Read Online Escaping Christmas (Contemporary Romance) by Charlotte Ashwood - Free Book Online
Authors: Charlotte Ashwood
Ads: Link
bitter laugh.
She could still remember how excited and grateful she’d been. Lord, she had been so naive. “We started dating, and when my mom died he helped me through the process. He asked me to marry him, and after a few months I finally agreed. Three months after our wedding, on Christmas Day, we were on our way to his mother’s when he said he wanted an annulment. It turned out that my accountant was not just an accountant, but also his lover. He’d been having an affair for even longer than we were married.”
Alex had listened without interrupting, but at this he couldn’t help but interject. “Why did he marry you if he was already in love with another woman?”
“That’s the irony.” She laughed bitterly. “He knew my father came from a wealthy and influential family, so he felt that even though I didn’t bear his name, I was still more respectable than the no-name accountant. Can you believe that he actually sat there calmly and told me that he’d married me because he’d thought my father’s family would eventually claim me, and that since that hadn’t happened, he didn’t see the sense in continuing with the marriage? I was a bad investment.” She wiped at the tears that had escaped and trickled down her face.
“A bad investment. That’s what he called me. Then he said that his mistress was expecting his baby and he was going to marry her. I just sat there and listened as my life crumbled around me. Somehow he lost control of the car. We skidded and ended up beneath a truck. He died instantly. I wasn’t so lucky.” Her voice broke.
“Angie,” Alex murmured.
“What I don’t understand is how I could have been so completely blind. I worked with them. How did I not notice that there was something going on?”
Alex stood then and lifted her into his arms. Her pain was almost more than he could bear. He walked with her to the sofa and settled her on his lap. “Angie, hear me. You married a man who was a bastard. How on earth is that your fault?”
“But I should have known, Alex.” She looked up at him earnestly, her eyes shadowed by remembered pain. “How could I not have known? I trusted him. I loved him. How could I love such a person?”
He brushed her hair from her face tenderly. “Baby, you gave your love freely and he abused it. That makes him a fool. You can’t seriously think love goes through a selection process, picking out only those who are worthy of our love.”
She shook her head sadly. “I hear you, Alex,” she said softly. “But I felt so stupid. They made a fool of me, and I helped them do it.”
Alex rubbed her back gently, comforting her but also trying to comfort himself. “So who is taking care of your business while you’re here?”
“What business?” She laughed derisively. “By the time I got out of the hospital I discovered that he had left his fifty percent to his lover, who had emptied the account and gone MIA.”
“You can’t let her get away with that.”
“Actually, I don’t care anymore.”
“Wow. I hate to speak badly of the dead and all that, but the man really was a bastard.”
Angie laughed weakly. “You can say that again.”
“So you’re going to close yourself up to everyone because of that character?”
Angie couldn’t believe her ears. Where was that coming from? “Excuse me?”
“Angie, you have so much to give, and you are alive. You married a crappy man but your world didn’t end. We’ve been together practically every day since we met but you haven’t really been with me. You’re holding back.”
She jumped off his lap, suddenly agitated. Hadn’t he heard a word she’d said? “Alex, you don’t understand. I was with Michael for over a year before we got married. If I got it so wrong then, how do I know I won’t make the same mistake again?”
Alex stood up, suddenly angry with her. “You are selling yourself short, babe.”
“I have no guarantee I won’t meet another asshole.”
He stiffened.
She could still remember how excited and grateful she’d been. Lord, she had been so naive. “We started dating, and when my mom died he helped me through the process. He asked me to marry him, and after a few months I finally agreed. Three months after our wedding, on Christmas Day, we were on our way to his mother’s when he said he wanted an annulment. It turned out that my accountant was not just an accountant, but also his lover. He’d been having an affair for even longer than we were married.”
Alex had listened without interrupting, but at this he couldn’t help but interject. “Why did he marry you if he was already in love with another woman?”
“That’s the irony.” She laughed bitterly. “He knew my father came from a wealthy and influential family, so he felt that even though I didn’t bear his name, I was still more respectable than the no-name accountant. Can you believe that he actually sat there calmly and told me that he’d married me because he’d thought my father’s family would eventually claim me, and that since that hadn’t happened, he didn’t see the sense in continuing with the marriage? I was a bad investment.” She wiped at the tears that had escaped and trickled down her face.
“A bad investment. That’s what he called me. Then he said that his mistress was expecting his baby and he was going to marry her. I just sat there and listened as my life crumbled around me. Somehow he lost control of the car. We skidded and ended up beneath a truck. He died instantly. I wasn’t so lucky.” Her voice broke.
“Angie,” Alex murmured.
“What I don’t understand is how I could have been so completely blind. I worked with them. How did I not notice that there was something going on?”
Alex stood then and lifted her into his arms. Her pain was almost more than he could bear. He walked with her to the sofa and settled her on his lap. “Angie, hear me. You married a man who was a bastard. How on earth is that your fault?”
“But I should have known, Alex.” She looked up at him earnestly, her eyes shadowed by remembered pain. “How could I not have known? I trusted him. I loved him. How could I love such a person?”
He brushed her hair from her face tenderly. “Baby, you gave your love freely and he abused it. That makes him a fool. You can’t seriously think love goes through a selection process, picking out only those who are worthy of our love.”
She shook her head sadly. “I hear you, Alex,” she said softly. “But I felt so stupid. They made a fool of me, and I helped them do it.”
Alex rubbed her back gently, comforting her but also trying to comfort himself. “So who is taking care of your business while you’re here?”
“What business?” She laughed derisively. “By the time I got out of the hospital I discovered that he had left his fifty percent to his lover, who had emptied the account and gone MIA.”
“You can’t let her get away with that.”
“Actually, I don’t care anymore.”
“Wow. I hate to speak badly of the dead and all that, but the man really was a bastard.”
Angie laughed weakly. “You can say that again.”
“So you’re going to close yourself up to everyone because of that character?”
Angie couldn’t believe her ears. Where was that coming from? “Excuse me?”
“Angie, you have so much to give, and you are alive. You married a crappy man but your world didn’t end. We’ve been together practically every day since we met but you haven’t really been with me. You’re holding back.”
She jumped off his lap, suddenly agitated. Hadn’t he heard a word she’d said? “Alex, you don’t understand. I was with Michael for over a year before we got married. If I got it so wrong then, how do I know I won’t make the same mistake again?”
Alex stood up, suddenly angry with her. “You are selling yourself short, babe.”
“I have no guarantee I won’t meet another asshole.”
He stiffened.
Similar Books
