“Oh no, I love nature,” chirped Ann-Marie. “So long as you have a hair dryer and mascara, I love it!” she giggled. “But Robert invited me here, dummy, he said I needed some time away after my engagement broke up. So ta-da!” she said, spinning around in a circle, golden-red hair flying. “Here I am!”
I could have turned into a pillar of salt at that moment, horrified with her presence. But instead, my mouth pulled into a neutral smile, giving away nothing.
“So you’re just here for a day?” I asked smoothly. “Just a day trip right?”
Ann-Marie trilled merrily but before she could reply, Robert rumbled, those blue eyes glued to my sister’s perfect body.
“Naw, why would you say that Anna?” he growled. “Ann-Marie’s here until she’s better, Chance broke off their engagement suddenly. Stay as long as you like, sweetheart,” he reiterated again, looking straight at my sister. “Mi casa es su casa.”
“Oh thank you!” the redhead laughed coyly. “Yeah, I was feeling pretty bad after Chance broke it off, but this makes it all better,” she breathed, her limpid blue eyes melting into Robert’s, the two of them staring at one another. “All better.”
And I had to leave then. I had to get away, the betrayal hurt too much. Even though on the outside, I looked like a living, breathing person, inside I was a shattered mess, shards of glass lying in disarray on the floor. My heart screamed with pain, lungs barely able to inflate, but I made myself smile.
“Of course,” came my choked reply. “Of course, whatever Mr. Livingston has decided.”
“Oh good!” said Ann-Marie airily, waving one elegant hand in the air. “By the way, can you get my luggage, Anna? You’re a sweetheart. Just put it in Robert’s room,” she added with a devilish gleam in her eye. Robert looked right back into those baby blues, big frame hard and hungry for the svelte redhead, and I almost collapsed then, overtaken by sorrow.
But instead, I kept my back straight.
“Of course,” I said clearly, chin firm. “Of course.”
And with that, Ann-Marie and Robert sailed off into the kitchen for their coffees, leaving me in the foyer as their porter. Of course Ann-Marie wasn’t here for just one day. She had a complete set of luggage with her, leather monogrammed with her initials, surely filled with all sorts of sexy lingerie and cosmetics, stuff to entice Robert with.
And my heart cracked then. Completely splintered into multiple pieces. Now that Ann-Marie and Robert were out of sight, tears began slipping down my cheeks then, hot and fast, dripping off my chin. I swiped at them furiously before grabbing Ann-Marie’s luggage and humping it off to Robert’s room.
Oh god, they were going to sleep together tonight. Oh god, oh god, the man who had taken my virginity, whose semen was dripping out of me still, was going to own my sister’s body tonight. I couldn’t take it. I couldn’t. And choking back a muffled sobs, I dropped the luggage in his room with a thump before running up the stairs and burrowing my head in the pillows, the better with which to hide my heart-wrenching cries. I’d been taken for a fool, an utter idiot, and only had myself to blame.
I had to get out of here. I had to make it out of here somehow, some way, I wasn’t sure yet how. But I was going to do it because the injury was too deep, too severe now, a gash on my soul, a sore that wouldn’t stop seeping blood. I couldn’t last another day at the cabin. I had to escape.
And swallowing thickly, I sat on the mattress, looking blankly at my hands. There had to be a way. The sound of flirtatious female laughter mixed with Robert’s deep bass floated up the stairs and my heart shattered all over again, the pain excruciating.
But there was no way to escape right now. It was broad daylight, and Ann-Marie and Robert were expecting me downstairs. Determined to exit with dignity, I wiped at my tears, splashing cold water on my face to jolt the system. Get with it! I screamed at myself. Don’t let him know how bad he’s hurt you. At least take your self-respect with you.
Staring at my reflection, I took a deep breath and nodded. I’d figure this out, some way, but right now, I just needed to be an actress in front of Robert. I just needed some time to think, and then poof! I’d be here one minute, and gone the next. And unfortunately … the big man wouldn’t even care.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Anna
The performance I pulled off that day was one of the best in my life. After the pep-talk in my room, I came downstairs, calm and composed. Maybe my face was a little flushed, maybe there was still a little hitch to my breath, but it’s not like they noticed. The lovebirds were engrossed in one another, staring into each other’s eyes, voices mixing, hardly able to keep their hands off one another.