Chapter 28 The warning
COLLIN'S POV
I waited until evening to go find Caitlyn. I wanted to give her time to calm down and process what she had seen. Women always overreacted to these things at first but usually they came around once they realized how good they had it. Caitlyn just needed to understand her place in this arrangement.
I found her in one of the guest bedrooms, curled up on the bed, staring at nothing. She looked pathetic and small and I felt a flash of irritation. This drama was exactly what I did not need right now. I had enough problems with Jason Cross and Detective Rourke without my wife falling apart over something so insignificant.
"We need to talk," I said from the doorway.
She did not look at me. "I thought we already talked."
"We did," I said and walked into the room. "But I need to make sure we understand each other completely. What you saw today stays between us. You do not tell anyone about it, not your mother or your friends. No one."
"Why would I tell anyone?" she asked bitterly. "So they can all know what a fool I am for marrying you?"
"Because it would embarrass me," I said flatly. "And embarrassing me would have consequences that you would not like."
She finally turned to look at me. "Are you threatening me?"
"I am making sure you understand the situation," I said. "My reputation is everything. The law firm depends on it, and my business associates depend on it. If word got out that my marriage was anything less than perfect it would raise questions and cause problems."
"So I am supposed to just pretend everything is fine?" she asked. "Smile and play the happy wife while you do whatever you want?"
"That is exactly what you are supposed to do," I said. "That is your job, Caitlyn. You exist to make me look good, to give me credibility and respectability. To provide me with an heir, Everything else is secondary."
"I am not your property," she said quietly.
I almost laughed at that. "Actually you are. We are married, what is yours is mine. Your reputation affects my reputation and your actions affect my business. So yes, in every way that matters, you are mine."
She looked away and I could see tears forming in her eyes again. She needed to understand how serious I was about this.
"You knew what kind of man I was when you married me," I continued. "Maybe you were naive enough to think I would change or that love would magically make everything perfect but that was never going to happen. I told you from the beginning what this marriage was about."
"You told me you loved me," she said.
"I said what you needed to hear," I corrected. "Just like I am saying what you need to hear now. You have a choice, Caitlyn. You can accept the reality of our situation and make the best of it. Or you can fight against it and make both of our lives miserable, but either way, nothing is going to change."
"I want a divorce," she said suddenly.
I felt anger flare up inside me. "That is not going to happen."
"Why not?" she asked. "If this marriage means nothing to you then why not just let me go?"
"Because I need you," I said bluntly. "I need the image of a stable family man. I need the child you are carrying to cement my position in the organization and I need you to stop being so selfish and understand that this is bigger than your feelings."
"My feelings?" she repeated and I could hear the anger in her voice now. "You cheated on me in our bed and I am selfish for being upset about it?"
"Yes," I said simply. "Because you are making this about you when it has nothing to do with you. Amanda is a physical release, she means nothing. You are my wife and the mother of my child. Those are two completely different things."
"They should not be different things," Caitlyn said. "In a real marriage, they would not be."
"But we do not have a real marriage," I said impatiently. "We have an arrangement, and the sooner you accept that, the easier this will be for both of us."
She was quiet for a long moment. I could see her trying to process everything I was saying. She wanted to argue but she was smart enough to know she did not have any options. She was trapped and she knew it.
"What if I told people anyway?" she asked. "What if I told them what you really are?"
I walked closer to the bed and looked down at her. "Then I would make sure you regretted it. I have lawyers who can make your life very difficult. I have connections who can destroy your reputation and I have ways of making sure you never see that child after it is born."
Her eyes went wide. "You would not."
"Try me," I said coldly. "You think you know what I am capable of but you have no idea. I have built an empire by doing whatever needs to be done. Getting rid of a problematic wife would be easy compared to some of the things I have handled."
I could see fear in her eyes now. She needed to be afraid, fear would keep her in line better than any threat.
"So here is what is going to happen," I continued. "You are going to keep your mouth shut about what you saw today. You are going to continue playing the role of my devoted wife in public. You are going to have this baby and raise it properly, and in exchange, I will give you everything you could possibly need. Money. Security, a beautiful home. Is that clear?"
"You are a monster," she whispered.
"I am a realist," I corrected. "And you are going to learn to be one too. Now get some rest, we have dinner with the Hendersons tomorrow night and I need you looking presentable."
I left the room and went downstairs to my study. I poured myself a drink and sat at my desk. Caitlyn was going to be a problem, I could see that now. She was not as easily controlled as I thought she would be but I would break her eventually. Everyone broke when enough pressure was applied.
My phone rang and I saw it was Dimitri. "What is it?" I answered.
"We need to meet," he said. "Jason Cross hit another one of our operations tonight. This is getting out of hand."
"I will handle it," I said.
"You keep saying that, but nothing is getting handled," Dimitri said, and his voice was hard. "The organization is losing patience with you Collin. If you cannot control your territory then we will find someone who can."
"I said I will handle it," I repeated firmly. "Give me two weeks. Cross will be dealt with by then."
"Two weeks," Dimitri agreed. "And if he is not dealt with by then we will deal with both of you."
He hung up and I drained my glass. Jason Cross was becoming
More than just an annoyance. He was a legitimate threat to everything I had built.