Mr. Kofi k.u.mi, seeing that Jacob was still remaining silent, continued further. "Of course, it began with mostly innocent things. It always does, does it not? Shared jokes, whispered secrets, clandestine walks in the garden..." he made a show of listing off items that seemed believable enough so that Jacob would be convinced. "And then, well. You saw how it was on the patio. I told her to be careful, but Almasi... She is a fiery one, and she simply couldn't resist me."

The b.a.s.t.a.r.d looked so smug, and Jacob wanted to slap his face. Instead, he counted to ten, trying to breathe and be reasonable and contain his fury. "So, you're trying to tell me that my wife has chosen to be with you? What will she do when you leave and go back to Ghana? Clearly your affair cannot last."

"Ah, but you see," said Mr. Kofi k.u.mi. "There's the catch. She was going to tell you on Friday. Almasi has chosen to come back to Ghana with me."

Jacob's blood froze in his veins. "She... She has?" said Jacob.

"Ah, yes. The girl craves adventure, she wants the excitement. Who would want to be a preppy little house wife in the American countryside when there are so many opportunities all around the world for her to see new things and live life to its fullest?"

Jacob shook his head. This was too much. "And what if I tell your brother that you've been coercing my wife and filling her mind with these ridiculous things behind my back? Surely that won't go over well with him." Jacob had a point, and he knew it. Mr. Arko k.u.mi was a man of honor and dignity, and he would likely not take kindly to his brother's behind the scenes shenanigans.

"Ah, but you see," said Mr. Kofi k.u.mi. "Then I would have to tell him that your marriage to Almasi is a sham."

No. It couldn't be. How could he know? Even if she had chosen to love another man, Almasi wouldn't break her contract. "Wh- Did Almasi-?"

Mr. Kofi k.u.mi chuckled. "No, dear G.o.d, no. Almasi didn't tell me outright. It was easy enough to guess, though, and after some digging... Well, no secret is that hard to expose."

Jacob couldn't deal with this any longer. He didn't know if Mr. Kofi k.u.mi was lying or telling the truth, but he had to talk to Almasi if he wanted a satisfying answer. Even if it meant she would be leaving him, and even if it meant she didn't love him... He would rather hear it come out of her mouth that have it come from this manipulative man.

Without so much as granting Mr. Kofi k.u.mi a goodbye, Jacob pushed past him and continued up the stairs. Once he got to the hallway where the master bedroom was, he began to look for Almasi. He checked their-His? If she was leaving him now?-bedroom, and she wasn't there, although to his slight relief, her things were still in the room. He checked the guest rooms, the extra bathroom, and Almasi's dressing room, but she was nowhere to be found.

He even tried calling out her name, but he had no luck. Where was she? He understood why she would want to hide from him. He too, would want to avoid a confrontation like that if he were in her position, but surely, even if she didn't love him, she could give him the decency of telling him that to his face, rather than letting him find out from her charming, but slimy, new lover. Jacob shook his head at the thought. It couldn't be true... Could it?

Meanwhile, Almasi walked around outside, trying to get out of this state of panic. It wouldn't do to cry and get upset, she told herself. She would simply have to tell Jacob the truth. She would tell him about Mr. Kofi k.u.mi finding and reading the diary, even if it embarra.s.sed her and make him think she was unprofessional. She would tell him that she hadn't wanted anything to do with Mr. Kofi k.u.mi.

She would tell him that that kiss had not been consensual and that all she wanted was to stay with Jacob. She would even try to tell him she loved him, if she could get the words out, and if he would listen, if he would believe her, then she would tell him about the pregnancy. About how she was carrying his child; their child. Surely, he would not forsake her then.

Almasi paced through the garden until she realized she was going in a loop. She would have to confront this situation eventually. So she took a few long, deep breaths, patted her belly gently as if to comfort the baby inside, and then Almasi made her way up to the mansion.

Since he couldn't find Almasi anywhere, Jacob finally gave up on searching and went to talk to Jeremy in his study. All of this... he needed to clear his head. He needed a fresh, objective mind to tell him what to do, and Jeremy was the perfect man for the job.

The door to the study was open, so Jacob stepped inside and greeted Jeremy, who was sitting studiously at the desk and going over some papers. He looked up when he saw Jacob. "Any luck?" he asked.

"Well," said Jacob, "I didn't find Almasi, but I did find someone else, and I think you will be interested in hearing what he had to say."

Jeremy closed the folder of doc.u.ments he was perusing and raised his eyebrows, giving Jacob his full attention. "Okay, go on. I'm listening," he said.

