Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 18308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 92(@200wpm)___ 73(@250wpm)___ 61(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 18308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 92(@200wpm)___ 73(@250wpm)___ 61(@300wpm)
He wanted to know if she had the kind of integrity that would allow her to stare right back at him.
And so she did.
Because she had nothing to hide.
And two minutes later—
The man coughed. His cheeks were also slightly flushed.
That meant...she won.
Right?
“So...Payton...Cheyney.” His voice had changed for some reason as he read her last name. “You’re married?”
“Yes, Mr. de Vindice.”
“Not divorced?”
“Uh...no. I’ve only been married for five months.”
“Five months,” he repeated.
Payton was starting to feel nervous. “My marriage won’t cause any problems, Mr. de Vindice. My husband also works full-time, and we’re both passionate about our jobs.”
“So...no kids?”
“My husband doesn’t want any, and I respect his wishes.”
No answer was forthcoming this time, but Payton didn’t let the silence get to her. This, too, was probably a test. She had heard the other girls talking about him nonstop. About how beautiful he was. But since she had started dating Eric, she had mastered the art of looking at men without really seeing them. Her husband didn’t ask this of her, of course. It was just Payton’s way of being loyal. For her, Eric was the only man—
“Do I have something on my face, Ms. Cheyney?”
Her brows furrowed. Shouldn’t it be Mrs. Cheyney? But then...who was she to correct him? Maybe ‘missus’ was just a mouthful to him. And so she simply shook her head. “No, sir.”
“Then why were you staring?”
He didn’t seem to be the insecure type to want people to flatter him all the time. Why then was he so persistent—
Oh, now she got it.
This was another test, wasn’t it?
“Because everyone was right about you, Mr. de Vindice.”
He raised a brow. “Right about what?”
“You’re very beautiful—”
Her prospective employer choked.
“But don’t worry, Mr. de Vindice. If you hire me, I can assure you wholeheartedly that I’ll consider it part of my job to prevent and protect you from being sexually objectified. I’ll make sure every writeup about you takes sufficient note of your many other sterling qualities and achievements—”
“I don’t care what strangers say about me. It’s only the opinions of people close to me that matters. You’ll have an easier time with your job when you keep that in mind.”
“DRINK, DRINK, DRINK!”
The cheering from her husband’s friends had Payton coming back to her senses, and just like that, she was back in the present, and she was once again in danger...from her own husband.
“You go, man!”
“Eric did it again!”
“Eric the Man!”
Payton’s hands started shaking. She couldn’t seem to stop it every time she heard her husband’s name. Last night, she had tried to leave the office, but her boss...
It’s fine. You can stay here. I’ll leave.
Even though it had secretly shamed her to take Niccolò up on his offer, she had accepted it. Because Fairscale...was the only place she felt safe. And throughout the night...she had just thought about it again and again, trying to come up with some kind of strategy, and that was how she ended up here.
The last time she was reborn, she had tried to change things, and it hadn’t worked.
So this time...
“We need more beer!”
Payton went out of the kitchen hearing this. But Rosé, just like before, had already stood up. “I can get it for you, Mr. Cheyney!”
Her husband shook his head. “No, don’t. You’re our guest.”
“But it’s Mrs. Cheyney’s birthday—”
“Oh, she doesn’t mind.” Eric looked at Payton. “Do you?”
The warning in his eyes had her quickly shaking her head. “No, not at all.”
And as she turned away, she heard her husband say, “That’s a good girl.”
Payton nearly stumbled upon hearing this.
“Sweetheart? Did you hear what I just said?”
She forced herself to turn around. “I d-did. And t-thank you.”
It was all she could do not to run.
Good girl.
She barely made it back to the kitchen before she started throwing up.
Get a grip, Payton.
As she wiped her mouth dry, it was then she noticed the heart-shaped marks on her wrist.
Rebirth marks, Payton had come to think of it, only this time...there were just two of them.
“Payton? Do you need help?”
Her husband’s tone made it clear he was close to losing his temper. That was usually enough to get her moving, but not now. Not when it was dawning on her, what those rebirth marks meant.
One only had to watch and read enough fantasy to put one and one together. Or in this case, to subtract.
When Payton was reborn the first time, she had woken up with three marks.
When she was reborn the second time, after falling to her death, it was now down to this.
Two marks left.
Two last chances to make things right.
The thought had Payton’s hands shaking even more badly as she filled the beer bucket with ice before clipping the bottle opener to the bucket handle. As she walked out of the kitchen, she couldn’t help looking at the empty table by the pool, and pain squeezed her heart.