Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Three

Dane’s prediction proved correct. It hurt my insides to slice into the beautiful wedding cake, but the taste did ease the pain. It was absolutely delicious with the frosting, butter cream, and jam. Dane seemed to enjoy his piece just as much.

Soon after that, trays of hot and cold finger foods were placed on a long table, providing late-night snacks for the guests. People practically descended on it, piling plates with rolls, shrimp cocktail, barbecue wings, dainty tea sandwiches, and mini quiche. The dessert table, cookie bar, and Trick or Treat buffet were also topped up, ensuring there were enough snacks for all ages.

I’d barely finished my food when Hanna and Melinda appeared, flushed and grinning. Each of them grabbed one of my hands.

“You have to come dance with us,” insisted Hanna.

“I need to let my food digest first,” I protested.

Melinda tugged on my hand. “It’s your wedding reception. Get your ass on the dance floor where it belongs.”

And so I ended up dancing again. I told myself I’d go rest after one song but, yeah, it didn’t work out that way. I got caught up in having fun with my friends and family—hell, even Wyatt hit the dance floor. That did not happen often.

Dane didn’t join me until another slow song came on. It was halfway through said song that the urge to pee hit me hard. Thankfully, my gown wasn’t so long that I’d need someone to hold it while I did my business. I quickly excused myself, promising I wouldn’t be long; happily accepting the kiss that Dane landed on me.

There were no restrooms in the venue, so I had to exit the building, cross the lawn, and use the restrooms inside the hotel. That done, I retraced my steps and headed back to the botanical garden. I’d almost reached it when a figure stepped out from behind a tree and blocked my path. It was dark out, but there was enough lighting for me to see their face clear enough. I could tell from their sour expression that this would be far from a pleasant conversation.

“I’d give you a round of applause, but then I might drop my glass,” said Jen.

I felt my brow crease. “A round of applause?”

She took a sip from her champagne flute. “I’ve seen women pull all kinds of crap to try manipulating Dane into putting a ring on their finger. He never did it. Nope.”

Ugh. “You really want to do this?”

“He always saw through their bullshit,” she went on … so, yeah, she must really want to do this. “But you, Vienna? You fooled him good. You made him walk down a fucking aisle. How? I’ve got to know how you did it.”

“Do you really believe I manipulated him into marrying me? Honestly? Because if so, you don’t truly knowhim. Dane isn’t someone who can be played.”

“There’s a first time for everything.”

“You can’t quite accept that he cares for me, can you?”

She snorted. “There isn’t a single soul on this Earth he cares for. Not one.”

“Just because he doesn’t care for you doesn’t mean he can’t care for anyone.”

Pain flashed across her face. “If you truly think that, I’d have to say that it’s you who doesn’t know him. But then, I don’t suppose gold diggers give much of a shit if their marks care. That’s all Dane is to you. A mark. People like you disgust me, selling yourselves for cash.”

“Not just cash. I’ll gladly take checks. Stocks. Shares.”

She sneered. “He can do far better than you.”

“I guess he felt like slumming it. Now if you’re done making piss-poor attempts to insult me, Jenny—”

“Is it weird being married to a guy who won’t sleep beside you at night?”

“No idea. Haven’t found myself in that situation.”

“Bullshit,” she spat. “You know what’s not fair?”

“That you’re depriving a village of its prized idiot?”

Her lips thinned. “Think you’re smart, don’t you?”

“I do, actually. I also think—much like Dane, as it happens—that your opinions are irrelevant, so …” I went to step around her, but she planted herself in front of me again.

Her eyes flared. “Don’t you dismiss me like I’m nothing.”

“Then don’t act like a dumb fucking hoe bag.”

She sucked in a breath and drew back.

“Now, as much as I appreciate you taking the time to entertain me like this, I’m gonna need you to move the fuck out of my way.”

“I’m not done—”

“Yes, you are,” a new voice cut in.

