The Wrong Wife by Maya Alden

Chapter 33

Declan

She was charming when she was shy. And immensely relieved when I whisked her away from the knowing eyes of Mark and Maria to the car downstairs.

She was flushed. It looked good on her. The bruises had faded thanks to the handiwork of the doctors and makeup artists. But I could feel them still in my heart. The detective in charge told me that Billy would not be getting out for at least three to six years for assault. This was not his first offense. Carolina Vega, the Knight family lawyer had assured him that she’d do everything in her power to make sure that Esme would not have to testify in a court trial.

It had been hard enough to watch her give her statement to the detective the day before. If you didn’t know her, you’d have thought she was calm and collected, probably part of her social worker training. But I could see the burden she carried as she narrated the events as clinically as anyone could. My admiration for her only increased. The detective was grateful for her detailed account and was confident that Billy would accept a guilty plea. He would not survive a trial with a witness like Esme and his pregnant girlfriend Nancy, who had her own horrific story of abuse.

“They saw me have an orgasm.” She was mortified.

“They were smiling, and I can assure you they were happy you’re getting some.”

She grinned sheepishly. “Mark has been trying to convince me to get laid for years.”

“Why haven’t you had more sex, Esme? You’re a lovely passionate woman. I can’t imagine there weren’t men who wanted you.” When we’d first met, I’d thought it was obvious why no one wanted to sleep with the boring-looking social worker—but that was when I didn’t know the fire that burned inside her. The goodness that was sexier than any woman I’d ever been with.

“Well…I was busy. I had two jobs. And classes.”

“I’m sorry your family didn’t help you.” I knew Viv had lived luxuriously when she attended school; her father paid for everything. And she had a massive trust fund to boot. I’d never had to think if Viv was interested in me for my money—I may have had more, but she had plenty. But she did want to enjoy the power being a Knight would give. Esme mostly seemed bothered by it.

“I didn’t mind,” she said, and I knew she meant it. Some people would say it as proforma but not Esme.

“Come here.” I pulled her onto my lap and held her like she was the most precious thing in my life, and she was.

“May I ask you for something?” her voice was timid.

“Of course.” Anything. You can ask me for anything, and I’ll give it to you.

“Last time we were out…you left me with Mateo, and I like him—but…this time—”

“I’ll be with you all the time.” I kissed her cheek gently. “I’m sorry about last time.”

She looped her arms around my neck and smiled at me. My heart skipped a beat—I felt like a fucking teenager falling in love for the first time.

“Thank you for taking care of me these past few days.”

“It’s my pleasure…though I’d much prefer you were not hurt the way you were. I think I have a few gray hairs because of that.”

She caressed my hair. “You’d look distinguished, with gray hair when you have them.”

“Esme,” I took a deep breath and tightened my hold on her. “Can you take some time off? I’d like for us to go away for a few days.”

She seemed uncertain. “How many days? When? I have clients. I can’t just leave, Declan.”

There was panic in her voice. I didn’t know why.

“I’ll give you plenty of notice. Will that work?”

She closed her eyes and nodded. “I’m sorry. I haven’t been on holiday in forever. But, yes, I’d love to go away with you. Where would we go?” The excitement was back in her eyes.

“Where would you like to go?”

She thought about it for a moment. “You’d find it boring.”

“Tell me.”

“If it’s in the summer, I’d like to go to the Mojave Desert. They have these eco pods there with glass ceilings and walls. You can see the whole big sky with all the stars. It’s stunning.”

“And if it’s winter?” I had foolishly thought she’d say Paris or Rome. But no, she surprised me again.

“The Finnish Lapland. They have these igloos you can stay in that are made of glass. I desperately want to see the Northern Lights.”

“I thought you’d say wine country, what with your love for wine.”

“If I had all the time and money in the world…then I’d love to spend a month in Burgundy, tasting wine. But after that I’d get bored and want to return to work. Where would you like to go?”

