Chapter 166

The next two days were terrible and Anna was close to tears the entire time. Alex hardly spoke to her, and she didn’t dare approach him without permission. She went to class and rehearsals each day and kept to herself. If she wasn’t dancing, she was at home in the bedroom or the upstairs conservatory. Alex and his men spent most of the time in the study planning their trip to Boston, so their interactions were minimal.

Anna understood why he was angry. He had every right to be. She was the one who’d done wrong. She’d wounded Alex by going to Hugo. She deserved her Master’s scorn.

Alex didn’t attend rehearsals. They lay awkwardly in bed next to each other each night, but never talked or touched.

Tuesday night was her first regular performance. She went home after rehearsal that afternoon to rest. As she was getting ready to leave, she knocked on the study door.

“ Herein .”

She pushed open the door and saw the men standing around a large table with maps and laptops covering it. Alex didn’t look up as she stood there.

“A-are you coming tonight?” Before their fight, he’d promised to attend as many performances as he could, tonight being one of them.

He looked up and stared at her with hard eyes. “I told you I would be there,” he snapped.

Her mouth moved to speak, but no sound came out. He cocked his eyebrow at her, as if impatiently waiting for her to speak.

“Yes, Master,” she whispered. She closed the door quickly and ran back to the bedroom, wiping away the burning tears. Would he ever forgive her?

That evening, Anna arrived at the theater and went straight to her dressing room. Slowly, she began to get ready and jumped when someone knocked on the door a while later. She stood and opened the door a crack, peering out into the hallway.

It was Hugo. “Are you okay, Katrina?”

She forced a smile. “Of course. Why?”

“You don’t seem okay.” He frowned. “Is Alex hurting you?”

She shook her head. He wasn’t being abusive. Just... ignoring her.

“You don’t need to lie for him.”

“I’m fine, Hugo. Please...” She opened the door and looked down the hallway. “I can’t be seen talking to you.”

Hugo frowned. “He’s no better than Kurt.”

“I hurt him, Hugo. What else is he supposed to do?”

“He made us break up. Him and his stupid family.” His gaze softened. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have let you go.”

Her heart ached at the love in his eyes. The more Alex ignored her, the more she missed Hugo. She shook her head. “It doesn’t do any good to wish things were different.”

The ballet Anna was dancing in was the first one of the evening, and she went straight home after she finished. She took a shower and curled up in bed to read until she fell asleep or Alex came home, whichever came first.

She finished her book around eleven-thirty and Alex still wasn’t home, so she wandered into the library to find another one to read. Ignoring the pain in her heart was getting easier. Sometimes.

Nothing in the library piqued her interest, and she went back to the bedroom to search for her e-reader. There was always something interesting to download.

The condo door opened as she settled back into bed and male voices echoed back to the bedroom. Then she heard female voices and her heart dropped into her stomach. Multiple female voices.

Should she go out there? Should she hide so whoever Alex brought home wouldn’t know he was married? Or did he want her to know he’d brought someone home?

She bit her lip and then decided to go out, using the premise that she wanted some water. Her cup was by the bed. She grabbed it and headed toward the kitchen, which was right next to the living room. Her stomach churned as the voices got louder.

When she walked around the corner, she saw three nicely dressed women, along with Alex, Greg, Tony, and Seth, sitting in the room. Alex sat at one end of the couch with Greg and another woman. The woman reached for Alex, but he shook his head and brushed her hand away.

Alex looked up and their eyes met. Emotions flitted across his face as he stared at her. Anna held her cup up with an apologetic look and hurried to the kitchen.

One of the women giggled as Tony kissed her neck. The one sitting between Alex and Greg saw her and raised her eyebrows. “Who’s that?”

Everyone turned around to look at her. She shifted on her feet and bit her lip. She was dressed for bed while the women were dressed elegantly and hanging on the men.

“That’s Anna.” Alex shrugged. “She . . . lives here.”

The third woman laughed. “Live-in maid?”

“Something like that.”

Anna bit her lip and turned around to quickly fill her cup and returned to the bedroom. It was obvious Alex didn’t want the women to know he was married to her.

She stood in the center of the bedroom, looking around, trying to figure out what to do. Finally, she grabbed an extra blanket from the closet and crept upstairs to the conservatory. There was a couch up there and, if the door was closed, it was quiet. She wrapped the blanket around herself and cried herself to sleep.

Alex awoke to an empty bed. He’d gone out with the other men after the performance and they’d met women at the bar they’d gone to. Alex didn’t flirt; he had no desire to, but the idea of making Anna jealous appealed to his baser self.

He had no intention of sleeping with any of them. They were there for the other guys. But he couldn’t resist the jab about Anna’s purpose in the household. He saw the pain in her eyes and was satisfied that she was hurting as much as he was.

But when he came to bed and Anna wasn’t there, he realized he might have gone too far. He found her asleep upstairs in the conservatory, her face still wet from her tears. She’d given him the space to be with someone else.

His whole body tingled with guilt. How many times had Devin done that to her? That she’d offered to sleep somewhere else after they first began fighting made him realize she’d probably experienced that with Devin more than once. Was he no better than Devin?

Alex had just wanted her to feel his jealousy. For her to know how much she’d hurt him by running to Hugo after they’d fought. He was angry and hurt and wanted to punish her so she’d never do it again. But had he gone too far? Had his anger done irreparable harm?

She’d been incredibly submissive these last few days, coming home immediately after rehearsals and reading quietly in the library or conservatory, or napping in their bed. When she was asleep, he would stand in the doorway and watch her. Even though he was angry, he still woke up early and watched her sleep until her alarm went off.

Maybe he should just get her free of Devin and let her be with Hugo. She wouldn’t be in danger anymore. She could have her new life; the new life she’d begun here.

A soft knock at the door drew him from his thoughts. “Come.”

The door opened a tiny bit and he saw Anna’s red puffy eyes. “I need to get ready for class,” she whispered. “May I come in?”

Alex nodded and she pushed the door open further. Her eyes widened as she looked at him. She glanced at the bathroom door. “Is she in there?” she asked softly.

“Is who in there?”

“The . . . woman you slept with last night.”

“I didn’t sleep with anyone last night.”

“Oh.” She hurried into the bathroom and emerged, dressed for class a few minutes later. She paused near the bathroom door. “W-would you like me to give you a blowjob?”

Alex studied her for a long moment. She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. Would rejecting her make her feel worse? Would accepting make her feel used? If he accepted, at least she wouldn’t think that he was off with another woman. “Do you have enough time?”

She glanced at the clock beside him and nodded.

He nodded stiffly and she nervously walked around the other side of the bed. She gave him a mournful look before pulling at the blanket.