MARRYING MR. RIGHT (The Brides of Hilton Head Island Book 3) (14 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Hilton Head Island             

              K
atherine’s butler, Delbert, walked inside the den carrying a tray in his hands. “Here’s your lunch, Mrs. Balfour,” Delbert announced gracefully, slightly standing behind the couch where Katherine sat.  

              Keeping her gaze fixated on her favorite soap opera,
The Young and the Restless
, Katherine didn’t bother turning around to look at Delbert. “Place it on the table, Delbert.”

              “Yes, Madam.”

              Victor Newman spat, “You must take me for a damn fool!”

              Nikki Newman’s lips folded under as she looked at her on-screen husband, Victor. She parted her lips and said, “But Victor, I had no choice.”

              Excited about what was about to happen next, anticipation charged through Katherine. Clasping her hands, she leaned forward. “Tell her to haul ass, Victor.” Katherine felt a figure towering over her. She glanced back over her shoulder to find Delbert still standing there. “Is there something else, Delbert?”

              “No. I just wanted to see what Victor is going to do, that’s all,” Delbert replied.

              Nodding, Katherine returned her gaze to the soap opera. If Delbert hadn’t been so good to her, she would’ve told his behind to leave and go finish his work. After all, there was so much to be done around the house. But considering all the things Delbert had done for her, and the secrets they shared, she had no choice but to be nice to him and pay him a fortune to work for her. If Delbert ever told anyone about what she’d done in her past, she could go to prison. For a very long time.
For the rest of her life.

              Face crinkled, Victor pointed to the door. “Get the hell out of here! And don’t you ever come back! Do you hear me?!”

              Ecstatic over the ending, Katherine’s exulting cheers belted from her lungs. “I’m glad he kicked Nikki out. Old drunk.”

              “Me, too. Mrs. Balfour, you look lovely today, as you do every day; however, must you always dress so formal just to sit at home and do nothing?” Delbert asked, laughing. 

              Glancing up at Delbert, Katherine chortled. “Yes, I must. I learned a long time ago always to look your best. Always act your best. And always be your best because you never know who’s looking at you when you least expect it.”

              Delbert gave his head a hard shake. “Lord, I pray to God that no one was looking when we—”

              Katherine flung her hand up in the air, stopping Delbert from uttering another single word. Her brows dove downward. “Don’t you dare bring up the past, Delbert. Now, please get back to work.”

              “Yes, Madam.” Delbert left the room.

             
Damn, we should’ve picked someone braver than Delbert to help us commit the perfect crime.
Eager for the
The Bold and the Beautiful
soap opera to come on next, Katherine stood. Dressed in an elegant, long red dress, she walked over to the rectangular wooden table and looked out the long bay window at the woods and lake. Hating that Delbert was about to spill some beans, an eerie chill swept over Katherine. Goosebumps pimpled her arms as she looked down at her lunch.

              Eyes lingering over her tasty meal, her mouth watered. Broccoli cheddar cheese soup, club turkey sandwich piled with tomatoes, and sliced caramelized pears for dessert, her lunch looked delicious. She pulled out the chair at the head of the long table, smoothed her hands over the buttocks part of her dress, and sat. 

              Just as Katherine scooped up the broccoli cheddar cheese soup and put it to her mouth, the phone rang. Short seconds later, Delbert re-entered the room. “Telephone, Mrs. Balfour.” He extended the phone towards her, and she took it. He turned and walked away.

             
Can’t he see I’m trying to enjoy my lunch
? “Thanks, Delbert,” Katherine said after him. “Hello?”

              “Turn to CNN right now!” the man on the other end exclaimed.

              “Why?!” Katherine wondered.

              He sucked his teeth. “Just do it. You’re not going to believe your ears. Or your eyes.”                “Interrupting my soaps, this better be good.” Katherine hefted the remote and started flipping through the stations.

              The man on the other line grumbled, then shouted, “Got damn it, this is a fucking nightmare!”

              When she reached CNN, a picture of Zeke and Taylor standing in front of some fancy hotel building in Paris was on the screen. Katherine’s heart rate pitched. Her nerves jittered. The remote went tumbling into her soup. Cheese splattered on her face and dress. Shaking her head, her bottom lip quivered.  “No. No. No.”             

              Sarcasm was loaded in the man’s voice when he uttered, “Yes. Yes. Yes. Zeke found Taylor. After all these years, your son found her.”

