Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Pet's Private Meltdown

Ariana POV

She sat in their bedroom on their bed, looking out the window at the trees swaying in the night wind. Wearing a short, silk nightgown dripping with fine lace, she felt nervous.

Dimitri had asked her to go and wait for him in their bedroom while he checked the villa's security after tonight's failed plot. He also asked her to put on the leather collar, which she did. Why he insisted on all that after tonight's little performance, she couldn't fathom. It was beyond her.

She'd only put it on after she talked to Sally and Bill. Aunt Sally seemed beside herself, and if she could have hired an Uber or even a donkey cart and gotten out of Merak, she would have. But none of them dared. Sally Norton was stuck. So was Bill Norton. And, finally, Ariana Wilkins, formerly Wilberforce, was completely trapped. If she wanted to live.

So, Sally and Bill shut themselves up in their bedroom for the night.