My expression softened. This explained why she was so driven by this.
"She always looked for facts in the worst ways possible. She told me busting the Kings will be the biggest yet..." Jenna rolled her eyes, as if the memory was both a sad and funny one. "Get their name in her column at least, that was sure to get the big fish until she got obsessed, stirring deeper into something that destroyed her."
"Now you are too..." I said. "You’re trying to bust the Kings."
She licked her bottom lip, leveling her gaze. "Which better person to help but his wife?"
I scoffed in disbelief. I didn’t know which shocked me the most, the thought that she was trying to use me or just admitted her intentions.
"You’re not like the Kings. Your words," I mumbled, and hearing them right now, I knew exactly what she meant.
My naivety was her bingo card.
"You bitch..."
"Curse me all you want. All I wanted was to uncover the truth." She shook her head. "After hearing all this, doesn’t it change everything you know about him?"
"How can you be sure Ares is responsible for her death?"
"I figured if I brought enough facts, I could find out what really happened to my wife and hopefully you would help me make the city see who the Kings are. What I didn’t think through is how much you love him."
My heart skipped a fast beat, a heavy sensation making me feel pressured.
"You love him enough to accept him for what he really is. For what it’s worth... I’m happy for you." She walked past me but stopped midway. "You won’t ever worry about seeing me again, I’ll find out how to prove everything myself. It was my mistake coming to you. This marriage was real after all."
I rasped, turning, but she was already gone. H-Her last words... Did she have an idea that Ares and I may be faking our marriage? That would certainly explain why she approached me.
Talk about being one step ahead.
Doesn’t this put her at risk? I know now she was onto the Kings, and she had a source in the Corp.
Wasn’t she alarmed I might spill her secret?
I was spiraling in my mind the whole time I walked back to the table. Nico and Reed weren’t suspicious at all. I had a lot to offload on Tori, but first, I was late for my appointment with Dr. Miller.
~☆~
I was quick with my steps. Heels click-clacking sharply as I made a turn in the corridor, letting my body relax before I pushed through the door.
"I’m so sorry I’m late, Dr. Miller. I got held up at—"
I froze.
"Mrs. King, you came right in time."
"What are you doing here... honey?" I asked through clenched teeth.
Ares was on the couch, legs crossed and sipping his coffee as if to annoy the fuck out of me.
"Mr. King told me you two decided on couples therapy."
The fuck?!
I moved my eyes to Ares. "Did we?
"I came as you requested, baby."
I scoffed, and Dr. Miller looked between the two of us.
"If this is not a good time, then—"
"It’s perfect." Ares set the coffee on the table and patted beside him, urging me to come sit.
I stood there for a minute feeling like I wanna toss something at his handsome face to ruin it, but after taking a deep breath, I walked and sat beside him.
My body locked when his hand snaked around my waist and pulled me closer. This was probably another way to get under my skin, as if what he pulled off a week ago wasn’t enough.
A mistake that won’t happen again.
I can’t believe those words would hurt more than the thought of him being a mafia.
"Now... this is good," Dr. Miller began. "I have only spent a little time with you, Mrs. King, but I can tell most of your stress is from your marriage, and having your husband here, we can focus more and work on this together."
I squeezed my hands into a fist, fixing my smile in place.
"But..." he added. "I’m sensing this session is not mutual. I don’t wanna interrupt, so I’ll give you two a minute to talk." He pushed to his feet and walked to his desk at the far end to give us privacy.
I felt Ares move, his breath coming up so cold to my ear, and my body replaced it with heat, feeling like I was about to go up in flames.
"Sneaking behind my back and meeting with a reporter was a very, very bad decision."
The color drained from my face.
He knows...?
I made sure Nico and Reed were kept busy so... h-how?
I kept my gaze focused ahead, staying completely still and not breaking out in heavy breathing.
"What did she plan to give you? The truth?"
Hot anger crawled through me. At least she gave me something.
Suddenly, I’m not frightened or anxious, finding strength in my vexation. It took a moment before I spoke with controlled ease, holding his gaze.
"Reporter? Oh, you mean that reporter. She’s my high school friend, I lost contact with after she moved from Rosevale. We just recently connected; her profession can be alarming, so I thought maybe meeting covertly was for the best."
Ares narrowed his eyes, and I loved the flicker of perplexity in his steel eyes.
"She’s just a friend, Ares... and how do you know I was meeting her? Are you stalking me, husband?!"
I made sure I was loud so that Dr. Miller would hear.
Ares doesn’t respond, but his eyes darkened in a way that sent a shiver up my spine.
"You know what?" I faced Dr. Miller, who had his attention on us now. "I think we made a good decision for couples therapy. As you said, this will be very helpful. Isn’t that right, honey?"