Jen jumped. Her face paled as Dane stepped out of the shadows, his eyes cold, his face diamond hard.

He slanted his head. “Tell me, Jen, why is it that you think you have the right to speak to my wife like that?”

Her mouth set into a bitter twist. “Your wife?” She sneered. “Never thought I’d see the day you let anyone fool you. It turns out that the infamous Dane Davenport can actually be conned. Because you honestly think she loves you, don’t you?” Jen barked a laugh. “Wrong, my darling Dane. She’s been manipulating you from the start, and you’ve been blind to it. I’m honestly embarrassed for you.”

One of his brows hiked up. “Are you now?”

“Anyone can see she’s leading you around by your dick. Well, anyone but you. Hell, she even somehow managed to talk you into spending all kinds of money on a party. You hate parties. You hate relationships. You hate the concept of marriage.”

“What I hate is when people get the insane idea that they can treat Vienna like she’s a piece of shit. Don’t think being my brother’s wife will protect you from the consequences, Jen. It won’t. Now go home and sober the fuck up.”

“She’s only after your money,” Jen persisted, gripping her glass so tight it was a wonder the flute didn’t crack. “How do you not see that?”

“How do you not see that I don’t give a shit what you think?”

Jen sucked in her cheeks. “I know a gold-digger when I see one, Dane. That’s what she is. Did she play the victim of poverty so that you’d ‘save’ her?” Jen scoffed. “I bet she did. Hope doesn’t think so. She thinks the whole thing is a farce, that you paid Vienna to marry you just so you could get that cushy trust fund. Maybe she’s right. It would explain why Vienna didn’t let the damn pictures chase her off.”

“What did you just say?” asked Dane, his voice low and cold.

I felt my lips part. Oh, the bitch.

She blinked, the bluster leaving her in a rush. “I, um …”

“You said something about pictures,” he prompted oh so calmly, but danger dripped from his tone. “What pictures might they be?”

Her eyes flickered, and she took a step back. “Dane …”

“You sent Vienna the flash drive?”

She shook her head fast. “No. Not me. Hope.”

“Hope?”

“Yes. She told me she had photos that proved you’d cheated on Vienna. She said she sent them to her.”

“What else did Hope say?”

Jen lifted her shoulders. “Nothing, really. She was just angry when Vienna didn’t leave you.”

“Hmm. And you had nothing to do with it?”

“No, nothing,” she swore, her eyes wide.

“What about Travis? Was he in on it?”

Jen licked her lips. “No. He doesn’t like that you’re with Vienna, but he … he decided to let it go. Hope didn’t want to. She can’t. He’s gambled away so much of their money. His share of your trust fund could fix the mess he’s made.”

“Yes, I can imagine why Hope did this. But why did you, Jen?”

“I told you, it was all Hope. It had nothing to do with me, I swear.”

Dane crossed to her. “You’re lying to me.”

Blanching, she shook her head again. “I’m not, I wouldn’t.”

“The flash drive, the spoofed text, the phone call to the venue attempting to cancel the reception—you and Hope were behind it all. Why? I don’t buy that you wanted to come between me and Vienna purely because you think she’s a gold-digger.”

Jen’s eyes blazed at him. “She is. She’s not good enough to be a Davenport. Hugh would say the same, if he was alive right now. He wouldn’t have come here today. No, he wouldn’t have given this marriage his blessing, and you know it. He wanted you to marry—” She cut off and snapped her mouth shut.

Dane lifted a brow. “Don’t stop now. Who did he want me to marry? You?”

She swallowed. “He thought I was the one for you.”

“And yet, he had no problem with you marrying Kent.”

Her eyes teared. “I loved you. I would have been everything you needed if you’d just let me in. I would have fixed you; would have made you happy. But you wouldn’t let me. I’ve never begged for anything in my life, but I begged you to give us a chance. You wouldn’t.”

