Chapter 2
654words
[These idiots are betting on you divorcing again at 10:1 odds. Only morons would take that bet.]
Just as I was about to reply, the bathroom door swung open.
Lane emerged wearing only a towel, snatched my phone, and tossed it aside. He pinned my wrists above my head and pressed me into the mattress.
His fingers traced up my waist, and pressed against me, I could feel his arousal.
Since our remarriage, he'd spent far more time at home, sometimes making me forget those two years of divorce ever happened.
From eighteen until now, Lane knew every inch of my body better than anyone. Just as his skilled touch began to arouse me, his voice tickled my ear.
"Eva's not like you. She's just a kid craving attention. Why are you so hard on her?"
My body went rigid. I pushed against his shoulder, but he mistook it for playfulness.
"How old are you now, Mrs. Silver? Still jealous of a child?"
"After being with me for so long, only to have you swoop back in and take her place—of course she's upset."
"I sent her a handbag in your name as an apology."
"Now be a good girl and stop making a scene."
When we remarried, he promised that as long as I behaved and did as I was told, no one could take my place as Mrs. Silver.
He pushed my hands away and moved down to kiss my trembling body,
when his phone buzzed with Eva's sobbing on the other end.
Lane set down the phone, and I, playing the understanding wife, handed him his clothes.
"Drive carefully."
He didn't take them, his brow furrowing deeper.
I smiled.
"Didn't you just tell me not to be bothered by her?"
I wasn't bothered, yet he was angry. Men who say one thing and mean another are exhausting.
Lane snatched the clothes.
"If you want me to stay, just say so. Playing hard to get doesn't work on me."
"You've already learned what happens when you act difficult."
"Just tell me what you want. I'll make it up to you for Eva's little scene today."
After the door slammed shut,
I transferred the 30 million he'd deposited in my account to a friend.
"Place a bet for me."
"If I lose, I'll get divorced."
Lane told me to name my price, so I asked for shares in his company.
I sent the message that evening but didn't get a reply until noon the next day.
"Shares are non-negotiable."
"Ashley, a woman should know her place. Don't push me."
Lane and I knew each other too well. The story of how we'd won a friend's yacht with just a glance between us still made the rounds in our social circle.
He suspected I hadn't come back just because I couldn't let go, but because I wanted revenge.
Having broken me once before, he was confident he could do it again.
I knew he wouldn't give me the shares. I didn't have enough leverage yet.
I'd asked deliberately to make him cold toward me for a few days. His clinginess would only interfere with my plans.
I had someone leak Eva's meltdown to the gossip rags.
[GOLD DIGGER BATTLES WIFE, RETREATS IN DEFEAT]
The Silver Group's stock dropped several points overnight.
Lane called repeatedly. When I didn't answer, he texted.
[Ashley, you're being naughty again.]
The gossip vanished quickly, replaced by news of the Silver Group's chairman building a lavish shopping mall for his beloved.
When I saw the location, I called Lane in a panic.
"You're building a mall on our child's grave?!"
"Lane! That was your child too!"
A soft chuckle came through the phone.
"Ashley, let me refresh your selective memory."
"You never asked my opinion when you aborted our baby."