              Unable to tear her gaze away from Zeke and Taylor’s picture on the television, Katherine spat, “Don’t you dare refer to Zeke as my son. He’s not my son. Nor will he
EVER
be my son.”

              The man’s tone turned cold as he barked, “Son. Zeke. Call him whatever you damn well please. You just better pray to God, or whoever the hell you believe in, that Zeke don’t bring his fiancée back to Hilton Head Island. One look at you, and Taylor may come to realize that you had her son stolen.”

              Irritated by his cold tone, Katherine felt sick to her stomach. “Zeke and Taylor’s son is far away from Hilton Head Island. They wouldn’t be able to find that little boy no matter how hard they tried.”

              “For your sake, my sake, and Delbert’s sake, you better be right. I’m not going down for this. Do you hear me, Katherine?! I’m not going down with you!”
Click.
The line went dead.

              Still looking at Zeke and Taylor’s photo on television, hard tremors shook Katherine’s body. Pushing her lunch to the side, she propped up her elbows on the table and dropped her forehead in the palms of her sweating hands. “Please don’t let them move back here.”

              Yeah. She’d had Taylor’s baby kidnapped. Taken away from her. For a damn good reason, too. There was no way in hell she was going to let another bastard child get its hands on her husband’s fortune. If she’d had any doubts before, she definitely didn’t have any now.

              When Colton made Zeke the CEO of Balfour enterprises, he’d proved her to be right about which son he favored the most—Zeke. Colton loved Zeke way more than he loved Antonio and Bane, and he proved it by making Zeke the CEO of Balfour Enterprises.

              Antonio was the oldest. The smartest. He had her blood and Colton’s blood; therefore, Antonio should’ve been the CEO, not Zeke, the son of an adulterer.
The son of Colton’s fucking mistress, Bridget. I’m glad Bridget is dead. Glad I killed her.
Katherine felt someone had a tight fist around her heart, crushing it.
             

             
Nauseated over Zeke and Taylor’s engagement, Katherine placed a hand to the lower part of her stomach and stood. Bile scratched the back of her throat as she climbed the staircase, rounded the corner, and headed into her bedroom.

              Sick to her stomach, she turned back the covers on her king-size bed and slid beneath the covers. “Cheating with my husband, Bridget got what she deserved.”
And when Colton dies of cancer, everything he has will belong to me. I will own Balfour Enterprises and run it the way I see fit. The first thing I’m going to do is make Antonio CEO of Balfour Enterprises. The second thing I’m going to do is be just like Victor Newman and throw people out on their hairy asses. Zeke, my dear, will be the first person I fire. 

             
A wicked smile titled Katherine’s lips as she glared up at the ceiling. Dozing off, she looked forward to the day she became the owner of Balfour Enterprises. To the day her sons were finally treated like Balfours, not like they were the ones who’d been born of a mistress—Bridget.

              Stomach churning, Katherine’s eyes blinked. And blinked. And blinked. She slowly
dozed off to sleep.

             
Thunder crackled. White sheets of rain poured from the dark sky. Parked along the side of the dark road across the street from Bridget’s home, Katherine sat inside her car weeping. She cried because her no good, cheating husband had lied to her. Again.

              Colton was supposed to be hanging out with his friends, Drake and Russell, tonight, but he’d somehow managed to find his way to his mistress, Bridget’s, home instead. As Katherine sat inside her car waiting for Colton to come outside so she could confront him, her eyes traveled up to the second level of Bridget’s home. The expensive home Colton had bought for her.

              Suddenly, Colton and Bridget appeared in the window. Katherine grabbed the binoculars from the seat beside her, cradled them in her hands, and placed them over her watery eyes. Because there was no drapery covering the window, Katherine had a clear view of the two traitors.  

              Colton draped his arms around Bridget’s waist as she twined her arms around his neck. Gazing into Bridget’s eyes as if he didn’t have a wife at home, Colton’s mouth crashed onto Bridget’s, and the two of them started tongue sexing.

              Suddenly, Colton jerked Bridget off her feet, carried her over to the bed, and jumped on top of her. Dropping her head on the steering wheel, Katherine wailed. “This is the last time the two of you will make a fool of me,” she cried in a shaky voice.

              Katherine sat in her car for a whole hour for Colton to come out. Finally, he did. Standing in the doorway, Colton kissed Bridget on the lips, then walked out into the rain. Apparently hating to see Colton leave, Bridget stood in the doorway waving goodbye to him as he backed up out of the driveway.   