“What the fuck does it matter? You’re with Kent.”

“I am. And I love him. I’m happy. I have a fucking great life.”

“Which is considered the best kind of revenge, really, isn’t it?” I cut in. “You wanted Dane to see you happy, to see that you’re better off without him.” I kind of understood. I’d felt the same when I realized I’d have to face Owen again.

“I am better off without him,” she insisted. “And so are you. The only thing he ever cared about is that fucking trust fund.”

“And that’s why you don’t want him to have it, isn’t it? That’s why you agreed to work with Hope. How very vindictive of you. I’ll bet she recruited you. Yes, she’d have known how easy it would be to manipulate you into helping her.”

Dane glared at Jen. “Tell me Vienna’s wrong.”

“She can’t,” I told him. “Some believe revenge is petty. Maybe it is. But it’s often the way we work feelings out of our system. Especially betrayal, resentment, self-pity, and abandonment. You were her first crush—that’s always powerful.” I slid my gaze back to her. “All those years ago, he left you feeling helpless to make him love you. That was all you wanted him to do, wasn’t it?”

She looked away, her eyes watering again.

“You told yourself that you could make him feelsomething for you. But you couldn’t, and that was a blow your fragile young ego never forgot. There’s more, though, isn’t there, Jen? There’s some other reason why you were so desperate to hurt him.” My gut insisted on it. “What did he do that you can’t forgive?”

Her lips trembled. “He already knows. I’m not surprised he didn’t tell you. He wouldn’t want you to know just what a cold bastard he really is.” She swallowed. “I knew how resolute he was that he’d never have kids. I knew he’d never change his mind. Knew he didn’t believe he’d find a woman who wouldn’t care that he’d never give her children. And I knew it was because he needed to feel that he was the most important person in her life—he wouldn’t want to share her attention or love.”

I frowned because, yeah, that wasn’t Dane at all.

“So I …” Jen took a shaky breath. “So I got sterilized. I wanted to prove to him that I could be what he needed; that I’d make him everything to me. But he didn’t care, did you, Dane? It didn’t matter that I’d given up so much for you. You turned your back on me yet again.”

Dane glared at her, stone-faced. “You missed out the part where you offered to get sterilized and I told you not to do it; that it wouldn’t make a difference to me because I wasn’t interested in a relationship. But you went ahead and did it anyway.”

“I thought you were testing me!”

“I’d never fuck with a woman that way, Jen. You should have known that. You’ve always been so sure you understand me, but you don’t. You never did. How could you possibly have loved me when you didn’t even really know me?”

Her eyes sparkled like chips of ice. “You think I would have gotten sterilized for someone I just thought I was in love with? You think I wouldn’t have been damn certain of what I felt?”

“Either way, it is not my fault that you did what you did. I was clear that I was not interested in a relationship with you. I was brutally clear, in fact, because I needed you to really heed me. But you didn’t want to hear that, so you didn’t listen. You read something else into what I said.”

“I think she knows, deep down, that the fault doesn’t lie with you, Dane,” I said. “I think she just needs to believe it does, or she has to face that she made this mess for herself.”

Honestly, a part of me felt sorry for her. I’d always wanted kids, and it would gut me to be unable to bear them. But Dane was right: she’d chosen to be sterilized, even though he’d warned her that it would make no difference. “Can’t you have the process reversed, Jen?”

“I tried,” she gritted out. “It didn’t work.”

“You told me it did,” said Dane. “Then again, you also told me that you no longer blamed me. You said that on the night you accepted Kent’s proposal of marriage. Apparently, you lied.”

“Because she needed you to believe she was happier without you,” I pointed out. “Didn’t you, Jen? I’m guessing Hope knew how you really felt about Dane. I’m guessing she capitalized on it.”

“No need to guess,” said Dane. “We can ask her. Why don’t you come closer, Hope?”

