by Rye Hart
He picked up on the first ring.
“Hey, Jude,” he said, then he laughed at his own indirect Beatle's reference. It was a joke we'd laughed about more times than I can count. “How's married life treatin' ya, buddy?”
“That's what I'm calling to chat about, actually,” he said.
“Uh oh. Doesn't sound like a good thing,” he said. “What's up?”
I told him everything Ember had told me, not mincing words in the slightest, but added a caveat, “Of course, I hardly know Ember either, but I trust her,” I said. “Why would she lie?”
“I don't know, man,” he replied. “Maybe a personal grudge against her mother?”
I shrugged, relaxing back into the oversized, leather office chair, and spun it around until I could see out the window. Ember was still lounging in the chair by the pool, maybe she was napping. The sun glistened off her slick body, and I remembered how much I'd wanted to help her apply that sunscreen, to touch that perfectly pale skin and feel the softness of her body beneath my hands.
“Earth to Jude,” Dominic said.
“Sorry, I'm a bit distracted,” I said, turning away from the window. “I don't know what to think, Dom. Any ideas?”
“Well, if it's true, you can seek an annulment,” he said. “No problem there. Question is, do you really want to end things this quickly?”
I sighed and closed my eyes. My head was throbbing. “I don't know. I think I rushed into things too fast as it was,” I said. “Maybe, I should have taken some time to think before jumping into marriage with a woman I hardly know.”
“Yeah, well, don't say we didn't warn you,” he said with a rueful chuckle.
“I know,” I groaned. “Don't remind me.”
My business partners, the men in my wedding, had all warned me that I was jumping into a marriage far too fast. They argued that I hardly knew Lydia and that I should take a little time before making a decision like that. Problem was, I'd long since given up on finding a soulmate. Long given up on finding “the one.” I didn't believe in that crap anyway, and I thought finding someone “good enough” would be enough for me.
I was beginning to have my doubts, now.
“Talk to Lydia” he said. “Lay it all out on the table, listen to what she has to say, and if you still want the annulment, we'll make it happen.”
“Thanks, Dom,” I said. “I guess I have some thinking to do.”
I hung up the phone and rested my head in my hands. Footsteps startled me, and I sat up, wondering if it might be Lydia. The footsteps moved down the hall, stopping at the door next to my office – Ember's room. Knowing it wasn't Lydia though, I let out a sigh of relief. I wasn't ready to deal with her right now, there was too much on my mind. Too much I needed to sort through, and decisions I needed to make.
I swiveled in my office chair, rubbing my temples, wishing the headache would subside, even just a bit, so I could think clearly. A sound from the next room caught my attention though, and I heard Ember walking around the creaky wood floors. Probably changing from her swimsuit into some real clothes. A moment later, the shower came on, and the sound of water running was almost relaxing.
I leaned back in my seat, closed my eyes and focused on the sounds from the bathroom that sat between my office and her bedroom. We even shared a door, it was my bathroom when I couldn't be bothered to run down to the master suite. But, since she'd been staying there, it was all hers now.
A low groaning noise coming from the shower perked my ears right up. Sitting up straight, I tried to figure out the source of the sound. I strained my ears and listened – and there it was again. A groan. A woman's groan.
Ember's groans.
Jesus Christ, I thought, swallowing hard as it became clear what she was doing in the shower, oblivious that I was in my office, and as clueless as I was about how thin our walls were. No one had ever stayed in that room before. It usually stood empty, so it never occurred to me that I'd be able to hear sounds coming from there.
Especially not sounds like that.
“Yes, yes,” Ember moaned.
My cock tightened in my shorts as I listened to her pleasuring herself beneath the spray of water. I stood up and rushed for the door to leave my office but stopped. If she heard the door to my office opening and closing, would she know I overheard her in the shower? Would that make things even more awkward for her?
She cried out, “Yes, Jude!” and I froze, feeling the blood in my veins turn to icy slush.
