Billionaire's Revenge (23 page)

This time there
had
been no stopping him as Darius
spun around
,
grabbing Nigel by the lapels and
propelling
him none too gently against the wall.  Around them
,
people
gasped as the younger man
cowered
.
 
“W
...what are you doing
? Just
a friendly warning...she’s a slut
”
Sara
felt mortification fill every part of her, her eyes staring in horror at the scene before her.  Darius
was
furious as he
towered ove
r the man who she
once called her husband.

“You never know when to be quiet
,
do you Nigel
?
”
Darius
’
voice
carried over the room
.
 
“You might have persuaded Sara not to say what rea
lly happened...but she told me everything and if there is one thing I cannot abide...it is a man who thinks it is OK to use a woman as a punching bag
”
Nigel’s
eyes
flicked from the man holding him so tightly to his party
who
had
moved forward
, his
voice becoming so
whiny
.
 

“S...she is lying...she is a damn liar
”
Darius
snarled at the now terrified Nigel. 
“No...I saw the pictures Nigel...and I know other women who say the same thing
”
Sara’s
mouth
opened in shock.  How could he have seen the pictures, they
had
only been taken for the police report
?
 
Feeling the sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach she
knew
that somehow Darius
had
got hold of the report, realisation hitting her.  That was why he
recognised Nigel, her eyes filling with tears.

Still holding Nigel, Darius was talking
,
“And while we are on the subject of who was being unfaithful to who...perhaps you should tell Sara about Jessica Winters, or Rebecca Saunders”
,
satisfied to see the colour drain from the other man’s features
. 
“It wasn’t Sara messing around on your marriage...it was you.  So a ‘friendly’ warning Nigel
:
If you persist in spreading these slanderous rumours about her then I will come after you ... and believe me you do not want me coming after you”

With that he
released him, Nigel falling further down the wall as he
flic
ked terrified looks at Darius and
then
his
friends.  They now stood with shocked open mouths, no longer laughing with him as they had
moments before, many looking at Sara, their expressions full of apology.
 
Seeing this
was more than she could take as
she spun
around, the tears sliding down her cheek
s
she
fled the
hotel
, only stopping outside as Darius’s arm
grabbed her and turned her to him, his hands grabbing both of her wrists.  Sara
felt hurt and betrayed, her anger aimed solely at h
im as she
tried to pull free the pain stamped so clearly on her features.

“Y...you
had
no right.  This
had
nothing to do with you.  I hate you!”
 
He
hauled
her harder to him
,
“Tough.  It is done and from now on the rumours will stop.  The lies will stop.  Tell me that you don’t want that Sara...because I know that I damn well do”
 
A loud sob
left her, taking with it all the fight
,
as her head
dropped, tears falling unchecked down her beautiful
face
. 
“Y
...
you don’t understand”
,
her voice full of misery
,
“Now all the gossip will start again...all of the
finger-pointing; only now he has the whole situation with Nick to throw in.  People will take sides, and they are going to look at the fact that less than a month after divorcing him I am the latest plaything for a man who has made it very clear that I am just in his bed till he returns to Italy”
,
her voice scathing
,
“a disposable sex toy”

Her eyes
f
inally
rose to hold his
,
“This will destroy any reputation I had
left...only this time it will
do it publically...you have no idea what you have done”
 
Frowning, not understanding a word she was saying he
lifted her chin, his look searching
, 
“Then tell me Sara...why won
’
t you tell me
?
”
 
He saw
as hardness
once more filled her lovely blu
e eyes, Sara pulling her head back moving to the car, her whole body resigned
,
“You did exactly what you wanted to do Darius.  You destroyed me...more
completely than you can ever know”

The return journey to his home was
spent in silence, Darius sco
wling at the way she
ignored him, her eyes full of sadness and desperation
,
staring blankly out of the window. 
That night they
had
not made love, Sara sliding as far away from him as possible as he
stared at the dark ceiling, his insides churning w
ith anger.