I turned at the sound of a loud sigh. Hope stood off to the side, leaning against a tree, not even bothering to conceal her presence. “You’re quite the puppet master, aren’t you?” I said. “You certainly pulled Jen’s strings, and it’s damn shitty of you to play on something that’s painful for her. I’d imagine you were quite the driving force behind Travis’s insistence on getting his share of Dane’s trust fund.”

“Oh, Travis didn’t need pushing,” said Hope. “Not until Dane had him banned from all the local casinos anyway. Before that, he’d been happy to play the game. In fact, if he’d had his way, he’d have sold o-Verve secrets to the company’s competitors, but you wouldn’t let him into Dane’s office, and Travis couldn’t get access to your computer—he said you guarded your desk like a damn bulldog.”

“What she’s not telling you,” began Jen, her eyes on Dane, “is that—inspired by Travis’s idea—she had one of her boy-toy’s try to steal Vienna’s laptop so she’d get access to company secrets, only Vienna had taken it with her to Vegas.”

Hope’s face went rock hard as she turned to her sister-in-law. “Oh, trying to shove everyone’s attention onto me, are you?”

“The burglary,” I said, shocked, as the pieces came together. “You set that up.” I looked at Dane, whose eyes now glittered with so much anger it was no wonder that Hope took a step back.

“She told the guy it was important that he make it look like a standard burglary,” Jen added, the snitch.

Hope snickered at her. “It won’t work, Jen. They’re not going to let what you did slide just because you’re giving up info on me.” Hope sliced her gaze to Dane. “Go on. Swear you’ll make me pay. Promise you’ll ruin my life. It’s already in ruins, thanks to your brother’s gambling problem. You have no idea how much we need that money, Dane.”

A muscle in his cheek flexed. “If you’d needed help, you could have asked for it. But you couldn’t swallow your pride and come talk to me. You would rather have taken what was mine right from under me.”

“Well, it’s not like you need it.”

“Neither do you,” I told her. “Not really. Travis may be in debt, but the two of you still have a lot more than most people do. Sell some stuff. Downsize. Shop in cheaper stores.”

Hope looked at me like I’d suggested she munch on dog shit. “And have everyone know about our debts? Have them laugh and ridicule us?” She shook her head. “Oh no, not a chance.”

Then Dane was right. This was about pride. She wasn’t prepared to lose face and have anyone know how far down she and Travis had fallen … just like Barron hadn’t been able to do.

“You wouldn’t have helped us, Dane,” said Hope. “You wouldn’t have cared that we were close to losing everything. You would have told Travis it was his own mess and that he’d have to fix it on his own.”

“I guess you’ll never know if you were right or not,” said Dane. “You can be sure of one thing, Hope. You really will feel like your life is in ruins by the time I’m done with you. You had countless warnings to leave Vienna alone.”

Hope scoffed. “Like you really care. I’ll admit, I fell for it in the beginning. I thought you two were serious. I thought she did indeed care for you.”

“So you tried to make me doubt him,” I said. “When that didn’t work, you upped your game. And when that failed—”

“It became obvious that this marriage isn’t real,” Hope finished. “My warnings about him didn’t send you running, the pictures didn’t send you running, the text message didn’t send you running.”

“Because I trust Dane.”

“No, because he’s paying you to stay right where you are—it’s the only thing that makes sense. You have no other reason to stick by him.”

“Really? You stuck by Travis.”

She shook her head. “I’m done trying to save that man from himself. He can’t be helped. Neither can Dane. They’re both too fucked up, thanks to Barron. I’m cutting my losses.” She looked at Dane. “You truly are welcome to come at me with everything you have. But there won’t be much for you to take from me—Travis will make sure I walk away from the marriage with little to nothing, the cunning bastard.”

Dane cocked his head. “Have you so easily forgotten that I can bide my time when need be? There’ll come a day when you have something important in your life again. I’ll make sure you lose it, just like you tried to make me lose what’s important to me.”

