired in public. Her reputation is her most cherished possession. Her need to save face won out over her desire for retribution, thankfully. But don't worry. Her father is wealthy enough. He’ll take care of her.”

  “I can’t imagine that someone like her would need to be taken care of,” Grace said with a little shudder. “She’s so cold that I imagine she would resent it.”

  “Not nearly as much as she resents a budget,” I said, laughing. “Now, what do you want to do with this kitchen?”

  Looking around, I couldn’t imagine how Grace could improve it. It was an updated, state-of-the-art kitchen fit for a mansion in Queens. Then again, she had found little ways to improve every other room in the house since we’d moved in.

  “First, we get rid of this salt-and-pepper backsplash. It’s popular, chic even, but it just looks dirty and industrial to me. I want something warm and homey, maybe blue or yellow. Maybe both. And these appliances.” She shuddered again. “If I never see stainless steel again, it’ll be too soon.”

  “But…they’re stainless. Easier to keep clean, right?”

  She shook her head. “They get all fingerprinted and smeared. Besides, there’s that industrial vibe again. I want something cute and homey.”

  “Whatever your heart desires, my love. Say the word and I’ll make it happen.”

  She beamed at me and my heart melted. I couldn’t believe that I had almost passed her up to spend the rest of my life locked in a loveless farce.

  “You’re wonderful,” I said as I stroked her soft, glowing cheek. “Just wonderful.”

  “So are you,” she said, throwing her arms around me. “What do you think about pink?”

  “The color?”

  “No, the panther. Yes, of course the color, silly! For the appliances. Like a whole retro thing, but better.”

  I cringed internally at the idea of a pink kitchen. “Whatever you like, dear.”