Jacob walked over to the sofa and sat down, putting his head in his hands. "Well, I talked to Kofi k.u.mi... And he told me that Almasi initiated their affair." He felt like crying, but held it in anyway. There was no point in being anything but professional about this situation.

Jeremy shook his head. "That sounds so unlike her," he said. "I mean, legally, doing that technically doesn't go against the contract we had her sign. Her s.e.xual life was still her own to dictate, and she just had the play the role publicly, but beginning an extramarital affair with the brother of the man whom she was supposed to be convincing that she was piously married? That just seems like bad form, and I don't think that Almasi would engage in that with so much at stake."

Jacob shrugged heavily. "I thought that, too, but who knows? Maybe we've all been wrong about her. We did, after all, hire her to play a role, not to be sincere about it." The thought broke his heart, but he had to acknowledge it. "But there's more." he continued.

"Oh?" said Jeremy. What more could there possibly be? His expression seemed to ask.

"Kofi k.u.mi knows that the marriage was contrived to convince his brother of the whole 'family values' thing." Jacob paused to watch Jeremy's facial expression as that sunk in. "And he says that if I don't let him take Almasi back to Ghana with him, he'll reveal the secret to his brother."

Jacob and Jeremy were so invested in the conversation that neither noticed the sound of the floorboards creaking outside the door. Almasi, having come back from the garden, had gone to look for Jacob, and when she hadn't found him in their room, the next place she had checked was his study. When she heard his voice coming from inside, she stopped outside, resolving to listen in and get an idea of what was going on before going to address him. Who was he talking to? She leaned in close to try and hear more.

It was Jeremy's voice, and not Jacob's, which she heard. She recognized the crisp tone. "Well, if that is indeed the situation," said Jeremy, "Then the safest option would be to let him have what he wants."

It was Jacob who spoke now. "I know," he said. "It is the most responsible thing to do. So if she wants to go back to Ghana with Kofi k.u.mi... Well, fine. Whatever. Let her go with him."

He didn't hear the quiet gasp from the hall or notice the light footsteps of his eavesdropping wife as she ran away in tears.

Chapter9.

Almasi's eyes welled up with tears, and the room felt like it was spinning. So it's true, she thought. Jacob really had never loved her. She turned away from the study and walked away, faster and faster until she was running. She couldn't stand being there anymore. She'd heard enough.

Clearly, Jacob saw her as nothing other than a trading piece in this diamond deal game. She had been so, so stupid to think that he could ever want her as anything more than that. She went up the flights of stairs to the master bedroom. If Jacob wanted her to leave, then fine. She wouldn't spend another night in his bed.

She could've taken it before, but this was a mockery now. If he didn't care about her, if he would be willing to send her off with Mr. Kofi k.u.mi... Then she would at least not subject herself to playing his game of pretend marriage. Almasi picked up all of the things she had left in the room and her favorite pillow, and then she marched over to the guest room where she had stayed that first night so long ago, dumping everything on the bed.

She would stay here for the rest of the week. She wouldn't allow Jacob, charming, handsome, heartless Jacob to sleep next to her anymore. Even if it meant never waking up in bed next to the man she loved, it was the principle of the thing. Tears ran down Almasi's face as she thought about it, and after putting all of her possessions away in the pink guest room, she curled up on the floral duvet and cried, allowing her shoulders to shake as she sobbed. Oh, Jacob. Why had he forsaken me like that?

If Almasi had waited a moment before she had stormed away, she would have heard the rest of Jacob's sentence.

"Let her go with him," he said, "if that's truly what she wants. It breaks my heart, but," his voice was filling with the sound of unshed tears, "I love her too much to force her to stay with me." He buried his face in his hands while Jeremy sat uncomfortably at the desk, waiting for Jacob to finish emoting so much. Jacob's shoulders began shaking, and suddenly he was full on crying. "I love her," he repeated. "I love her."

After a moment, Jeremy cleared his throat. "I know," he said kindly. He didn't fully understand, but he realized that this was a heartbreaking situation for Jacob, so he tried his best to soften his voice and speak gently. "I know that it hurts, but you're making the right decision, Jacob. You're letting her do as she wishes, and you're also saving the diamond deal with Mr. Arko k.u.mi. I'm proud of you, and I know it hurts for you to have to do this and give her up, but I a.s.sure you that you're doing the right thing."

He stood up then, and crossed the room to sit on the sofa next to Jacob, touching an awkward hand to the other man's shaking arm. "I'm proud of you," he repeated. He knew that was not enough, and that it could not ever be enough for Jacob's broken heart, but it was all Jeremy could offer him in solace, so that was what he gave him.