Fear glimmered in Hope’s eyes. “Even though my attempts came to nothing?”

“Even though,” he confirmed. “You knew what you were risking when you played these games. You played them anyway. That was your mistake.”

Hope gestured at Jen. “What about her? She wasn’t so innocent in all this, no matter what she might say.”

“Oh, I know that.” Dane looked at Jen even as he said, “Vienna, call Kent. Tell him to meet us out here. Tell him to bring Travis.”

I quickly did so and then rang off.

Tears welled up in Jen’s eyes. “Please don’t tell Kent, Dane. Please.”

“I’m not going to tell him,” said Dane. “You are. He’s going to hear it from you. He deserves that much. You did all this behind his back. He has every right to know. I’d want to know, in his position. I’ll be damned if I’ll keep it a secret for you.”

“I did something stupid, I know, but I don’t deserve to have my marriage wrecked.”

“Neither did I, but you tried to wreck mine. If you’re lucky, he’ll forgive you.”

“He won’t, and you know it. Do you think he’ll thank you for making me tell him what I’ve done? He won’t, Dane. He’ll hate us both. Is that what you really want?”

“You won’t change my mind, Jen.”

“You’d really ruin your own brother’s marriage?”

“I didn’t do it. You did. Like Hope, you knew what you were risking. You obviously thought it was worth the risk; that he was worth risking. He deserves a lot fucking better.”

Kent soon joined us. Travis staggered behind him, absolutely smashed. Their brows furrowed as they took in each of us.

“Is something wrong?” asked Kent.

“You could say that,” replied Dane. “Tell him, Jen.”

She looked at the floor instead, hunching in on herself.

“What is it?” Kent gently asked her, moving to her side. “Jen? Jen, come on, look at me.” But she didn’t.

“What’s going on?” demanded Travis.

Hope sighed. “I tried to clean up your mess—that’s what. You didn’t have the guts to go up against Dane, so I did it. I pushed Vienna to leave him. And thanks to Jen, he now knows all about what she and I did. And now I’m screwed.”

Well, at least she had the guts to own her fuck up. Unlike her accomplice.

Travis’s jaw hardened. “I told you to drop it, Hope.”

“Because you’re too weak to stand up to him, just like you’re too weak to stay away from the fucking casinos,” she sneered. “Well, I’m done. Done with you and your family.”

Travis stiffened. “What does that mean?”

“It means I want a divorce.” Hope looked at Dane. “Come at me one day if you feel you must. But I’ll be ready for it. You won’t win; you won’t get away with whatever you try to do.”

“Of course I will,” said Dane, his voice soft but flat. “I always do.”

Her eyes flickering, she strode off.

Travis stalked after her, weaving all over the place. “Wait, we’re not done talking.”

“Oh, we’re done in every way a couple can be done,” she insisted.

As their voices faded away, Kent turned to his wife. “What did she mean, Jen? What did you and Hope do?”

Jen lifted her head, sniffling. “I made a mistake. A stupid, horrible mistake. You can’t imagine how sorry I am; how I wish I could turn back time—”

“What did you and Hope do?” he demanded.

Jen looked to Dane, as if hoping he’d tell some bullshit story for her to cover up her sins, but he didn’t. Closing her eyes, she turned back to Kent. “I … I let Hope rope me into her scheme to get Vienna out of the picture. I wanted to help Hope—Travis put them in major debt, and she was terrified they’d lose everything. Plus, I hated that Dane had been targeted by a freaking gold-digger. But I mainly did it for Hope and Travis. I knew it would hurt you to see your brother lose everything.”

I snorted. “You really are good at buttering up the truth, aren’t you?”

She shot me a narrow-eyed look but slid her attention back to Kent, frowning when he stepped away from her. “Kent, I know I messed up big time. I’m so sorry. You can’t know how sorry I am.”

