CHAPTER 273: CHAPTER 273 ASHTON: BETRAYAL

‘You’ve really changed,’ Lea said, turning to look at me. ‘When you said you wanted to go on a cruise, I thought you were joking.’

‘Yet here we are.’ I stood at the railing, gazing out at the Mediterranean. September dusk had painted the sea in shifting shades of violet and gold, the horizon glowing as the sun sank lower.

Not everyone had gone to the ball. Out on deck, clusters of young passengers mingled and laughed. Some were taking selfies against the pink sky, others pointed excitedly as dolphins arced from the water. Music drifted faintly from the ballroom doors, but out here the sound was mostly laughter, the slap of waves and the click of cameras.

Lea inhaled deeply. ‘It’s beautiful. Thanks for bringing me out here.’

I said nothing.

‘We should have stayed and said hello to Mirabelle,’ she added, testing me.

‘I will,’ I said. ‘Just not now.’ I would speak to Mira once I had dealt with Lea.

The thought of Mira’s face propelled me away from the railing. ‘You need to get changed.’

She was still wearing my jacket.

‘Step inside for a moment,’ I said when we reached my suite.

Lea arched a brow but followed me in. ‘A nightcap?’ she asked lightly. ‘I’d prefer a glass of—’ Her words broke off as I flicked on the light. ‘What’s this?’

We weren’t alone.

Two chairs sat in the centre of the living area. In one, an old man with thinning grey hair stared at the floor, resignation etched across his face. In the other, a man in his early thirties with golden hair looked shifty and ashamed.

‘Don’t you recognise your own husband?’ I asked. ‘Say hello to Pierre.’

Lea stumbled back, but I blocked the door.

‘Ashton, what is this? Why is Pierre here?’

‘My men spent weeks getting the truth out of him,’ I said. ‘So there’s no point lying anymore.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘I’m sorry, Lea,’ Pierre rasped, his voice hoarse. ‘I had to tell them. They’d have cut me off.’

Her chest heaved.

I pressed on before she could spin another lie, her greatest talent. ‘I found the drug you used to control him. My men turned the same method back on him—comply, or suffer a cold withdrawal. It took three days before he cracked.’

‘Ashton, I can explain—’

‘Pierre’s a wastrel, yes. A playboy, useless with money. But he’s not violent. His parents swear it, his friends swear it, even his mistresses do. Only you claim otherwise. He says he never laid a hand on you. One of you has to be lying.’

Her face drained of colour. ‘Ashton, please.’

‘I couldn’t understand why you’d lie about something like that, why you’d claim a man who follows you like a dog had abused you. If you wanted to divorce him, you could have filed the papers. You didn’t need a story. I would have helped you, even without one. That was why I hesitated after hearing Pierre’s confession. I didn’t want to believe the woman I’d known half my life, fought beside, trusted with my life, would manipulate me like that.’

‘Ashton—’

‘Until I found him.’ I gestured to the old man in the other chair, barely awake. ‘Recognise him?’

She looked away.

‘He’s the one who paid Dr Aliénor Dubois to sabotage Mira at the Aureate Awards. Yet he has no link to her. He doesn’t even know Mira. So why spend six figures bribing someone to destroy her work? Until I found out he used to work for you.’

‘No, Ashton, it’s not—’

‘Let me finish.’ I raised a hand. ‘That first attempt failed. Did you really think I’d leave her over a scandal? I know how much her designs mean to her, and I knew she’d never cheat. Maybe that’s what gave you the second idea. You were the one who helped Fabrizio Marchetti escape France. You knew Mira couldn’t resist taking over his crumbling brand. You dangled it in front of her like bait.’

Lea regained her composure quickly, slipping back into the calm, cool-headed version of herself. ‘That may be true, but no one forced her to take the bait. No one forced her to stay in Paris. No one forced her to break up with you.’

The jab landed. I breathed through the sharp twist in my chest and carried on. ‘You tried to ruin her. You destroyed your own husband with lies. Put those two together, it’s clear you were aiming for me.’

She didn’t even flinch. She nodded, steady and shameless. ‘I wanted you. You taught me to do whatever it takes. Remember?’

‘I remember. But I also remember telling you never to use those tricks on one of our own.’

‘If I’d asked you openly, would you have said yes?’

‘But you never asked.’

Her eyes locked on mine, brimming with everything but regret. I had taught her too well.

‘I couldn’t,’ she said. ‘I was married to Pierre. He’s a good man in his way, but not what I wanted. I couldn’t tell you while I was still his wife. I needed time. Then I heard about you and Mirabelle.’ She clenched her fists. ‘I just needed a few more months.’ She reached for my hand. ‘But it’s not too late now. I’m single. You’re single. We can finally—’

I pulled my hand free. ‘No.’

‘Why not?’

‘I don’t feel that way about you. Never did. Never will.’

‘I don’t believe that. We’ve known each other for years. I know you better than she ever could.’

‘I don’t care what you believe.’ I opened the door wide. ‘Leave. When this cruise is over, I expect you gone from my life.’