Covet: Trusting the Billionaire (The Trophy Wife Book 4) by Charlotte Rose Read Free Book Online

come back with two flutes of champagne and join her on the couch.
    “Cheers.” She clicks my glass. “To our new friendship.”
    We drink our champagne as we watch our boys play together.
    “They seem to really get along,” she remarks.
    “So, how is Julian?”
    “Oh, he’s great…he’s been working a lot lately. He’s working on some huge business acquisition with a few of his colleagues.”
    “That’s wonderful,” she responds. “Yes, Julian is somewhat of a workaholic, but I guess that’s the attitude that got him where he is today.”
    “So…I never had a chance to get to know your husband at the party. Tell me more about him. What does he do?”
    “Oh, my husband is pretty much retired, so he spends the days with me and our son. We usually do something family-oriented during the day, and then we go out for dinner at night.”
    “Wow, that’s really nice.”
    “Yes, well, he has more than enough money, and he wants to focus on raising a family right now. It’s nice when a man can retire young and focus on family life.”
    “How old is your husband?”
    “He’s forty-one.”
    I suddenly feel very uncomfortable. Why doesn’t Julian retire? He has more than enough money.
     
    In the evening, Julian and I sit cuddled next to each other on the couch by the blazing wood-burning fireplace with a bottle of red wine.
    “Do you really need to work as much as you do?”
    “Cheryl, what are you talking about?” Julian frowns.
    “I just want you to be home most of the time, and spend as much time with me and our son as possible. Why do you need to work? You have more than enough money.”
    “Cheryl, you need to understand that I don’t work for the money. I work because I like to. I’m passionate about my work and my businesses. You need to understand that you mean everything to me, but my work also means a lot to me.”
    I take a sip of wine and scowl into the blazing fire.
    Is that his excuse, a reason to get out of the house and fuck other women? Am I just another acquisition to add to his vast collection of possessions? Why not have a trophy wife as well as girlfriends to fuck on the side?
    Julian brushes my hair to one side of my shoulder and kisses my bare neck.
    “I love you, Cheryl,” he whispers.
    Were those lips on another woman today?
    “I don’t know if you really love me,” I reply. “Maybe you love me as nothing more than another one of your possessions.”
    “Cheryl, what are you talking about?” He sounds shocked.
    I glare at the fire, refusing to look at him.
    He takes my wine glass from my hand and puts it on the side table. He lifts up my chin and turns my head to meet his eyes. “You know you are the most important thing in my life.”
    “Your trophy wife, right?” I raise my eyebrow.
    “Yes, but you’re also much more than that.” Julian rubs his thumb over my lips as he admires my face lovingly.
    “Trophy wives are replaceable.” I swivel my head and gaze back at the fire to avoid his eyes. It hurts to look at him and imagine him with another woman.
    “You know, Cheryl, you’ve been acting really strange lately. What’s going on?” Julian asks.
    “Nothing,” I huff. “I’m going to bed.”
    I make my way upstairs and get ready for bed. A few minutes later, when Julian joins me under the bed covers, I turn onto my side, away from him. He caresses my arm and doesn’t say anything for a while.
    “You’re not replaceable to me, Cheryl,” he whispers.
    I squeeze my eyes shut. My soul feels tortured. I’ve never had so many doubts and insecurities in my life. Being married to Julian is not what I thought it would be. If he wasn’t so covetable, it would be so much easier to trust him.
     
    In the morning, after breakfast, Julian heads up to his office. I grab my transparent glass tablet and make myself comfortable on one of the white couches in the living room overlooking the mountain-filled view outside. I tap the screen and initiate a video call to my