I stand at the entrance of the store, silencing the sales assistant with my finger. I recognize my wife straight away, but unfortunately, I also recognize the woman standing next to her. I stand back, out of view, my focus entirely on Elena.
I listen as Elise accuses her of having a sugar daddy, as she throws Elena’s mother’s hospital bills in her face. It doesn’t escape my notice that she purposely makes it clear that the bags Alaric Rousseau bought for her are of the same value as the hospital bills.
I keep waiting for Elena to stand up for herself, but she doesn’t. None of the confidence she has when she resists me is present. She’s feistier when she’s reminding me that all I own is her body, than she is right now.
She starts to shake, and I walk toward her. Elise’s eyes widen when she sees me, but I keep my attention on Elena. “I’m late, Buttercup,” I say, wrapping my arm around her. “But I’m here now.”
Elena relaxes in my arms and looks up at me in relief. The trust in her eyes… it does funny things to my heart. I tear my eyes away from her and turn toward the sales assistant with raised brows. “Didn’t you hear my girl? She asked if you can make her an identical bag.”
The sales assistant’s eyes widen and she mumbles an apology before rushing off to the computer to process Elena’s order. I’m going to need to educate my wife on the treatment she should demand. She’s a Kennedy, damn it.
I sigh and grab my phone. “Baby,” I tell her. “You don’t ever have to talk to mere staff. Especially not in a mall we own. You just call the CEO of this brand’s company, you hear me? I’d love to see him deny any of your requests. He’ll have his stores booted from every Kennedy Mall faster than he can blink.”
Elena nods, her eyes moving from me to Elise. I can see Elise posing from the corner of my eyes, and it disgusts me. She’s crazy if she thinks she could ever catch my eye.
I turn away to find Elena fidgeting with her scarf. I frown at it and look at her through narrowed eyes. “Trying to hide the damage I did?” I ask. “Who for?”
I pull on the scarf, unraveling it to admire my work. Elena blushes when I put her scarf in my pocket. “Alexander,” she murmurs, her cheeks bright red, and I can’t help but smile. I love making her blush. She looks so sweet when she does, so disarmed. I lean in and press a lingering kiss to her lips.
“You can’t be serious,” Elise says. “This… this was all a rumor, wasn’t it? You two… you can’t…”
Elise’s eyes roam over Elena’s neck, and I see the annoyance in her eyes. Considering that she just admitted to being the reason my wife ended up at Vaughn’s, her days are numbered.
“Who are you even?” I ask Elise, knowing full well who she is.
She looks at me in disbelief. “Elise Rousseau. I’m Elena’s sister.”
I glance at my wife, anger flashing through her eyes. “You have sisters, babe?”
Elena shakes her head, and I nod. “I didn’t think so,” I say, before turning back to Elise. “What has the world come to for a mistress’s daughter to liken herself to my girl? You must’ve lost your mind.”
The sales assistant returns with a quote, and I shake my head. “Don’t bother looking at it,” I tell Elena. “Just put your card down, Buttercup. This bag clearly means something to you. It’s worth any price.” She’s a Kennedy now—prices are irrelevant.
Elise smiles. “Oh, Alexander. You do know Dad disowned Elena, right? She’s broke.” Her words are meant to hurt Elena, and I smile to myself as Elena takes out her wallet. It’s as worn as her bag is, and I’ll need to make sure we select her a new one before we leave this store.
Elena looks into my eyes, and I wink at her. She bites down on her lip as she takes out her black card, and Elise blanches.
Elena settles the bill, and Elise glares at her the entire time. “If you had that card, why did you come ask Dad for money?”
Elena freezes, and I see the nerves and shame in her eyes. I pull her closer and press a kiss on top of her head. “Because my girl is stubborn,” I tell Elise. “Because for whatever reason, she thought her father has a heart, because she wanted to give him one final chance. For the longest time, she flat-out refused my help.”
I nod at the security guard by the door, and he rushes up to me. “Get her out of here. I’m done entertaining her. I don’t ever want to see her in any of my malls again.”
I can tell she wants to make a fuss, but she knows she’d only embarrass herself.
“Good riddance,” I say, sighing. “Where the hell is your security team, Buttercup? Little fruit flies like her shouldn’t be able to get anywhere near you. Enough of this bullshit.”
She rises to her tiptoes and wraps her arms around me before pressing a kiss to my cheek, startling me. “Thank you,” she whispers. “For everything. I know you only really entertained her so I could have a bit of payback. It’s petty, but I needed that. I… thank you, Alexander.”
I bury my hand in her hair and shake my head. “Elena, you’re my wife. Any insults thrown your way, I’ll take personally. Besides, I don’t like it when people mess with my possessions.”
Despite my words, Elena smiles at me, as though she can see straight through me.
