Chapter 5
Blake crouched down in front of me, his fingers brushing over a cut on my leg:
“I shouldn’t have hit you, but Victoria. I’ve told you over and over–Amber’s pregnant and can’t handle stress like this,”
Tears spilled down my face as I pulled away from his touch and called my friend Marcus, who works in real estate:
“I need to borrow some of your guys. Get them over to my place ASAP.:
After hanging up, I completely ignored them and started picking up the scattered diamonds from the floor.
Since I love that soft, creamy aesthetic, we’d installed light–colored hardwood throughout the bedroom when we renovated.
It looked gorgeous, but it made finding tiny diamonds extremely difficult.
Plus I’d already torn apart the walk–in closet looking for the necklace in the first place and left a mess.
So tracking down every single diamond was going to take a really long time.
Blake kept trying to talk to me–either telling me to deal with my cuts first or saying to forget the diamonds because he’d just buy me a new necklace.
Amber had been dead silent ever since I slapped her.
But watching me step all over designer clothes and dresses without a care, she finally spoke up snidely:
“Victoria, having money doesn’t mean you should waste it like this. Blake works so hard for you–when are you gonna learn to be more understanding of your
husband?”
The same bullshit. She’s said more than once.
Because of her rough childhood, even after Blake’s brother brought her into the Prescott family, she never developed the spending habits of a wealthy upper–class lady.
Every time she saw me walk through the door with shopping bags, Amber would make some snide comment.
I used to just ignore her.
But the second she finished talking this time, I looked up and stared her down:
“If he’s not gonna spend his money on me, what’s he saving it for? Some shameless homewrecker?”
“You!”
Amber started to snap back, but then something clicked and she swallowed her words.
I wasn’t about to let her off the hook though:
“Why are you getting so worked up? People might think you’re the mistress trying to wreck my marriage!”
Amber’s eyes flashed with rage, but she was too scared of saying the wrong thing again. All she could do was glare at me.
“Victoria! That’s enough! Watch your mouth!”
I glanced back at Blake with pure disdain:
“You haven’t seen anything yet, Blake. Just wait.”
Marcus knew I never called unless it was serious.
So after getting my call, he rushed over with eight or nine construction workers and rang the doorbell.
The confused housekeeper opened the door to find a crowd of burly guys standing there. Her voice shook a little:
“Who are you looking for? Did you ring the wrong doorbell?”
“Nope! Let them in!”
I was surprised to see Ryan in the group we’d never gotten along since we were kids.
Not caring that het probably roast me for this later, I asked Marcus:
forgot to mention did you guys bring tools?”
Marcus stepped aside so the workers behind him could move forward:
Yeah, you didn’t say what you needed on the phone, but I grabbed some of our strongest guys and made sure they brought their best equipment.”
I nodded with satisfaction.
Blake said in a low, tense voice:
Victoria, what the hell are you planning to do?”
[let out a cold laugh and jerked my chin toward Marcus:
“Tear down everything you can see in this house. When you’re done, I’ll pay each of you guys extra for the trouble.”
Marcus might be a decent guy, but he’d always been a total loose cannon since we were kids.
He didn’t even ask why–just waved his hand and got his crew moving:
You heard the lady! Don’t hold back, guys. The faster we finish, the more cash this beautiful lady’s gonna pay you, plus I’m taking you all out for a huge dinner!
The workers cheered and paired off, heading into each room to start demolishing.
When the first sledgehammer came down, Blake finally realized I wasn’t messing around.
Victoria! Have you lost your fucking mind?!”
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.