No, that couldn't be right. I had to have misunderstood. I tried to quietly turn the door to leave, when she cried out again.
“Don't stop, Jude...Oh God, yes,” she whimpered.
“Fuck.”
I gritted my teeth and pressed my body against the wall next to the door. Everything in me told me to leave. To pretend like that had never happened. That I hadn't heard a goddamn thing. I couldn't just sit there and listen to that. I just couldn't.
I didn't move though. My eyes were closed, as if somehow, I could make myself disappear as Ember continued masturbating, groaning and calling out my name. Did she realize how loud she was? Did she care? Was this intentional?
No, she had no way of knowing I was in there. She had no way of knowing I could hear her.
“Fuck me, Jude,” she whimpered.
I closed my eyes and listened to her, imagining she was right there in front of me. I pictured her wiggling her tight ass toward me, begging me to enter her.
My knees weakened, and my breathing grew ragged. My balls began to ache with pressure building up within them. My body moved, seemingly of its own volition, and before I knew what I was doing, my hand slipped down into my pants. I took hold of my member, gripping it firmly. Each groan from Ember made my cock pulse as I stroked it. I tried to imagine anything but Ember – she was my stepdaughter and it didn't feel right. But, when she called my name, I had no way of driving the thoughts and image of her from my mind.
I spat on my hand, wetting it a bit, and thinking about how wet she'd feel when I slipped my stiff prick into her. Oh God, I bet she was tight and oh so warm. I bet I'd fill her up and stretch her open. Make her cry out in pleasure.
“Come for me baby,” I muttered, biting into my arm to stop my own sounds from carrying. “Come for me, Ember.”
Even as I said those words, I felt insanely guilty for having such fantasies running through my head. Yet, as if acting on command, Ember's moans grew louder, and she let out a scream of pure and unbridled bliss, my name rolling off her tongue over and over again.
I tightened my grip on my cock, imagining her pussy clenching my thick shaft as she came, and it was over. My balls curled up into my body and streams of cum shot straight out of my dick. I bit my arm even harder, making myself wince with the pain. I struggled to not make the same mistake Ember had and cry out too loudly as the orgasm washed over me. I couldn't let her hear me.
Her moans stopped just as every last ounce of semen slid down the door, pooling along the baseboard.
I cursed under my breath, angry at myself for allowing that to happen. I rushed to my desk, grabbed some napkins and cleaned things up the best I could. I wiped down the door, and as I was doing that, I realized I knew what I had to do.
I had to end things with Lydia. Not because I had the hots for her daughter, but because I really didn't want to be married in the first place. She'd called the tune and I had very uncharacteristically, danced to it. It had all happened so fast, she played to my fears so well, and offered me what I wanted – a family. Now, as my head grew clearer, I could see that it had all been a sham from the start.
Lydia didn't love me, and I most certainly didn't love her.
***
I was waiting for Lydia at the dining room table. Not that she'd stopped to talk to me. No, she'd come home, and without a word, rushed upstairs to shower. She didn't have to get that close though, for me to smell the men's cologne on her. The scent was thick and heavy, and reinforced everything Ember had told me ea
rlier.
With a clear head, I knew I was doing the right thing. Sitting there, in my dining room, waiting for my wife to join me for a chat, I put together what I was going to say in my head. I'd told her to meet me down there as soon as she could, and I already had the paperwork printed out for the annulment, thanks to Dominic. Having a lawyer as a business partner came in handy sometimes – even more so when he was also your best friend. Things tended to get done a lot quicker that way.
My back straightened as I heard footsteps coming down the hallway. This was it. She could either take the terms I set forth for her, or we'd go to court and things could get ugly. Would get ugly. I braced myself for a fight, but it wasn't Lydia who popped into the dining room, catching me completely off guard.
It was Ember.
