Cesar opened his front door and had to brace himself for what needed to be done to protect his woman. He had less than an hour before Amber came home, and he wanted Bianca gone by then.
“Hello, Bianca. I’m glad you could make it. Come in.”
He watched her look around his house with a greedy gleam in her eye and wanted to push her out the door.
“What did you want to see me about?” she asked.
“Let’s go into my office.”
He left the door open and then stood in front of his desk. “I wanted you here to tell you I’ve made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“I picked the wrong sister.”
Bianca threw her head back and laughed. “I’m so glad you’re finally coming to your senses,” Bianca said.
“Men can be dense sometimes, dearest,” Cesar said.
Bianca walked to him and put her arms around his waist. “What should we do now? You’ll have to tell Amber.”
“I know.” Before he could prevent it, she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her mouth against his. He hoped he was able to hide his distaste from her. Gripping her shoulders, he took a step back.
“What is your mother going to say about us?”
Bianca laughed. “She’ll be thrilled. With the two of us being together, we’ll be even higher on the social ladder.”
“That’s important for you ladies?” God, he was getting sick to his stomach.
“Oh, very. When my mom married her second husband, Amber’s dad, my mom was finally a part of the upper class. It was something she’d always wanted.”
“And now that’s what you want?” he asked.
“Of course. I love being able to walk into a room and have people stare at me with envy in their eyes.”
“Why are you and Amber so different?”
Bianca laughed again. “Because she’s like her father. Although he was rich, he never cared about anything besides his daughter and his stamp collecting. They’re both the most boring people I’ve ever known. God, my mother dreaded having to spend time with him.”
“She didn’t love him?”
“Oh, God no. She just married him for the money.”
He couldn’t believe how narcissistic this woman was. It didn’t seem to matter to her how truly selfish she was.
“Did your mother ever love Amber?”
Bianca snorted. “No. She was a means to keep Davis, my stepfather, under control. Maybe if Amber had been more attractive, but she looked exactly like her father.”
“I heard that Amber got the majority of his estate?”
Bianca narrowed her eyes at him. “Where did you hear that?”
He laughed. “Oh, everyone knows that. I think it’s astounding how you and your mother have made it work for you. I need to learn from you.”
He watched her relax.
“It’s not hard. Amber is incredibly stupid and very trusting.”
Cesar gave her a genuine smile because she was falling into his trap perfectly.
Bianca walked over to him again and slid her fingers over his chest. “So, when are you going to tell Amber about us?”
“Tonight.”
She laughed. “Can I be there?”
“No. She’s already going to be embarrassed. I don’t want to make it worse.”
“Well, she should be. How she thought a man like you would want her is ridiculous.”
Fuck, he wanted the skanky bitch out of his house, but he needed to know one more thing.
“Amber insinuated that you pushed her down the stairs.”
Bianca snorted. “I didn’t do anything. My mother is the one who pushed her down the stairs. She caused it. She wasn’t listening to our mother.”
“About what?”
“You. My mother told her to stay away from you, but she wouldn’t. She deserved everything she got.”
“You weren’t concerned for her or tried to help her?”
“No. I didn’t have time.”
“Your mother was the same?”
“Well, she took her food and bottled water every day, but otherwise, she didn’t care.”
“All right. How about you leave? I don’t want you here when Amber gets home, but I’ll have a car come for you later.”
Bianca kissed him and grinned. “Okay. I’m so excited you came to your senses.”
Cesar tried to smile. “Yeah, me, too.”
He closed the front door behind her and leaned against it. Everything he’d been suspicious of was true, and now he had the proof to take both women down.
He walked over to his desk and shut off the tape recorder.
“Charles,” he called out. The older man came out of the bathroom attached to the office. “Did you hear everything?”
“Yes, sir, and I have to say, I’ve never seen a person that despicable before in my life.”
“Me either, but she and her mother are going down. I’ll just make the call that will ruin their lives forever.”
****
The car with Amber and Nia drove up the driveway to Cesar and Amber’s house.
“Whose car is that?” Nia asked.
Amber looked out Nia’s window and felt her stomach twist. It looked like her sister’s, but why would she be visiting Cesar?
Nia grabbed her hand. “Amber, what’s wrong?”
“It’s my sister.”
“What’s she doing here?”
“I don’t know.”
“I want to come with you.”
Amber glanced at her. “You don’t need to do that.”
“I know.” Nia glanced at the driver. “Stan, I’ll be just a second.”
“Take your time, dear.”
Amber and Nia walked in the front door, and right away, she could hear voices coming from Cesar’s office.
Nia grabbed her hand. “What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Let’s go listen for a moment,” Nia said.
They crept up to the doorway.
“I’m so glad you’re finally coming to your senses, dearest,” Bianca said.
“Men can be dense sometimes, darling,” Cesar said.
Amber pressed her fingers to her mouth and looked to see the same horror on her friend’s face.
“What should we do now? You’ll have to tell Amber,” Bianca said.
Amber didn’t hear anything and peeked around the corner to see Cesar with his arms around her sister and kissing her.
Bile crept up her throat as she turned away. This was a nightmare she’d had several times, and now it was coming to life.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here,” Nia said and started pulling her toward the front door.
Amber nodded. She was too numb to think about anything. Eventually, the pain would come, but she just wanted to get as far away as possible before she broke down.
Nia got her into the back of the car.
“What’s wrong?” Stan asked.
“Cesar broke her heart. Please get us away from here.”
“Oh, you poor dear,” Stan said and immediately started the car and drove away.
Amber looked out the side window.
“We’ll figure this out,” Nia said and wrapped her arms around her.
At that moment, Amber didn’t care about anything. Every bit of self-confidence was stomped out, and she couldn’t see it ever coming back. He’d told her he loved her and wanted her forever but then turned and threw her away for her pretty sister without giving her a thought.
She never wanted to hear words that were supposed to build her confidence again because they didn’t mean anything. She meant it when she’d told him she loved him, but now she felt it all slide away, leaving her empty and frozen inside, and that was the way she wanted to stay. The fact he’d never said it back to her should have been a clue.