Jacob smiled wanly, trying to seem less broken than he was. "I appreciate it," he said shakily. "Seriously. Thank you, Jeremy." Jeremy smiled back at him rea.s.suringly, and Jacob's tears welled up in his eyes again. He knew it wasn't manly, and that as the twenty-eight-year-old CEO of a big business with a serious reputation to uphold, but at this point, he didn't care. Jacob let go and allowed himself to sob into Jeremy's shoulder.

He felt like a stupid, stupid child. His father would never have made such a mistake. Jacob was supposed to be running a business, not falling in love and falling apart all over the place.

Little did he know that the woman who was breaking his heart was also suffering from heartbreak at his expense, and that two floors up from where he was sitting, his beloved wife was also breaking down and crying. As Jacob m.u.f.fled his tears in Jeremy's shoulder, Almasi m.u.f.fled hers in a soft, fluffy pillow as she curled up on the guest room bed, sobbing. If only, they both thought, If only my love had been reciprocated.

When Jacob managed to get his tears under control, he forced his face into a serious expression and began to talk about the final details of the k.u.mi Diamonds deal with Jeremy again. They discussed the remainder of the plan in a businesslike manner, behaving as if Jacob hadn't just had a serious emotional breakdown.

When they were done, Jeremy got up to leave, and Jacob stood with him, deciding to go upstairs and have a nap. He knew that it was early in the day to be sleeping again, but he was exhausted, and he didn't really have anything to do for the rest of the day. He was also still a little hungover, and he had a headache from crying, so he reasoned that it would probably be best to sleep it off.

He went upstairs to the master bedroom, thankfully without meeting Mr. Kofi k.u.mi in the stairwell this time. When he got to the room that he had been sharing with Almasi, a pit formed in his stomach as he noticed that something was different. All of the little things that had made this room feel like it belonged to both of them-her robe, her jewelry box, even her favorite pillow-they were all gone.

He went to the master bathroom and looked in the cupboard, and all of her toiletries were gone, too. Her makeup, her skincare products, even some of the fancy soaps had disappeared. Jacob sighed.

So now that her affair has been discovered, he thought, she sees no reason to pretend to be with me anymore. He went back to the bedroom and sank onto the bed. He felt so heavy. Everything in the world was sinking down on him, and he didn't even have his wife around anymore to help him alleviate the strain.

He laid down on the duvet without so much as getting undressed. It still smelled like her; the bed. That was one thing that she hadn't managed to take away from the room. Jacob basked in that scent until quiet sleep took over, and he slept deeply and soundly, sprawled across the bed, forgetting everything that had happened and allowing himself to let go of all of his hurtful thoughts and feelings.

A few doors down, Almasi eventually stopped crying, and she uncurled herself from the fetal position she had been in and slowly sat up. She had things to do, she remembered. There was another dress fitting with Yifeng this afternoon. She thought carefully for a moment, and then decided that perhaps it was time to start confiding in the other woman.

What did she have to lose now? Every outlet she had had been cruelly taken away from her, and she needed someone to talk to so she could keep from going insane. Who else was there, other than Yifeng? Yifeng had proved her capacity for discretion time and time again. Thank G.o.d, she was the only other person who knew about the pregnancy other than Almasi! So Almasi resolved to talk to her when she arrived, and to unburden herself to the younger woman. Maybe Yifeng could help her find a way to get out of this mess relatively unscathed.

Yifeng arrived just a little after one breathlessly explaining that she had nearly forgotten her purse at home and that she had had to turn around and go back to get it. Almasi smiled and forgave her. Yifeng was almost never late, and it was not as if they had a tight schedule to follow. . She was sure that if Mrs. Nettle were around it would be a different story, but Almasi was just happy to see that her personal stylist and burgeoning friend had arrived at all. So together, they unpacked the bags of fabric and clothing that Yifeng had brought along and set out to plan some subtle maternity dresses.

Almasi didn't bring up her marriage troubles immediately, but it was as they were fitting her into a light blue floral sun dress that she spoke up. "Yifeng," she began, "is it okay if I confess something to you?"

The younger woman looked a little bit surprised, and then she beamed. "Absolutely," she said. She came around to face Almasi. "Is it about the baby?" she asked eagerly.

"No," said Almasi. She paused. "Well, yes and no." She sighed. "It's a long story."

"Well," said Yifeng, "You can tell it to me while we fit you into these dresses! I'm all ears." She smiled, and then went back to pinning the dress they were fitting. "So go on, tell me your confession!"

Where could she possibly begin? Almasi decided to start with the marriage. "Well, you know how Jacob and I got married very suddenly?" she asked.