She walked straight through to the kitchen in a pair of pink short-shorts and a white, almost see-through, off-the-shoulder top, her auburn hair pulled back in a high ponytail that trailed down her back. She smiled at me, and it wasn't the awkward smile of someone who knew they'd been caught masturbating. No, she seemed like her normal self. As if she didn't have the first clue I'd heard her in the shower. Maybe she didn't.
Her ass shimmied in her tiny little shorts, and she was walking back toward me with an apple in her hand when she saw the papers lying out in front of me. She stopped and I saw her eyes widen slightly.
She sighed and took a seat next to me. “I see you've taken my words to heart,” she said.
“I appreciate your honesty, Ember,” I said. “The situation sucks, but it is what it is.”
I was sitting stiffly and staring straight ahead – careful not to look at the beautiful, and scantily clad, redhead with the emerald green eyes sitting beside me.
“So this probably means my mom and I are going back to the penthouse, huh?”
Her voice dropped a little, and I side-eyed her. She looked disappointed – or maybe I was just feeling hopeful.
“I've come up with terms that'll take care of the both of you,” I said.
Ember didn't have a chance to say anything else before Lydia strode in. She took one look at her daughter, then one at me and the paperwork and she frowned, deep lines spreading across her brow. For the first time, she actually looked her age. Not to mention, a little more than uncertain.
“I'll see myself out,” Ember said, slipping from the seat.
Before she left the room though, she gave my shoulder a tight squeeze, causing me to glance back at her. When she was safely behind her mother's back, she smiled and mouthed, “I'm happy for you,” before leaving the room.
Even though I was leaving her mother, she was happy for me. Truth be told, I was happy for me too. Well, for the most part. There was some sadness at the two of them moving out, but, if I were being honest with myself, most of that was centered around not seeing Ember walking around in her bikinis and short-shorts anymore.
Which was definitely not a good enough reason to stay married to someone who was simply using me for my wealth.
Chapter Five
Ember
Jude's offer to my mother was more than generous. Instead of making us move back to the penthouse, which already had an offer to buy it by the time the annulment was finalized, he gave my mother and I his condo downtown, which was honestly much nicer than the one we had before. It was also paid off, unlike the other penthouse.
“You ruined my life, Ember,” she muttered. “Just like you ruined my life the day you were born.”
I rolled my eyes. Here we go again. I plopped down on an Italian leather sofa that used to belong to Jude, but came with the new condo downtown, arms crossed in front of me.
“Jude was a good man, mom,” I said.
“You ruined my one chance at a good life,” she said, pacing the living room and blocking a view of Lake Michigan that was to die for.
“Interesting how you didn't say your one shot at love,” I groaned, resting my head against the back of the couch. “Because let's face it, you didn't love him. And you know it.”
Mom had never been a good liar. It was one reason she never moved into acting. Her jaw dropped and she so badly wanted to be offended, but she wisely shut her trap before uttering a lie neither of us would believe anyway.
She sat down on an overstuffed chair across from me, staring holes through me.
“Who knows?” she said. “I could have fallen in love with him – if you'd given us enough time.”
I cackled. “That's not how it works, Mom. You should love each other before tying the knot, not the other way around,” I said.
I sat up straight and picked at my fingernail. My manicure was peeling, and it was far more interesting than this conversation.
“Did you really have to tell him about Marlon?” mom asked.
I shrugged. “I thought he deserved to know the truth. I'm sorry if me being a good person ruined your plans of living off some billionaire for the rest of your life, but Jude seems like a good guy and you lied to him. I'm not cool with that.”
“You just want him for yourself,” mom said, and she didn't even sound that surprised.
I stared up at her, mouth wide. “You're kidding me, right?” I asked. “I don't plan on following in your footsteps, Mom. It's why I'm going to college.”
“Which we, sadly, can't afford to pay for anymore, because of your rigid morality,” she said.
My heart raced. “What? What do you mean?”
Mom gave me a nonchalant look. “Your tuition is too expensive, Ember,” she said. “Until I find a way to bring in more money, you're just going to have to wait to finish your degree.”
