She Was Never Just a Pretty Face novel Chapter 61

4:00 PM.

Hilda Cassidy returned to the apartment to change into her gown and do her makeup.

Luther Sanford naturally drove her, and Matilda was so thrilled her eyes crinkled into a warm smile.

The car ride was completely silent.

Hilda leaned her head against the passenger seat to catch up on some sleep. While waiting at a red light, he stopped the car and gently grasped her hand. It felt a bit cold, so he turned up the heat. She rubbed her cheek comfortably against the seat back.

Half an hour later, the car came to a smooth halt.

Hilda slowly woke up. "We're here?"

Her voice was still heavy with sleep.

Luther unbuckled his seatbelt, stepped out, and walked around to open her door. As she got out, her high heels made her unsteady, and she stumbled. Thankfully, Luther caught her in time. Once she found her footing, she softly thanked him and tried to push him away.

But Luther didn't let go.

He slowly pulled her closer, trapping her against his chest with one arm. She struggled uneasily, but the sheer difference in their strength made it effortless for him to keep her pinned. He lowered his head, his face inches from hers, their breaths mingling, before saying something that caught them both off guard: "Do you want to be mine?"

It took Hilda a few seconds to digest his words.

He wasn't saying they wouldn't divorce.

He was asking her to stay with him.

—What did that even mean?

They would still get divorced, but he wanted to keep enjoying her body. In exchange, he would provide for her and her daughter (entirely unaware that little Annie was his own flesh and blood). In his mind, this was probably his twisted way of showing his satisfaction with her.

Hilda only found it painfully ironic.

She smiled faintly. "Luther, I'm not going to be anyone's mistress."

Luther didn't explain.

He just stared at her, his gaze dark and intense.

After a moment, he let her go and said softly, "Go on up."

...

Shortly after she went upstairs, the stylist arrived.

She swept Hilda's dark hair into an elegant updo, exposing her smooth forehead and delicate ears. Paired with a full set of diamond jewelry and a sweeping, pure purple silk gown that clung perfectly to her slender curves, she looked incredibly feminine and radiant. She easily outshone any A-list celebrity, and no one would ever guess she had given birth.

Luther held the phone in one hand.

His dark eyes remained fixed on the woman in the mirror.

Although they had never truly been intimate, they were intimately familiar with the pull of each other's bodies. While he spoke on the phone, his hand gripped Hilda's narrow waist, pressing her back against him. A rakish, distinctly masculine smirk played on his lips.

After a moment, he hung up.

Keeping her locked in his embrace, he cupped the back of her neck and turned her face for a kiss. It wasn't a brief peck; it was a deep, consuming kiss that left her weak in the knees. Later, after Hilda had touched up her makeup, she sat in the car with flushed cheeks and swallowed hard. "Aren't you afraid she'll get mad?"

Luther didn't answer.

He didn't sleep around recklessly.

In their elite circle, it was entirely normal for men to have a woman on the side. Besides, Hilda was his legal wife. He loved Jolie deeply, but for men like him, emotional devotion was one thing, and physical needs were another. When a man was exhausted, indulging his physical desires meant nothing. He certainly didn't feel the need to explain himself to Jolie Lovell.

—That was why he had asked Hilda if she wanted to be with him.

To him, it was as simple as eating or drinking.

In Luther's eyes, Hilda wasn't truly rejecting him.

After all, she had loved him for years, hadn't she?