"I know you're not going to tell me where Julian is, but I still want to ask whether he's still around. Is he still alive? You've got to at least give me that," Willow said.
A rare tear slipped down Dexter's face, his emotions tightly restrained. Willow's lips trembled slightly at the sight.
He said, "Don't worry, he's alive. He's doing well."
Her lips continued trembling. After a while, she composed herself and forced a smile. "Thanks for telling me."
Dexter tried to keep his emotions in check. He said gruffly, "You know that asshole won't mistreat himself."
He left in the darkness of the night. He sat in the driver's seat and smoked his way through a few cigarettes, slumped over the steering wheel for a long time.
He'd never been the emotional type—he'd never genuinely loved a woman, either. His life had been spent competing with Julian. Now that the latter had gone into seclusion, Dexter felt like he'd lost his way.
…
Dexter hurried to Yarrowmere under the cover of the night and knocked on an apartment door.
Eleanor opened the door to see Dexter looking more miserable than she'd ever seen him. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at her. She wore a silk nightgown that covered nothing; her enticing figure was on full display.
He had plenty of pent-up sexual frustration, so he grabbed her by the arms and dragged her to the couch. Their bodies became intertwined as they fell onto the couch together.
Eleanor looked up at him and slapped him. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
His face turned to the side from the impact. He turned back after a moment, his eyes still bloodshot. "I have to have you tonight. If you need a reason, think of it as me fucking you to pray for Julian. You're loyal to him, aren't you? Sacrifice yourself for him."
Elenanor bit and hit him, but just couldn't get rid of him. In the end, she succumbed to his ministrations. They'd gone without this for years, so their lust set them on fire. They were rough and fierce, seemingly unable to get enough of each other.
When it all ended, Eleanor flipped her sweat-dampened hair over her shoulder and went to shower.
Dexter remained on the couch with a cigarette dangling from his fingers. He slowly made his way through it as he listened to the water running in the bathroom. He suddenly felt at peace.
After finishing the cigarette, he pulled on his shirt and pants before checking on his daughter in the bedroom. Her name was Maisie Sutton.
Dexter couldn't understand it. He held 10% of Nebula Group's shares and was no longer fooling around with other women. Why was Eleanor refusing to start over with him? They already had a daughter together.
She refused to answer him.
It was late at night, but she still chased him out and told him to put up a night at a hotel. She shut the door in his face and leaned against it, feeling drained.
She knew being with Dexter was her best option. He was worth billions and would one day be Willow's most loyal supporter and right-hand man. He'd also stopped playing the field for Maisie's sake. However, Eleanor just couldn't bring herself to accept him.
They'd actually seen each other once after Dexter had been released from prison. That night, he'd been utterly drunk. He'd pointed at a young woman and spoken the truth. "You look like her, and so does Eleanor.
"That's the only reason I kept Eleanor by my side for a few years, yet she had the audacity to ask me why I didn't want to marry her. She's just a stand-in—why would I marry her?"
That was the night Eleanor had realized Dexter's refusal to marry her wasn't because he wanted to form an alliance through marriage with someone else. The truth was that he didn't love her and only thought of her as a substitute for someone.
He'd been too much of a coward to admit that, yet she'd wasted six years of her life on him. She'd bawled her eyes out that night while also laughing at herself for being a fool.
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