“I have one more year, Mom,” I exclaimed. “Jude gave you a settlement, enough to live off –”
“Enough to live off for the next year, if I'm frugal,” she said, standing up and walking over to the mini bar.
“If you were actually frugal, I'd say even longer,” I said. “Because most people can live off far less and still get by. And still pay for their daughter's education.”
Mom poured herself a glass of wine and turned back to me, leaning against the bar, a smirk on her face as she sipped her wine.
“Maybe you should get a job, dear,” she said.
“A minimum wage job isn't going to pay for my tuition. Not with only a few weeks left to pay it,” I said. “You have the money. You're just trying to punish me, aren't you?”
“It's a harsh lesson, Ember, but one you need to learn.”
I stood up, facing off with my mother. Our eyes were locked on each other's, but she didn't waver. Not in the slightest. She continued smirking and sipping her expensive wine. She'd rather have money for shopping sprees and wine than pay for her daughter's education. It shouldn't surprise me, but it did. My heart crumbled in that moment, and it hit me how manipulative and cruel my mother really was.
I grabbed my bag and started for my room, mom's voice trailing behind me. “Oh, and Ember? You might want to stay at Talia's for a bit,” she said. “To help make ends meet, I've sold off the bedroom furniture in the second bedroom. Figured you wouldn't need to it since you have life all figured out and such.”
I stopped in the hallway, panic truly setting in. I turned and gaped at her. Talia was away for the summer, visiting family in Europe. Mom knew this. Her eyes sparkled as she finished her wine, a vicious little smirk tugging at her lips.
“You're kicking me out?”
Mom shrugged. “Don't think of it as kicking you out, dear,” she said. “Think of it as me being motherly and teaching you a valuable lesson.”
“What lesson is that exactly? That I should be a lying, manipulating c-u-next-Tuesday like you?”
Mom slapped me across the cheek. “Get out,” she demanded.
“Let me just get my stuff –”
“No, now,” she said. Her voice was shaking. “Everything you have, I sold already,” she screamed. “I paid for it all anyway. Now leave.”
Everything? I hesitated, feeling the weight of her words. S
he sold everything? My clothes? My laptop? I turned on my heel and rushed toward the room was that was supposed to be mine, opening the door, expecting to call her bluff, and find my things there.
Except, that when I opened the door, I saw that she wasn't lying.
The room was completely empty. I ran to the closet, pulling it opened and found nothing more than empty hangars on the rod. All my clothes, gone. The bathroom had been cleared out too. I didn't even have shampoo or a tooth brush to my name.
Mom was standing in the doorway, a smug smile on her face, looking absolutely pleased with herself.
“Didn't believe I had it in me, did you?” she said. “Well, I didn't think my own daughter would undermine me the way you did. It hurts, doesn't it?”
It wasn't pain that I was feeling. It was rage.
“That laptop, I bought myself,” I said through clenched teeth. “It had everything from the last three years at school. Things I need!”
“You paid for it yourself? How cute. The money from your dad's trust account ran out ages ago,” she said. “Everything you own was bought by me. And now, I've showed you what happens when you mess up my life, Ember. I can take it all back in a heartbeat.”
“You bitch,” I stammered.
I still couldn't believe it. My entire life, everything I owned, was gone. All because my mom was throwing a hissy fit. Because she didn't like being outed as the horrible, money-grubbing, gold-digging bitch whore she really was.
“It wasn't even your money anyway,” I growled. “It all belonged to your ex-husbands – well, it did before you swindled them out of it all.”
She sighed. “And there, for a second, I thought you wanted Jude for yourself, and I was even a little bit proud,” she said. “I thought, look at her, following in her mother's footsteps. Then I realized you're just a spoiled little brat who's had everything in life handed to you on a silver platter. Well, it's time to learn to stand on your own two feet, sweetie.”