              Terribly upset, Katherine snatched her purse from the seat and hurried out of the car. Rain pounded her head as she darted across the street. Thunder clapped the sky. A flash of white lightning struck the sky.   

              Bridget had to learn the hard way that Colton Balfour was off-limits.

              Standing on Bridget’s doorstep, dripping wet, Katherine lifted her finger to ring the doorbell, but suddenly decided against it. Taking a chance that the door may be unlocked, she grasped the door knob, twisted, and the door clicked open.

              Careful not to alarm Bridget, Katherine softly pushed the door open, then entered. Inside, the house was dark. Warm. Inviting. Unlike anything Katherine felt.

              Katherine felt hatred. Betrayed. Foolish. Foolish for trusting Colton. Stupid for believing her husband would never cheat on her. Dumb because she never saw this coming. His ugly betrayal.

              Water streamed from Katherine’s clothing as she made her way into the kitchen. In a daze, and unfamiliar with the house, she pulled a blade from the utensil holder, then headed upstairs.

              Katherine’s heart thudded hard inside her chest when her foot left the last step at the top. Walking down the hallway, she heard Bridget singing. She turned into Bridget’s master bedroom and heard the shower running.

              Knife in hand, Katherine hated what she was about to do, but she couldn’t stop herself. Potent anger coursed through her veins. Listening to Bridget sing while taking a shower, Katherine stood on the other side of the wall. Quickly, she inched her head inside without Bridget noticing.

              Bridget stood inside the shower, looking beautiful. Tilting her head back to wash Colton’s scent off her, water streamed through Bridget’s silky blonde hair. Water drizzled over her big, perky breasts, down her flat abdomen, her toned thighs. No bigger than a size four, she had a tiny waist, too. Having seen enough, Katherine quickly flicked off the lights inside the bathroom.

              “Who’s there?” Bridget asked. With her back pressed to the wall just beyond the bathroom, Katherine clenched the handle of the blade tight. “Oh, the rain must’ve caused the electricity to go out.”

              Bridget’s bare wet feet slapped the tile as she walked closer to where Katherine stood. Waiting for her to enter the dark bedroom, Katherine shook violently. Mumbling to herself, Bridget said, “Oh, Colton. The lights are out, and here you are, having to run home to her. You don’t love her. You should be here with me, making love to me.”

              As soon as Bridget’s right foot touched the carpet of her bedroom, Katherine stepped in front of her, clutching the sharp blade. Wet hair matted to Katherine’s head, she frowned. “You’re wrong, bitch. Colton does love me.” Katherine plunged the knife into Bridget’s stomach.

              Bridget’s mouth dropped. Her eyes sprang wide. Wrapping her wet hands around the handle of the blade as it pressed into her stomach, she dropped to the floor and died.

              “Wake up. Wake up, Katherine.” Katherine’s eyes sprouted open to find Colton hovering over her. “I have some wonderful news to share with you.”

             
Oh hell, I was dreaming about killing Bridget.
Vividly remembering her dream about what she’d actually done to Bridget, Katherine mouthed, “What’s going on, Colton? Is it your health?”
Please don’t tell me he’s getting better.

              Colton peered down at her with a glad look on his face. “No. This has nothing to do with my health.”

              Katherine eased up in bed until her back rest against the headboard. She shrugged. “Then what are you so happy about?”

              Colton chuckled. “Don’t you watch anything other than soap operas during the day? Zeke found Taylor in Paris. Can you believe that? Paris! I knew when I made him CEO and sent him to Paris, something good was going to happen. But in a million years…I could’ve never predicted this. Hot damn, Zeke found Taylor!”

              Katherine said an expletive inside her head. “That’s great news, Colton.”

              Still smiling, Colton shoved his hands in his pockets. “You ain’t heard the best yet.”

              “Oh yeah? What’s the best?” she ripped out the words impatiently.

              Colton’s hands flew up in the air. “Zeke and Taylor are getting married and moving back here…to Hilton Head. But it gets better.”
Like hell it does.
“I insisted that Zeke and Taylor move in with us until their dream home is finished being built.” Colton kept smiling, something he rarely did around her. “Having them live with us is going to be great, Katherine. Absolutely great.”

             
It’s going to be a disaster. Oh God, I think I’m going to be sick.
Bile bubbled at the surface of Katherine’s belly. Stomach churning and burning, she flung back the covers, ran to the bathroom, and hopped on the toilet. Clenching her abdomen, a loud explosion erupted from her rear.