Chapter 3

Genevieve POV:

Crawford looked at me for a long, silent moment. Then he sighed, his voice filled with a sense of resignation and sorrow. "My wife is in your husband's bed right now. Shouldn't I be angry? "

He leaned closer, his voice dropping low."I think you're probably quite upset too. The best way to retaliate against a cheating husband is to reclaim your own life and make him witness your happiness with another man. This is undoubtedly a profound insult to a man's dignity. "

I frowned. "This is why you decided to inform me today?But why should I do this your way?"

Crawford crouched down in front of me，then took my hand and pressed my palm flat against his chest. "Because you won't find a better partner for revenge than me. We share a common goal of revenge.Trust me. You won't lose anything."

Through the thin fabric of his shirt, I could feel the heat of his skin, the hard wall of muscle beneath. "You don't look like you're just taking revenge. It seems to have ulterior motives."

Then I pulled my hand back and stood up. "Sorry, I'm going to bed first," I said, and walked into the bedroom, closing the door behind me.

When I got up the next morning, and the suite was empty, save for my dried clothes folded on the armchair and a handwritten note under a room key on the coffee table: Parking lot. The beat-up truck.

Ten minutes later, dressed in my own clothes, I walked out of the resort's side exit and spotted the rusted Ford pickup parked between a Porsche and a Range Rover.

Crawford leaned against the driver's door with a cigarette between his fingers. When he saw me approaching, he crushed the stub under his boot heel, walked around to pull open the passenger door, and jerked his chin for me to get in.

We drove down the mountain highway in silence, the cab smelling faintly of tobacco and pine. Three hours later, he pulled into a roadside gas station outside Denver.

While Crawford pumped gas, I walked over to the convenience store awning and called Darcy, my closest friend and the head of PR at Vanguard Sports Science Institute.

"Darcy, I need to take a few personal days. Can you cover my lab schedule until Friday?"

Darcy's sharp, no-nonsense voice came through the line immediately.

"Genevieve, you sound terrible. Did Dedric pull another stunt? Say the word and I'll have media contacts bury him before lunch."

I pressed my thumb and forefinger against the bridge of my nose to stop the ache behind my eyes.

"I'm fine, just exhausted. I'll explain everything when I'm back in the office."

I hung up before she could press me, walked back to the truck, and climbed into the passenger seat. Crawford started the engine and merged back onto the interstate, driving straight toward the gated Cherry Hills neighborhood where Dedric and I lived.

I leaned my head against the window and closed my eyes, letting the hum of the road drown out the noise in my head.I didn't open them again until the truck stopped.

The first thing I saw was the wrought-iron back gate of my own villa.

I had only told him the general area. But he directly drove me home.

I turned on him, fury rising fast."Did you follow me before? How do you know where I live?"

Crawford reached into the backseat and pulled out a faded navy baseball cap with a local plumbing company logo, along with a worn toolbox.

He set the box on his lap, eyes wide and innocent. "Relax. I fix pipes on the side. You fell asleep, so I got a head start. My job's just around the corner—didn't expect it to be your place."

I stared at him, half-convinced.

When I punched my code into the back gate keypad and led him across the manicured lawn. As soon as I opened the foyer door, our housekeeper, Brenda Kowalski, stepped out of the dining room holding a feather duster.

Dedric had hired her himself, and she reported my every move to him like a paid warden.

Brenda's beady eyes raked over Crawford's broad shoulders and muddy boots.

"Mrs. Waller, Mr. Waller didn't mention any maintenance scheduled for today before he left for his road trip."

I turned my head and looked at Crawford.He had played me. Again. But I finally didn't expose him.

I straightened my spine and cut her off in a flat, icy tone.

"The master bath drain is backed up, Brenda. Or would you prefer I wait until Dedric gets home so he can plunge it himself?"

Brenda blinked, clearly thrown off by my sharp tone. She pursed her lips and stepped aside, though her gaze stayed glued to Crawford's back as we walked past.

I led Crawford up the curved staircase, pushed open the double doors to the master suite, and turned the deadbolt with a loud click.

The room smelled heavily of Dedric's designer cologne. His framed magazine covers lined the wall, and his custom suits hung in the open dressing room. My chest tightened until I could barely breathe.

I marched across the carpet and yanked the heavy curtains wide open to let the sunlight in. When I spun around, I nearly collided with Crawford, who had followed me silently to the window.

He stood inches away, his massive frame blocking the room behind him, wrapping me in the heat radiating off his skin.

"This whole house reeks of his fake life," Crawford said, his voice dropping to a low gravel as he looked down at me. "Are you really going to keep swallowing it?"

I backed up half a step until the cold marble windowsill pressed against my spine, then lifted my chin and looked him straight in the eye.

"Whether I can stomach it is my business. But that doesn't give you the right to lie to me again and walk into my private life."

Crawford raised his right hand and laid his rough palm against the side of my neck, his thumb pressing lightly over my pulse. "But you didn't say no, did you? You got in my truck. You didn't call me out on my lie. You let me in here. Your answer is already pretty clear, isn't it?"

His thumb against my pulse sent a shudder through me. My brain was screaming at me to walk away, but something dark and hungry stirred deep inside me, working against every sane thought I had.

I reached up and grabbed his wrist, my knuckles going white, my breathing shallow.

"You're right," I whispered, my voice trembling with sudden resolve. "Then take it. Right now. Right here."

Crawford's ice-blue eyes darkened instantly. He flipped his wrist, locked his fingers around mine, and pulled me flush against his chest.

"Do you have any idea what kind of fire you're playing with, Genevieve?" His chest vibrated against mine as he spoke. "I'm no gentleman."

"Isn't this exactly what you wanted? Why play the decent man now?" I rose on my toes until my nose almost brushed his.

"And I'm done playing the good wife."