No Escape
Jane drove to the beach and spent an hour walking the beach holding her shoes in her hand and letting the waves suck at her feet. She found a little café and ate her salad watching the wash of the waves towards the shore.
What was she going to do? She wondered. Just over a month married, and her husband did not want her and openly kept a mistress who believed that it was just a matter of time until he divorced Jane and married her instead.
She turned her phone over in her hands. She finished her meal and returned to her car, sitting in the driver’s seat, and dialling her father’s number.
“Hello Jane,” he answered promptly.
“Daddy,” she fought back her tears. “I want to come home.”
He sighed heavily. “Jane,” he said with patience. “What is this ridiculousness about?”
“Baron doesn’t love me,” the tears fell free and tracked down her face. “He only married me because of the connection to you. He keeps Angelique openly as his mistress, and she says that he will only keep me as his wife for as long as the connection matters, and then he will divorce me and marry her instead, and, oh,” her voice broke on a sob. “Daddy, please.”
He was silent for a long moment. “Why would Angelique think the connection would cease to matter?” He wondered.
That was he took from her babbled distress, she thought bitterly. “I don’t know.”
was curt with it. “Call me back when
her face with her hands and sobbed out
next in line to inherit from Matthew both the family wealth and the leadership of the pack. Her two brothers, Jason and Anthony, were both betas, and as such had always followed Alice’s
childhood had been filled with their cruel games, the three excluding her, or telling her that she could play with them and then pretending that they couldn’t see or hear her, or running away, and when she had complained to her mother, innocently telling her that their cruelty was just due to the game they were playing, and that Jane was over-reacting. As they’d gotten older, their meanness had evolved, and any opportunity was exploited to humiliate Jane, from spreading mean gossip about her, to stepping on the hem of her dress as she stood so
red wine was nothing compared to what Jane had
had met Baron, and their wedding had been arranged, she had foolishly thought that finally someone saw her for herself, despite her rank in the pack,
herself. Of course, there was no escape for her, because she was still her, still part
leaving her no choice but to park under a tree, and walk the rest of the way. Angelique had friends over, and they were
entrance, and the servant’s stairs up, so as to avoid any that might be inside the house. Her bedroom door was open, and she pressed herself
hideous dresses,” a woman declared. “This one isn’t bad, actually. Could be cute if done up right.” They were going through her things, Jane
earrings are cute,” another commented. “Do you think these diamonds are
Angelique declared. “Probably wouldn’t be interesting
“Who is this?”
looks just like her. That would be her
and Jane felt a
of them, she hurried into
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