Kent stared at her through empty eyes. “Like you were sorry for the things you said to Dane at his house when he got back from Vegas after marrying Vienna? You told me—all three of us—that you were sorry. But that was a lie, wasn’t it?”

She shook her head madly. “No, no, it wasn’t.”

“It had to have been, or you wouldn’t have teamed up with Hope,” snapped Kent. “You didn’t do all this for Hope and Travis.”

“Yes, I did!”

“No, this isn’t about them. You think I haven’t noticed how much you’ve struggled to accept that Dane is married? It’s not even jealousy. It’s bitterness. You don’t like that he’s happy. And I realized you never really forgave him for refusing to try having a relationship with you. Give me one piece of honesty, Jen. Did you marry me to get back at him?”

Her eyes widened. “No, definitely not. I love you.”

“But not enough. Not if you couldn’t let this shit go and just be happy with me and what we have.”

“Does he even know you got sterilized?” Dane asked her.

Kent stilled. “Sterilized?”

Dane tossed her a look of disbelief. “You never told him? Fucking hell.”

I stared at her in open-mouthed shock. This just kept getting worse and worse.

She stepped toward Kent. “I was young and stupid and did something I can’t take back. I didn’t tell you because I was worried that you’d leave me.”

Kent’s nostrils flared. “At what point were you going to tell me that our attempts to try for a baby would never amount to anything?”

“Kent—”

“I told you I was worried I might be infertile. I offered to be tested. You told me not to do it; said it wouldn’t matter to you, because you loved me anyway. You let me think the problem might be me.”

Oh my God, what a fucking bitch.

She reached out to touch him. “I didn’t want—”

“I can’t talk to you right now.” Kent backed away, his fists clenched, looking like he wanted nothing more than to stalk off. But then he stilled, as if remembering where he was. He turned to his brother. “Dane …”

“Go,” Dane said softly.

Kent didn’t need to be told twice.

Jen hurried after him, calling out, “Kent, wait!”

He didn’t wait or respond. He kept striding fast toward the hotel, and she kept on trailing after him.

I blew out a breath and turned to Dane. “Well, that was … heavy.”

He sighed. “Yeah.” He crossed to me and cupped the side of my neck. “Are you okay?”

“That was going to be my question.”

“I’m pissed, but fine. You?”

“Fine. Though my head is spinning.” I rested my hands on his chest. “I’m sorry.”

He frowned. “For what?”

“That you just found out two of your in-laws tried to fuck you over. I’m especially sorry that we couldn’t have found this out before the reception, or even sometime after it.” I bit my lip. “We can leave early, if you want.”

“Leave? Why would I want to leave?”

“Well you can’t be feeling good right now.”

“I’m more pissed than anything else. I’ve never liked Hope, so her betrayal means nothing. Jen … I considered her to be family. I thought she was good for Kent, even if they hadn’t been as tight as they once were. That she so easily risked losing him infuriates me.”

While I was glad that Dane didn’t seem hurt by what either of his sisters-in-law had done, it saddened me that his emotional defenses were so extreme that not even a betrayal of this magnitude pierced them. It was one thing to have thick skin. It was another thing to feel so very little in the face of such duplicity.

Maybe, due to his childhood, he was so used to people trying to hurt him that it didn’t have the same impact it would have on others. For him, it was the norm. Whatever the case … yeah, I was just sad for him.

I leaned into him. “Do you want to go after Kent?”

Dane shook his head. “He likes to be alone when he’s angry. Our father would seek us out and take out his rage on us when in a mood.”

“So Kent does the opposite. He isolates himself.”

“Yes.” Dane brushed my bangs out of my face. “We can leave the reception, if you want. But I don’t want to. Sure, we can let those bitches ruin it and have the last laugh. I’d rather carry on with our night and not give them the power to taint this for us. What about you?”

“I vote for the latter.”

He squeezed the side of my neck. “Good. Then let’s go back inside and enjoy the rest of our reception.”