Read Online Belle Pearl by Arianne Richmonde - Free Book Online
Authors: Arianne Richmonde
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anyway. I had no doubt in my mind that she would be my wife. I wasn’t going to give up on her—of course not—but she needed to pine for me. Needed to feel what life was going to be without me for a while.
My last words were, “Bye Pearl, baby. Look after yourself.” I walked away, not looking behind.
Fuck I was being a bastard.
But it was the only way to win her back for good.
7
M oney and power were my obsessions for many years, working around the clock to make HookedUp what it quickly became.
Now I had an obsession of a different nature: Pearl.
Every minute of every day, I wanted to be with her. Hold her. Make love to her, although she still probably wasn’t ready for that, after all those nightmares about the college rapists. All the more reason for me to give her time to heal herself, to step away from her; for her to spend a while with her brother and father. She told me she was going to Hawaii to visit her dad.
Pearl and I were talking, but barely. My calls were clipped and businesslike. I sent her a Birkin handbag, replete with cellphone and replacements for her other ‘stolen’ stuff. She needed a new purse, anyway. The old one I stashed away in a suitcase.
Meanwhile, I waited, like a lonely crocodile in his patch of territory; no mate, no friends (except for faithful Rex), biding my time until Pearl wouldn’t be able to bear being away from me anymore. Only then would I make my move.
I had two things to sort out: sell my share of HookedUp to Sophie, once and for all, and deal with the dreaded Laura.
If I wanted to make things work with Pearl, even if she were being irrational about Sophie, I had to extricate myself from HookedUp. Because, seriously, how much money and power does a person need? I’d proved myself—I’d never have to work again if I didn’t want to. It was a small sacrifice to pay for a smooth road ahead with the woman I loved.
But Laura… Jesus, that was an unquantifiable problem waiting—like a grenade—to detonate.
I dialed her house number. I was hoping to get James on the line, to tell him what was going on—to get his crazy wife under control and keep her away from me for good. But James hadn’t been answering his cell so I wasn’t surprised when Laura picked up. As I stood in the kitchen in my apartment, I opened the fridge door, wondering what I should snack on, but the moment I heard Laura’s voice, I lost my appetite.
“Hello darling” she cooed.
“How did you know it was me?” I asked with suspicion—I’d hidden my number.
“Gut feeling.”
I slammed the fridge door shut so hard I heard a bottle smash. “I am not your darling, Laura. I don’t ever, ever want to see you again. Your shenanigans with me at The Connaught were bad enough, but what you did to Pearl was beyond imagination. She was terrified. Terrified.”
She chuckled. “That was the idea.”
“I’m marrying Pearl so you might as well accept it and get out of my fucking life.”
“You won’t marry Pearl, Alex my love, when I tell you what I know.”
Blood pounded in my ears. “What do you know?”
“I think it’s something we need to discuss face to face. I’ll come to New York—we can have a little chat.”
“No!” And then I said calmly, “I have business to attend to in London. I’m going to Provence to see about house stuff—I’ll pick up those books of yours and bring them over to your place. And I’ll pick up my Aston Martin from your garage, too. That way, you and I will break all ties and we won’t ever have to see each other again.”
“So final. So dramatic! Well, Alex darling, if you like a little drama, I can guarantee you that I won’t disappoint.”
“No more games, Laura—really, this isn’t funny.”
“I thought our time together at The Connaught was hilarious, and if I remember rightly, you did too.”
“The drugs had me laughing, but I can tell you it wasn’t bloody funny standing with my dick poking out like a fucking torpedo in
My last words were, “Bye Pearl, baby. Look after yourself.” I walked away, not looking behind.
Fuck I was being a bastard.
But it was the only way to win her back for good.
7
M oney and power were my obsessions for many years, working around the clock to make HookedUp what it quickly became.
Now I had an obsession of a different nature: Pearl.
Every minute of every day, I wanted to be with her. Hold her. Make love to her, although she still probably wasn’t ready for that, after all those nightmares about the college rapists. All the more reason for me to give her time to heal herself, to step away from her; for her to spend a while with her brother and father. She told me she was going to Hawaii to visit her dad.
Pearl and I were talking, but barely. My calls were clipped and businesslike. I sent her a Birkin handbag, replete with cellphone and replacements for her other ‘stolen’ stuff. She needed a new purse, anyway. The old one I stashed away in a suitcase.
Meanwhile, I waited, like a lonely crocodile in his patch of territory; no mate, no friends (except for faithful Rex), biding my time until Pearl wouldn’t be able to bear being away from me anymore. Only then would I make my move.
I had two things to sort out: sell my share of HookedUp to Sophie, once and for all, and deal with the dreaded Laura.
If I wanted to make things work with Pearl, even if she were being irrational about Sophie, I had to extricate myself from HookedUp. Because, seriously, how much money and power does a person need? I’d proved myself—I’d never have to work again if I didn’t want to. It was a small sacrifice to pay for a smooth road ahead with the woman I loved.
But Laura… Jesus, that was an unquantifiable problem waiting—like a grenade—to detonate.
I dialed her house number. I was hoping to get James on the line, to tell him what was going on—to get his crazy wife under control and keep her away from me for good. But James hadn’t been answering his cell so I wasn’t surprised when Laura picked up. As I stood in the kitchen in my apartment, I opened the fridge door, wondering what I should snack on, but the moment I heard Laura’s voice, I lost my appetite.
“Hello darling” she cooed.
“How did you know it was me?” I asked with suspicion—I’d hidden my number.
“Gut feeling.”
I slammed the fridge door shut so hard I heard a bottle smash. “I am not your darling, Laura. I don’t ever, ever want to see you again. Your shenanigans with me at The Connaught were bad enough, but what you did to Pearl was beyond imagination. She was terrified. Terrified.”
She chuckled. “That was the idea.”
“I’m marrying Pearl so you might as well accept it and get out of my fucking life.”
“You won’t marry Pearl, Alex my love, when I tell you what I know.”
Blood pounded in my ears. “What do you know?”
“I think it’s something we need to discuss face to face. I’ll come to New York—we can have a little chat.”
“No!” And then I said calmly, “I have business to attend to in London. I’m going to Provence to see about house stuff—I’ll pick up those books of yours and bring them over to your place. And I’ll pick up my Aston Martin from your garage, too. That way, you and I will break all ties and we won’t ever have to see each other again.”
“So final. So dramatic! Well, Alex darling, if you like a little drama, I can guarantee you that I won’t disappoint.”
“No more games, Laura—really, this isn’t funny.”
“I thought our time together at The Connaught was hilarious, and if I remember rightly, you did too.”
“The drugs had me laughing, but I can tell you it wasn’t bloody funny standing with my dick poking out like a fucking torpedo in
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