I thought about it and shrugged. “The usual places. I like London very much. Paris. I like going to the opera—so I go to Vienna and Verona during the season. Maybe Kauai because I like to hike.”

“We should go hiking. Topanga Canyon has great hiking.”

We discussed her dream plans and places she’d love to go to and cataloged each. I wanted to show her my love. I’d show her by making her dreams come true—all of them. A month in Burgundy? Absolutely. A week in Finland? I’ll book that trip now.

She lay against me, and I felt content holding her. I’d never had this before with anyone. Not even my friends.

I love you, Esme. I wanted to shout the words out, but she wasn’t ready. But she’d be. I’d make sure of it.

I held her hand as we stepped out of the car.

“You look great,” I whispered in her ear, knowing she was worried.

“You too. Do you think…we look okay together?”

“We look fucking wonderful together.”

I knew she was thinking of all the photos of Viv and me. I couldn’t erase the past even if I wanted to.

There were photographers, and the flashes jolted her. I put an arm around her, and she looked up at me, her eyes in fight-or-flight mode. I bent my head and kissed her. Slowly. Seductively. She moaned as always when I kissed her, and the sound made my semi-erect penis rock hard. I took my time tasting her, letting the world around us dissolve. I knew the picture we made—a tall man with a small woman. I was holding her up, literally lifting her off her feet. When I set her down, her eyes were clouded with desire, not concerned about how we looked and what the photographs on social media would look like.

“Wow.” Her cheeks were bright, no makeup could compare to an aroused Esme.

The gala’s theme was Female Power, and my aunt had pulled all the stops. The entire ballroom was painted red and pink for power. It somehow managed to look both flashy and classy at the same time. My mother would comment about how vulgar it was, and my aunt would gush about how the pink and red roses came together to indicate womanhood. She’d be mortified if I told her she’d chosen the colors of a pussy.

Forest came up to us, a drink in hand. “The whole fucking place looks like someone’s vagina.”

“Oh my god, it does, doesn’t it,” Esme exclaimed, delighted with his inference.

“We have a table.” Forest indicated to a table at the edge of the room. “Easy to escape if it gets to be too much.”

He wore a tuxedo, and amongst all the Knights, he was the one who hated the monkey suit the most and looked damned uncomfortable in it.

“Oh, and Daisy is here,” he warned me.

“At our table?”

“Yes. I need another drink.” He walked away, and Esme looked at me in query.

“Daisy and Forest had a relationship. Something went wrong, and now they hate each other with the passion of a thousand suns…or at least they pretend.”

Esme nodded. “Like Mateo and Raya pretend they’re not together?”

“How did you know?”

“It’s obvious. She shines like Christmas lights when he’s around, and he can look at no one but her when they’re in a room. Haven’t you seen it?”

I shook my head. “Esme, you’re something else. Raya and Mateo think it’s a secret, and from what I can tell, no one, not even their closest friends, know. I found out because I heard him on the phone one night, and Raya came clean. But keep it to yourself. Mateo doesn’t want anyone to know.”

“Why? If they’re in love…” she trailed off as understanding came. “They’re not in love?”

“She is. He isn’t sure.” Like us. I know I love you, but you’re resisting me, resisting us.

I took her to the bar and got her sparkling water with lime. Her powerful painkillers were not meant to mix with alcohol, and to keep her company; I ordered the same for myself.

“You can drink champagne,” she said. “We have a driver.”

“I like drinking with you.”

“Esme, you should’ve stayed home with all those bruises,” her father mocked as he approached us at the bar. He then looked keenly at her.

All the joy left her face, and her smile became plastic.

“I…” she began, but I cut in.

“Julien, she looks stunning. I can hardly keep my eyes or hands off her.”

Her face went pink, and I smiled at her. Julien’s lips tightened.

“Don’t be crude, Dec. It doesn’t suit you. Is this Esme’s influence? She deals with scum all day. Is that rubbing off on you?”

