The Night He Chose Her, I Chose My Revenge Chapter 06

The Night He Chose Her, I Chose My Revenge Chapter 06

I met his blazing stare, my voice as calm as if we were discussing the weather.

“I’m not playing any games, Julian. I’m just doing what you’ve always wanted me to do: becoming a gracious hostess who doesn’t fight or make a scene.”

I paused, my gaze sweeping over Penelope’s ashen face.

“If you want to give her the Croft name, too, I can file the paperwork whenever you’re ready.”

“Enough!”

Julian seemed to ignite. He took a sudden step forward, his voice raw with fury.

“Fine, Elara. If you insist on wearing that dead-eyed expression, then get out of Croft Manor. You can give Penelope the title of Mrs. Croft while you’re at it.”

He stared at me, the corner of his mouth twisting into a cruel smile as he waited for me to collapse.

“What? Regretting it now?”

Without a word, I turned and went upstairs.

Five years.

I had lived in this manor for five years.

And everything that truly belonged to Elara Vance fit into a single twenty-four-inch suitcase.

When I reappeared at the top of the stairs with my luggage, Julian’s expression was darker than the storm now raging outside.

He strode forward and seized my arm just as I reached the door, his gaze raking over me like a predator inspecting its prey.

He hooked a finger into the collar of my Barbour jacket.

“This jacket was bought with the Croft family clothing allowance,” he said, each word dipped in ice. “I think Penelope would look better in it.”

I followed his gaze to the window.

The wind drove the rain against the glass, the impacts thundering through the house.

The hurricane was coming.

Then I looked back at him, all hesitation gone.

I unbuttoned the heavy, waterproof jacket, shrugged it off, and tossed it at Penelope’s feet.

Wearing only a thin silk blouse, I stood straight in the cold draft sweeping through the foyer and met Julian’s gaze with pure indifference.