Filed to story: The Hidden Queen: My Husband’s Mistress Ruined My Empire (Serena & Christian) Book PDF Free
Shit. It was her. Rachel shot me a look. “Want me to punch her in the nose?” she whispered.
It was tempting but I shook my head. I gestured for her to move, both of us turning to walk away, but it was too late as we came face to face with Lexi, Christian, and another woman that I presumed had to be her mother.
Christian looked surprised. Lexi’s face turned vicious as she spotted me. “What is a peasant woman like you doing here?” she demanded loudly as I stood there motionless “It’s not as though you can afford to shop here anyway. Do they know that? The prices in here are way above your pay grade” she sniffed.
“Lexi,” the older woman said in a scandalized tone “it’s not like you to be so rude. Do you know this woman?” she asked, raking her gaze over me.
Lexi sneered at me “Mother this would be the infamous Serena, Christian’s soon-to-be ex-wife” she spat out with venom.
As usual, Christian remained silent, the coward that he was. Rachel’s hands clenched into fists. I put a hand on her shoulder, silently telling her not to do anything rash.
Lexi’s mother studied me. Her lips curled into a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Well, I can certainly see why Christian is so eager to divorce you,” she told me coldly “Lexi is certainly an upgrade for him in the looks department.”
“You bitch” Rachel murmured under her breath as I looked at my friend sharply. “As if you can talk, you look like a toad.”
“I have no desire to start a fight,” I said evenly and with as much patience as I could muster “Enjoy your shopping Lexi, Rachel, please, let us continue what we were doing in peace.”
Christian finally stirred “Serena, you look well” he stammered, “I need to talk to you about the papers…” his voice trailed off as I glared at him.
“That can wait, Christian,” I said annoyed “Right now is not the time to discuss it.”
It angered Lexi. “Of course it is. Where are they? I bet they are in your handbag aren’t they?” she said irritably, “Give me your bag.”
I stared at her. My lips twitched “I’m afraid I must decline Miss Vance, nobody but myself has the right to touch this bag.”
She tightened her lips “Is that so?” she asked with deliberate emphasis “You should give me the papers Serena.”
“I don’t have them on me and if I did, I still wouldn’t give them to you,” I told her blithely “This is a matter that pertains between Christian and myself, not you.”
She sneered “You’re going to regret this,” she said and then raised her head, looking at the saleswoman nearby “Get your manager, these women, they are shoplifters” she accused.
The saleswoman looked concerned. Lexi raised her voice “Don’t you know who I am? I am Lexi Vance” she snarled and the woman’s eyes widened “And I’m telling you that these women do not possess the means to pay for anything in this store. Get your manager” she repeated icily.
“Lexi” Christian hissed, as the saleswoman fled “You’re taking this too far” he warned.
She laughed while her mother tittered. “No, I’m merely ensuring that Serena here knows her place. Really Serena” she mocked while I looked at her calmly “What were you thinking, coming to a place like this?” she asked.
“You bitch” Rachel snapped, lifting her hand to slap her.
Lexi’s eyes danced “Do it and it will be caught on tape,” she told my friend who hesitated “Then I’ll have all the evidence I need to bring up assault charges against you.”
I looked at Christian who had a haggard look on his face. “This is the woman you want to marry?” I asked quietly “When did your standards become so low Christian?”
“His standards have risen you little slut” Lexi hissed as the saleswoman and the manager came striding back in a hurry “And now we’re about to see you thrown out on your ass” she added gleefully.
The manager, a woman with a pinched face and beady eyes, regarded the group with alarm on her face. “Miss Vance it is an honor to have you in our shop,” she said sincerely “I understand there is a situation?” she asked gingerly.
“There is,” Lexi said angrily and pointed straight at me “This woman is here to shoplift” she cried, causing the manager to look worried “She can’t afford anything in this store” she gloated “It’s way beyond what she could possibly earn as a yoga instructor. Unless somebody else is paying for it, she is here to steal,” she said with a flourish.
The manager’s eyes narrowed as she looked at me and Rachel. There was a look of contempt on her face “I’m afraid that I’m going to have to call security. We don’t tolerate thieves of any kind. I believe Miss Vance’s word.”
I stared at her incredulously “You don’t even know us, yet you’re willing to throw us out of your store on somebody else’s lies?”
The manager drew herself straight up and looked down her nose at me “Miss Vance and Mr Christian Thorne” she said, glancing at my ex-husband who looked pleased to have been recognized “are well-known members of society. It stands to reason I would accept their word, whereas you are not known to the public. I must insist that you leave.”
“That won’t be necessary” a deep masculine voice drawled and we turned, my eyes immediately gazing deeply into his as he looked the manager straight in the face, ready to battle it out with her on my and Rachel’s behalf while Lexi gaped and her mother went pale.
Grayson POV
Timothy had apologized so many times for his stuff up that I thought he might have had a coronary by now. “I’m sorry sir,” he said for what seemed like the hundredth time “It really didn’t occur to me to use a fake name,” he said miserably.
I waved a dismissive hand, smiling wryly to myself “Stop worrying about it Timothy, it worked out for the best” I told him, picturing Serena’s face and those beautiful eyes of hers “I look forward to my date with her tonight” I added pleased as Timothy’s face brightened.
“Sir, if I may,” he said tentatively “What makes this girl so special from all the others? You even sent her rainbow roses last night because they were her favorite flowers,” he said “and they weren’t easy to find” he grumbled underneath his breath.
“She’s down to earth” I mused “and she’s fiery. There’s a sweetness to her, it’s difficult to describe. She’s beautiful too” I added darkly “but not in the way that other women are, hers is a natural beauty, inside and out.”