“Esme is influencing me in many ways. I’ve learned much from her, and I’m still learning.”

Viv approached her father; her face wreathed in a tight smile, which I know she gave when she was miserable. The photos of me kissing my wife had probably already hit some social media sites.

“You both look cozy,” she murmured, raising her cheek to me. I ignored it.

“Viv, you look beautiful,” said my wife, who couldn’t read the room when it was hostile or probably could and didn’t care for its impact on how she treated people. I could hear her say, why should I change my behavior because people are small and petty?

“Your face is healing, Es. The dress is nice—a couple of seasons old but looks decent.”

“Rodarte made this as a special favor, Viv. It’s not going to hit the runways.” I wasn’t planning to reveal this, considering how it would freak Esme out but enough was enough.

“What?” Esme looked horrified.

Most women would show off, but here she was, wondering how much I had spent, and as she’d said once to me when I told her money wasn’t an issue for her anymore, “If you have a hundred thousand dollars to spend on a stupid dress, then you should not buy the dress and give it to a place like Safe Harbor. We need all the funds we can get.”

“Dec, may I speak with you?” Viv demanded like it was her right.

“I’m afraid not, Viv. I’m going to dance with my wife and then get her off her feet because, as you know, she’s recovering.”

“Oh, yes, I heard about it. Some woman’s boyfriend beat you up?”

Viv could be such a bitch, I thought. This was who she was. I just had been too clouded with her surface to see within.

“You should see the guy she kicked in the nuts. He’s in jail and will probably do three to five.” I picked up Esme’s hand and kissed her bruised knuckles. “My Esme is not someone to fuck around with. The guy who attacked her was built like a linebacker.”

I didn’t ask to be excused but led Esme away from the two people who made her most unhappy—while she did everything she could to make them happy.

“Declan, I can’t dance. I never learned.”

“You just let me lead you, darling.” I took her in my arms and almost immediately felt the irritation that Viv and Julien had been the cause of dissipating. “It’s a healing thing to hold you, Esme.”

“For me too.”

She wasn’t as bad a dancer as she thought she was. She let me lead, and we fell into a rhythm. It wasn’t until I felt a tap on my shoulder that I paid attention to my surroundings. I broke into a smile.

“Dad.” I hugged him. “Esme, this is my father, Gerald. Dad, my beautiful wife. How was Thailand?”

“Excellent. And as were Vietnam and Malaysia. Hello, my dear; I’m this one’s father. I’m so sorry I’ve been traveling with monks for six months and missed your wedding.”

My father disliked such events as much as Esme did and constantly avoided social life by traveling with tribes, monks, thought leaders, sociologists, and philosophers—learning about the world. It was what he was doing with his retirement, not interested in politics like my mother and secure that Knight Technologies was doing as well as it could under my leadership.

He hugged Esme, and I knew that surprised her. She probably thought my father would be like my mother and thank god he wasn’t. I loved my father, but like my mother, I tended to be annoyed with his lack of ambition. But now, with what I had learned about living life as a student from Esme, I knew I’d shortchanged him. Maybe I should hand the company over to Mateo and Esme, and I could travel with my father. Perhaps I could take over the Knight Foundation with Esme. We could partner with The Caruso Foundation to participate in more grassroots activities like women’s shelters, orphanages, and juvenile homes.

I surprised myself with those thoughts. I never thought I’d want to step away from the business at the age of thirty-five. I loved the company. I loved my job and the work.

I watched Esme charm my father with her curiosity to learn more about him and his travels.

When Esme excused herself to use the ladies room my father nodded appreciatively. “I like her much better than that blond you wanted to marry.”

“Yeah, me too.”

My father narrowed his eyes. “What’s going on, son?”My face was wreathed in smiles. “I’m a man in love, dad. A besotted fool.”

“It looks good on you.” My father patted me on my shoulder. “It looks very good on you.”