Chapter Seventy-Seven
Kelley rushed up the stairs after Milana, who had spun on her heel after her last statement and power walked away from him and Connor. He heard Connor’s laugh from the living room and silently swore the man laughing at his predicament. She was quick for such a tiny thing and Kelley had to take the stairs two at a time to catch up with her.
“Milana … wait.”
“Yes, Mr Alexander?”
Milana had stopped walking and turned around so fast that Kelley almost walked right into her. The momentum was too great and he grabbed her shoulders, crashing her against the wall next to her bedroom door. She winced slightly and Kelley looked down at her, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. Why did he feel the need to explain things to her?
“Sorry.”
Milana looked up at him, swallowed nervously and then looked down. “It’s okay.”
Kelley clenched his jaw tightly and briefly closed his eyes. This was not how he'd planned for things to go. It was the one situation in his life where he didn't have a plan at all and that frustrated him. The woman in front of him was a complete mystery and her aloofness to the situation pissed him off.
She twisted out of his arms and walked into her bedroom. It was neat, the bed made up and her suitcases unpacked. On the side table was a framed picture of an older woman. Milana stopped halfway into the room and then turned to look at him.
“What you saw last night …”
“Has nothing to do with me.”
“I’m not a cheater, Milana. She was emotional and her hormones were all over the place.”
“You really don’t have to explain your extracurriculars to me.”
Kelley sighed with frustration and narrowed his eyes at her. “Marella’s with Lee, she’s pregnant and they had a fight last night. She thought he came here after he left their house. She’s mortified, trust me.”
“Okay.”
“You’d like for me to cheat, wouldn’t you?”
Milana’s intake of breath was audible. “Excuse me?”
“The contract … I should’ve known.”
“What? I don’t know what the cont…”
“It won’t be that easy, Milana, trust me. You think you’ve got the upper hand here but you don’t. We’re married and you’ll act it, you got that?”
“I really don’t know …”
Kelley lifted his hand and she stopped speaking mid-sentence. “I’ll be down for breakfast in twenty minutes then I’ll explain the rules of the house to you.”
“The rules of the house?”
Kelley ignored her question and closed her door firmer than he should have. He stalked to his own bedroom to shower and change. She was delusional if she thought they’d get out of the contract so easily. Ernesto had added his own addendum to the contract.
For Kelley to keep the shares he’d have to stay married to Milana for five years, be faithful and have one heir. He shook his head at the idiocy of the contract. If he cheated or divorced her before the five years were up she was entitled to ten million dollars and the twenty percent shares of the hotels.
Milana stood in her bedroom and looked at the closed door. She took big deep breaths as her fists clenched in front of her. He was such an asshole! How the hell was she supposed to stay married to him?
Her phone rang then and she turned towards the side table by the bed and looked at the name on the screen. She really didn’t have the energy for him now but she answered the phone, nonetheless.
“Hello.”
“I trust you showed your husband that you’re worth keeping around.”
“We’re still getting to know one another, Uncle Ernesto.”
“I suggest you do what you must. Open your legs and give him whatever he wants. I won’t have you messing this up for me. The future business deals with that man alone will ensure that your whole family lives comfortably forever.”
Angry tears gathered in her eyes and she fought the urge to throw the phone against the wall and cry. “Yes, Uncle.”
“Don’t forget what will happen if Kelley Alexander is not a happy man. You know what his father does and your fate will be sealed. Go be a good little whore to your husband and ensure that you too don’t end up at the mercy of The Club as your mother did.”
The line ended and the tears spilled from her eyes unchecked. Milana shook her head as her bottom lip trembled and she grabbed her small worn handbag and ran from her bedroom. She was lucky she didn’t encounter anyone as she ran down the stairs and out of the front door.
At the front gate, she slipped through the gap as the garden services entered and one guard called after her. “Mrs Alexander!”
“Just going for my morning run!”
She kept running, not looking back to see if the man was following her or not. She had no idea where she was going, didn’t know Yorkdare Bay at all but she didn’t let that stop her. The address of Kelley’s house was written on a piece of paper in her handbag, but she wasn’t ready to face him now.
When the pain in her side became unbearable she stopped running and slowed to a walk and found herself in a plaza of sorts. There were a multitude of shops, a bakery with the most delicious smells and three boutiques.
Milana’s family might have money but that didn’t mean that she did. She had worked two jobs back in Meadow Lake to be able to buy her own clothes and toiletries. She had worn her mother’s wedding dress since Ernesto had made it clear that he wouldn’t spend a cent more than he had to on her wedding.
She blinked away the fresh tears and headed down a boardwalk towards the beach. Her feet hit the sand and she pulled her ballet flats off, squishing the sand between her toes. She had never before felt as alone as she did in that moment.
