"Tsh! Tsh!" Helena sighed, feigning deep disappointment as she wiped a tear of laughter from her eye. "In the end, you really couldn't hold your tongue for long, could you?"
She looked at Vivienne, pouting playfully.
"And I was enjoying it so much..."
Vivienne stared at her cousin, her mouth hanging open, her mind struggling to process what was happening.
The laughter. The casual dismissal. The complete and utter lack of shock.
'Why is she acting like this?'
Her eyes darted to Alex, searching for some sign of the reaction she'd expected... anger, betrayal, confusion... anything that would make sense of this nightmare.
But there was nothing. No shock. No fury. No recognition of being deceived.
Instead, Alex was smiling.
That slow, dark, predatory smile she was beginning to recognize... the smile of a man who held all the cards and was savoring the moment before he laid them on the table.
No...
The realization hit her like ice water.
'He knew.'
'He's known the whole time.'
