Chapter 5 The bad boy's getting caged

~Candy~

As soon as Axel leaves for the night, my husband turns to me. He walks slowly, purposefully toward me.

I take a few steps back, afraid. Ansel's eyes flame with hate and jealousy. I recognize that look. His vengeful rage has taken over his body.

"I didn't know he was going to be here," I start to explain.

But he doesn't care about my explanations. In his mind, he has made up his own scenarios.

Ansel grabs me by the throat, squeezing hard. I kick around, slapping his hand, kicking my feet but it's all useless. He's too powerful.

He knows how to squeeze with just the right amount of pressure to make me lose consciousness. He likes to let me know he holds my life in the palm of his hand. He can take it any time he liked. He likes to see me terrorized.

"I swear I didn't know he was coming back. He just showed up!" I stammer, my voice breaking up from the tight grip.

"You let him into our bedroom?" Ansel questions, angrily.

This is it. He's going to kill me.

"Nothing happened, I swear. I was waiting for you. I didn't hear him in come. I thought he was you. I swear it to you. Please, Ansel, you are killing me!"

My vision gets blurry and just as I'm about to pass out, Ansel loosens his grip. I fall to the floor and lay at his feet, coughing and struggling to breathe. He kicks me square in the ribs. A sharp pain reverberates around my body.

I'm used to Ansel's cruelty, his choking, kicking and many other creative ways of leaving scars all over my body. But now that Axel's back, I know it's only going to get worse.

He leans down and strokes my hair gently at first. Then, without warning, he wraps my hair around his fingers and yanks it hard, dragging me upwards to meet his face. My painful cries can be heard all over the house.

"You're mine, Candy! Mine! Don't you ever forget it and if I even smell him around you, I will fucking kill you," he snarls.

A final warning. He doesn't need to tell me twice. I already know he can make good on his promise.

*

The next morning, Axel comes over for breakfast. My husband is getting ready for work. The domestic staff are back this morning so we can see the gardeners pruning the hedges and the kitchen staff setting the table.

I don't work anymore. I haven't worked since I married Ansel. Before that, I was in college studying political science. I wanted to work in DC with hopes of rising in the political ranks.

But now, I'm just some rich asshole's trophy wife. The only time I get to do any kind of political work is when I host dinner parties for Ansel's connected political friends.

Axel arrives shirtless. The summer's just starting out. Even though it's hot, I'm dressed in long wool dress with a designer kerchief tied as a necktie to hide the bruises Ansel's hand left around my neck.

"Morning, sunshine! What a beautiful day!" Axel calls out, spreading his arms. He has a large wingspan. His muscles ripple as he moves. I roam my eyes around his body. He looks like an Adonis, a gorgeous Greek sculpted god. His entire body is testament to some god out there, molding superior specimens.

"Good morning, Axel. We were just about to have some breakfast. Come, join us," Ansel says.

Axel walks over. As he brushes past my chair, his finger pinches my skin around the neck area. I freeze. A shower of goosebumps descends on my body. My nipples harden.

He takes the seat facing me while Ansel sits at the head of the table. The kitchen staff had displayed an array of foods on the table. Axel picks a strawberry, throws it into his mouth and chews with pleasure.

"God, I've missed all of this."

"Well, of course you did. Digging around the forests of Asia and Europe, I don't know what you were trying to prove!" Ansel scoffs. He's always hated that his brother chose the 'rough' life over the luxury pleasures of their childhood.

"Proving that I'm tougher than you. Bro, you would not have survived some of the trails I hiked. Believe me," Axel retorts. He likes pissing his brother off. The two brothers had the worse case of sibling rivalry I've ever seen. They love nothing more than to make each other mad.

"But you are back now. That's what matters!" I chime in, hoping to defuse the situation but it only earns me angry glares from my husband.

Axel must have noticed my deflated mood. His leg stretches out under the table, caressing mine. I swallow hard, struggling to maintain my composure and hoping that Ansel doesn't see what his brother is doing under the table.

He caresses my shin, moving slowly. The thrill wets my pants. Just the fact that I am able to flirt with him right under Ansel's nose is enough to send me spinning.

But the pleasure doesn't last. Our breakfast is interrupted by the arrival of our butler, Ian, announcing the presence of a visitor.

"Irina Snow for Mr. Baldwin, sir," Ian says.

I look up at the woman entering the dining area. She is tall, blonde-haired with sharp green eyes. A model-like beauty. She is carrying the latest Birkin bag.

Ansel stands up and hugs her. I notice Axel stand too, but his body is rigid.

"Irina, what a pleasure to see you again. Axel, I hope you don't mind. I took the liberty of arranging this breakfast so you can get to know each other better."

I drop my fork, confused.

"What's happening? Who's Irina?"

Ansel turns to me and with considerable twisted sense of pleasure, he smiles and says:

"Candy, I'd like you to meet Irina Snow. She's Axel's fiancée. She's the reason he came back home! Looks like our bad boy's getting caged at last!"

My heart sinks.