He
had
tried to help her,
he
defended h
er and she
turned on him, h
er theatrics angering him as he
tried to understand how he could
have become
the bad person in the scenario.  Nigel was out of order, and if Sara was not prepared to put him in his place then she should have been thankful, not attacking him.  Flicking a look at her stiff back turned away from him he
wanted to turn her, to make her pay for her words.  However
, the
desperation in her eyes
had
been real and again he
cur
sed giving her the
one
-
secret concession.   Frowning, he
again pondered her words “
H
e
had
destroyed her”
,
turning over as he
punched the pillow into shape
.  This
had
been his plan all along
had
it not? So why th
en did his stomach feel so cold, why did he care?

The next morning he
blinked and groaned, his eyes falling on the clock reading 8:30. 
“Sara”
,
he
mumbled sleepily, rolling over and frowning seeing the empty space he
expected to see her
l
ying
in
.  The movement by the window drew
his eye, Sara standing
already
dressed
,
staring out of the window, her countenance sad, resigned.

The memory of the previous night
returned to him,
as
Darius
frowned
once more
. 
“Sara?
”
his voice
had
been louder
.  S
he
g
ave
a small jump before turning to
face him, the anger from the previous evening gone as she
moved to the bed
,
sitting on the edge.
 
“I’m sorry Darius”
,
her voice
was
low, gentle as he turned on his side to look at her
. 
“What is going on Sara? There is more that you are not telling me”

She
did
not even try to lie, nodding her head softly,
sadness
filling
her
beautiful eyes.
 
“Yes...yes there is, and Nigel knows everything.  He want
s me to go back to him...to be his wife again
”
Darius’
eyes
widened in stunned shock as she shu
ddered
. 
“Are you going to?”
  H
is voice
was
calm,
steeliness
within it, feeling the relief fill him as she
shook
her
head
“
No...
Never
.
  That is one thing I can never do...though it might cost me everything”

He
reached out a hand, his
fingers trailing down her arm, his tone softer
,
“What is it he knows that you can’t tell me Sara?”
 
For a moment he
thought that she was going to speak, her eyes staring intently at her clasped hands, before she
gave
a sad sigh, her head shaking.
 
“I can’t...please don’t ask”
,
her eyes moving to his
.
 
“But I am sorry.  I know that you thought you were helping, and I appreciate what you did...I just...”
 
Darius
wrapped his fingers around her arm
s
,
pulling her down beside
him;
his face
so serious.

“OK Sara...
You say you can’t tell me...we will work on that ...but what if I can make sure that he doesn’t speak a word of anything he knows?”
 
Her eyes
widened in surprise, hope rising within her.
 
“Y
...
you can?”
 
Darius
nodded
his expression
grim
,
“
Yeah.  I can make sure he never speaks a word of whatever it is he knows”
,
adding ruefully
,
“that I am not allowed to know”

Tears
sprung up into her eyes, her mouth quivering into a smile
. 
“Thank you”
,
she
finally managed
, before
her hands
moved to
caress his cheeks
,
her head
rising to kiss him.  With a small groan he kissed her back, his need to know what secret she kept disappearing as the need to possess her swamped him.

That afternoon Darius
told her he would be out for most of the day, Sara s
miling at him, the warmth in her eyes and sincerity in her thanks once more making him question why it
meant anything to him.
 
Sara
laid out the files, carefully splitting them into two piles.  One for those she knew to be genuine customers or suppl
iers and another for those she was unsure or unfamiliar with.
  For hours she
phoned the unknowns
,
meticulously making notes on each and every one.

Wh
en Darius
moved back into his home later that night, he
found her sprawled on her belly in his s
tudy.  Smiling as he
entered
,
he
made a low whistling sound a sparkle in his eyes.
 
“So...how did you do?”
  H
er grimace
was
answer
enough;
as Sara
stood
pul
ling
the paperwork together
, before
joining him on the couch he
threw
himself onto w
ith a loud tired sigh.
 
“Well...I think that I may have ruined both of our days”

He gave
a loud groan before smiling.
 
“In that case I should go first
”
Sara
nodding,
“
Oh if you have good news
,
then you should definitely
go first
”
Darius
laugh
ed
softly.
 
“One of the contracts I have ongoing is one your ex’s in-laws have been trying to bid for.  I spoke with Nigel’s father today and explained that they were ahead of the pack at the moment ...but if his son was to open his mouth then they could find themselves right at the back”