Page 26 of The Wrong Husband

I hadn't told them that Emilia and I had already decided on ending our marriage in six months. That should be enough time for the media to quiet down. Enough time for Bianca to feel the pain of what she did. Enough time for me to get my wife's tight pussy out of my system.

Damn! I couldn't sleep with her. It would unfair when we knew we were going to end the marriage.

I, who didn't believe in contrition or remorse, had it in spades when it came to Emilia. I couldn't regret having sex with her because fuck it had been hot. But I couldn't do it again…that would give her false hope about what she meant to me. She wasn't experienced enough to fuck and forget.

"Did she roofie you?" Duncan asked.

"No. Fuck no. I told you, we had a brief—"

"I call bullshit on that," Dad cut in. "And I've seen this girl…seriously, Damian, what the fuck did you see in her?"

So many things that I hadn't seen before. She was funny. She blamed herself for everything, carrying the burdens of the world on her shoulders. She loved her family. She was kind and sweet. She was sincere. She was trusting.

"She doesn't want any money from me. Trust me," I tried again.

"Trusting you is what got us here," Mom admonished. "I'll talk to her and get this done."

"Mom, no," I warned. "She's my wife and you're gonna have to respect that. Say what you want here in our family circle but out of here, she's the best thing to enter the Archer family. Am I clear?"

"Don't teach me about public relations, son, I'm the Queen of PR." My mother never minced her words and obviously she wasn't going to do that now either.

"Where is she going to live?" Duncan asked.

"My apartment."

"No," my father and Duncan said at the same time.

"What? Why?"

"Because that will make the annulment harder to get…if she can prove that you were living together and behaving like a married couple. Just…let her stay at her place. We'll keep her out of the public eye and—"

"What part of we're married are you all having trouble with?" I knew my family loved me, but sometimes they were over-the-top protective. I wasn't some kid who'd fucked up. I made some dubious choices in my anger but that didn't change my ability to protect myself and my family.

My anger and thoughtless actions had led to this. My family was freaking out. The Winters were out of their mind with hurt and worry. And then there was Emilia.

What did she call herself? Invisible Miss Winters. And I'd just made sure her face was plastered around every gossip site as the villain in the Damian Archer-Bianca Winters love story.

"The Winters are coming over for dinner," my mother told me, "Let's talk to them and put this plan in action."

I shook my head. "I'm going home to have dinner—"

Jameson, the Archer family butler, and majordomo came into the living room then. "Mrs. Archer, Mister, Missus and Miss Winters just cleared security at the gates."

"Thanks, Jameson." My mother rose in a flourish of chiffon and silk.

She was one of the most elegant women I knew. Bianca was a lot like her. They both had a sense of style that you simply couldn't buy. Sure, a designer could put Emilia in some fancy clothes, but she'd always look like a lost waif as she had that morning in that black jumpsuit and white shirt. She hadn’t looked twenty-three…more like a teenager. She had no make up on. Her hair was tied in a messy bun.

Christ! Maybe it was a good thing she'd stayed away from the media all these years, because those barracudas would eat her alive for being clueless.

I'd have to make sure that didn't happen again.

Regardless of how and why we got married, she was my responsibility. I had dragged her into a scheme I never should have, so the least I could do was protect her while we were married, especially since I had fucked up her life.

I decided then that I'd also make sure that she got some money once this was over, so she could get her life in order, and do something with it.

"You look miserable," Duncan said as I heard the Winters in the front room, talking to my parents.

"I am. I…all this is hard on Emilia." I hadn't meant to say that, but it was top of mind.