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More Than A Business Deal

Don't hurt her

Ch. 45 / 73 May 09, 2026

They left the restaurant before me. Samantha made sure to cling to him as they left and I wanted nothing more than to wipe that stupid smirk off her face.

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Instead, I cowered to the side so that he wouldn’t see me. We would have our discussions at home.

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I was currently at home waiting for him to come back. My thoughts almost killed me while I waited. I thought about what he felt for her, if he followed her home, what they talked about and what they do when they are alone.

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I felt like I would never be enough and right now, my mind was a rotten place you would not want to be. I sat on the couch with my arms wrapped around me and my legs tucked underneath me. I felt small.

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The staff has been giving me nervous glances since I sat down here with a blanket wrapped around me. It was as if they were scared I would lash out at them but that was the last thing I would do.

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My fingers were hurting because I was biting them, something I didn’t do before now. Well, they said bad habits were the easiest to form.

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“Ouch” The sudden pain had me leaving my thoughts and staring at my bleeding thumb. I hadn’t realized that I had bitten too deep.

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I hissed in annoyance and rubbed my fingers against the blanket to get rid of the little blood since I was too lazy to get a tissue.

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“Can I get you something to eat or drink?” Beth asked me. She was one of the house helps but we had little to no interaction. I was surprised that she was the one to approach me.

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“No, but thank you, Beth. Please retire for the day, I’m sure you must be exhausted after the day’s work” I told her with the warmest smile I could afford to give.

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“Are you sure?” I was honestly surprised that she looked so worried about me when I hadn’t done anything for her.

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“I’m sure. I am fine. You all can go to your quarters” I assured her.

She was hesitant to leave at first but she did. They had a staff quarter built at the back of the main house and it was an amazing place, to be honest.

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It was past dinner time and there was no way I had the heart to keep Lorenzo up because of Atticus so I made sure he went to sleep as well. I promised him I would heat his meal when he arrived.

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When I heard the front door shut after the last person, I let out a sigh of relief at finally being left alone to my thoughts. It was difficult for me to think with everyone moving around and I did not feel like going to my room either.

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I looked at the clock and it was fourteen minutes past eleven. My heart skipped a bit at the thought that he may have fallen asleep at her place.

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Fear clouded my senses. He may have slept out before he got married but that was something he had not done in a long time and it would kill me if he started it today, again.

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I shifted slightly so I was lying on the chair. The television was on but I couldn’t tell you what was on even if my life depended on it.

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“Dad, I feel so scared and pathetic. I’m sure this was not what you were imagining when you made me marry him. I hate the person I've become.” I whispered to no one. I feel tears pooling my eyes and that even made me feel more stupid because I couldn’t even tell

anyone if they asked why I was crying.

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“Stop being pathetic and clean your eyes, girl. This is not the time” I scolded myself. I sniffed and tried to stop the tears that wanted to drop.

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The sound of a car pulling up front had me sitting up and wiping my tears. I rubbed my palms across my face to fix the mess that may have been there.

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“Have a good night sir” I heard Nathan tell Atticus just before the door closed behind me. I watched him walk past me and started heading towards the stairs. The couch I was sitting on was hidden so I didn’t blame him for not seeing me.

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“Hey,” I called out to him softly. He paused at my voice and turned towards my direction. He raised a brow at my state but said nothing.

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“Can you come here for a second? I need to talk to you about something” I told him when he didn’t move. It seemed he had something to do because he glanced at his watch first before moving to stand in front of me.

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“Can you sit?” I gestured towards the space beside me because I didn’t like how tall he was when he was standing and I was sitting. It made me feel small and nervous.

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“What do you want to talk to me about?” He all but grumbled.

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“About Samantha. I saw you both today at the restaurant” I watched as his shoulders tensed and his fingers clenched but his face betrayed nothing.

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“What about it?” His nonchalance made me mad but I held myself back.

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“I don’t want you to keep seeing her. We belong to the same circle and I can’t watch her humiliate me at every moment she gets.”

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“Sammy isn’t like that. She would not hurt someone like that” his voice was terse as he spoke. I scoffed at his reply. We weren’t speaking of the same person.

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“What do you mean by that? You don’t know who she really is. That woman mocks me at every meeting. I feel like a fool because of the stars from the other ladies since they know she sleeps with you. She can’t stop flaunting it” I yelled. I clenched my fists to avoid reaching out and shaking some senses into him.

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“I don’t like your tone. Keep it down” He scowled.

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“Out of all I just said, that’s all you have to say to me? I can’t believe you will try to defend her even when she tried to humiliate me in our house, in your presence” I scoffed in disbelief.

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“What do you want me to do about that? It’s something that concerns you both. Deal with it”

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“How can you say that? I am your wife. Get rid of her” His eyes turned thunderous and I flinched at how angry he suddenly was.

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“I cannot get rid of her. You should learn to deal with it” My eyes widen in shock because of the rise of his voice.

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“Why did you marry me if you can’t leave without her?” I screamed and stood up in anger. My voice felt scratchy but I knew this was just the beginning of a screaming contest. It wouldn’t be a contest if it was just me though.

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“I’ve told you, your father’s request was an impossible one to reject and Samantha understood”

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“You are one hell of a bastard, aren’t you? You are so greedy and I pity Samantha as much as I hate her”

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“She didn’t do anything to deserve your hatred. She isn’t a bad person” He was so insisted and it annoyed me so fucking much.

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“What of what she does to me? Is it a joke when she insults me in front of others? Will a good person do that?” He was quiet

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“Let’s say you don’t want to leave her but tell her to stay the fuck away from me and my business, she may not like what I would do to her if she doesn’t” I grabbed the blanket from

the floor and started heading towards my room.

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It was obvious that there was no way this conversation would lead anywhere except me shouting and him refusing to believe anything I said.

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“Don’t hurt her”

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“You shouldn’t say that to me. It makes me want to kill her and hurt her more”

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I didn’t know what the emotion that was on his face was and I didn’t wait to find out. I stomped out of the living room, and up the stairs towards my room.

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I would have to show him who she was. I was not going to share my husband and I would not allow them to toss me aside like an unwanted rag. Never.