The Night He Chose Her, I Chose My Revenge Chapter 05

The Night He Chose Her, I Chose My Revenge Chapter 05

I ignored her and went to the garden.

The Texas yellow roses I had planted with my own hands were in full bloom, their fragrance a hint of Austin’s dry sun. They were utterly out of place in Charleston’s damp, humid air.

When Julian found me, I was pruning an overgrown branch. Penelope clung to his side like a vine, a smug smile plastered on her face.

My calm clearly wounded him.

Julian’s expression was darker than a storm rolling in off the Atlantic.

“You seem to have plenty of time on your hands,” he said, his tone a dangerous test. “Since you’ve already surrendered the master bedroom, shouldn’t you hand over the other symbols of the mistress of Croft Manor as well?”

The antique keys.

My hand paused.

Only for a moment.

I set down the pruning shears, walked into the study, and took the heavy set of keys from a locked mahogany box. Years of use had worn the brass to a warm, mellow sheen. At the top, the pendant carved with the Croft family crest pressed coldly against my palm.

When I returned to the garden, I didn’t look at Julian. I walked straight to Penelope and placed the keys in her stunned hand.

“You’re right, Julian,” I said calmly. “Since Penelope is the mistress here, she should naturally hold the keys to the wine cellar, the stables, and every room in this house.”

The words had barely left my mouth when there was a sharp crack.

Julian had crushed the whiskey glass in his hand.

Shards of glass and amber liquid splattered across the flagstones, but he seemed to feel nothing. He only stared at me.

“Elara, what the hell is this game?”

I didn’t know how to answer.

I truly didn’t understand what he wanted anymore.

When I first married him, I’d wanted to plant a few yellow roses from home in this garden. Julian had ripped me to shreds in front of our guests.

“Something so… vulgar has no place here. It clashes with the Croft family’s taste.”

“Elara, can’t you learn a little Southern aesthetic for once? Must you drag your Texas habits into everything?”

Now I had personally handed over sovereignty of the entire estate.

Why was he angrier now than he had been when I’d insisted on planting those roses?