Page 34 of Break Me: Smith and Belle

“You don’t mean that.” She gasped. “Who will take care of Penny? You can’t trust her—”

“Get the fuck out of my house.” I didn’t wait for her response. I was already out the door, heading in the direction Belle had gone.

Edward stopped on the stairs, his arms full of shopping bags, and moved to the side when he saw me flying down them.

“Where did she go?” I barked as I passed him.

“She came in to find you as soon as we got home,” he answered in confusion. “What is going on?” I saw his eyes flicker up to where Nora had appeared at the top of the stairs.

I didn’t have time to explain to him. I needed to find Belle before she got too far. Georgia appeared, laden with so many purchases that she looked like a pack mule, as I reached the foyer. She dropped the items with a grunt, looking exhausted. Her eyes narrowed as soon as she saw me.

“Did she go this way?” I asked.

“Who? Belle?”

It was answer enough. I switched directions, heading to the back of the house and finding the door wide open.

“Belle!” I yelled into the night, but she didn’t respond. I hesitated only long enough to decide whether to go in the direction of the pond or her offices. She was angry—spitting with rage, I was sure—not sleepwalking, so I ran in the direction of the stables.

By the time I reached them, lights were flickering on in the space. I tried the door and found it locked. I banged on it with my fist. “Open the door, beautiful.”

I waited for a moment. When she didn’t answer, I pounded harder. The door finally flew open to reveal her standing, hands planted on her hips and eyebrows raised, waiting for her explanation.

“That wasn’t what it looked like.”

“It looks like our nanny was trying to fuck you,” she said flatly, crossing her arms over her chest with a look that dared me to contradict her.

I had better self-preservation instincts than that.

“And failing,” I said, tossing a grin at her. But her lips only flattened more. She wasn’t in the mood for jokes. I pushed past her, kicking the door closed behind me. There was only one way to solve this: I was going to have to prove it to her.

“What do I have to do?” I dropped to one knee at her feet, then the other. “Beg? Nothing happened and nothing ever will.”

“Nothing?” she pressed.

My jaw clenched and I took a deep breath. “She came in when my back was turned. I thought it was you.”

“What does that mean?” she asked in a strangled voice.

“She gave me a neck massage, and I...took her wrist and kissed it.” I could still taste Nora’s foreign scent on my tongue.

“You kissed her?” Belle whispered.

I opened my mouth to clarify once more, but somehow I knew it didn’t matter where I had kissed Nora. What mattered was that my lips had touched another woman.

Belle paced over to the desk and stood in silence for a moment before turning to me. “Do you remember when Philip came to see me outside your office in London?”

My eyes flashed, and I nodded. “He wanted you back.”

“I told him no, and he kissed me,” she recalled the story.

“I’d much rather forget that ever happened,” I admitted to her.

“I know,” she said in a lofty voice, bringing her cautious eyes to mine. “But that didn’t stop you from making me prove my loyalty when you found out.”

I lifted the hand that wore my wedding band. The one she had placed on my finger. “I am yours. Nothing changes that.”

“Prove it.” She issued the challenge with a grim smile.