Yifeng nodded. "Mrs. Nettle told me that he had been seeing you for a long time, but that he had only brought you to the penthouse, and then when you decided to get married, he insisted that you go live in the mansion, because this is a place for a family, not a bachelor." She looked at Almasi. "Is that right?"

d.a.m.n. Jeremy had really gone to town on fleshing this story out complexly. "Well, that is what the staff here was told..." she said, "...but it didn't actually happen that way. You see, when Jacob and I got married, I had only just met him the day before."

Yifeng dropped the pin she was holding, and after scrambling to pick it up so it wouldn't be stepped on later, she looked up at Almasi in astonishment. "You married him after knowing him for one day? Why?"

"Jacob had been advised that the k.u.mi Diamonds deal would go better if he had a wife," Almasi explained. "And he needed a black woman who could keep the secret. He had b.u.mped into me at the office that morning, and he and Jeremy took me out to lunch to interview me... And then before I really knew what was happening, I was signing a contract and being sent to go get a new wardrobe for the role."

Yifeng tilted her head. "But why did you do it?" she asked. "I mean, of course Mr. Adamson is handsome, and you love him now, but why did you take that chance if you didn't know him?"

"They offered me money," Almasi explained. She felt a little embarra.s.sed by this part in retrospect; that she had been bought so easily. "I was working an unpaid internship, and I have so many student loans to pay off, and he offered me a million dollars to play along and be his wife for a month while he closed the deal with Mr. Arko k.u.mi."

Yifeng whistled low. "A million dollars?" she said. "That's... Wow! I understand why you would have taken that offer." She paused. "So, when you first came here with us and prepared for the wedding... you weren't in love with Mr. Adamson?" she asked innocently.

"No," said Almasi. "Well, not yet, anyway. He was charming, and handsome, but I think we both thought of it as a business contract at that point. I know I did, but after spending so much time together with him and playing the role... Well, you know. I've talked to you about it often enough. I fell in love with Jacob."

"So why is there a problem, then?" asked Yifeng. "Forgive me, but I don't understand. Is it that you're afraid that he'll make you leave at the end of the deal? Because surely he wouldn't, if he knew that you are carrying his child inside you." She looked at Almasi, who looked sad. "Wait... Does he not know?" she asked incredulously.

"No," said Almasi. "And there's more to the story that complicates things. You see, while Mr. Arko k.u.mi and Jacob were getting to know each other and discussing the diamond deal arrangement over the course of the month, the brother, Mr. Kofi k.u.mi... He... Well, he took an interest in me." Almasi felt embarra.s.sed.

Yifeng's eyes widened. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "But surely... You did not reciprocate?"

"No, no," said Almasi quickly. "I wasn't interested in him, and I had a contract to uphold, and by that point, I had fallen in love with Jacob anyway, but you see, Mr. Kofi k.u.mi began to blackmail me. He found my diary, where I had written about the arrangement, and he used that information to threaten me and to try to make me be intimate with him. He said that he would tell his brother about the circ.u.mstances of my marriage to Jacob, and that Mr. Arko k.u.mi would cancel the deal and that Jacob would lose all of the money involved if he found out."

"That... That b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" exclaimed Yifeng. "Oh, Almasi, I'm so, so sorry you had to deal with that. What did you do? How did you deter him?" Her eyes were so sympathetic, and for once Almasi felt less responsible for the situation, recognizing that her own guilt in leaving her diary out was minor in comparison to Mr. Kofi k.u.mi's emotional manipulation. She should've talked to Yifeng about this situation weeks ago.

"He told me he wanted to bring me back to Ghana with him, to live in a city called Accra. He promised me riches, but I refused. I love Jacob, and I thought... Well, I thought that Jacob loved me." Her voice broke a little at the sadness, but she steeled herself and continued. "Well, as it happened, I was wrong. Jacob found out that Mr. Kofi k.u.mi knew, and this afternoon I overheard him telling Jeremy that he has decided to let Mr. Kofi k.u.mi take me with him.

So now... Now I know that my husband doesn't love me, and the only way I can keep from betraying him is by going to Ghana with a man I despise." The tears finally started coming to Almasi's eyes, and she allowed Yifeng to hug her as she cried. After a few minutes, she pulled away. "So, that's my situation," she said, trying to breathe herself into calmness. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about these things sooner, but, well... It was all meant to be a secret. Technically, I've broken my contract just by telling you all this right now."

"There, there," said Yifeng. "Don't worry. I understand, and I won't tell another soul about this. So how are you going to deal with this situation? Surely you can't leave with Mr. Kofi k.u.mi."

"I believe it's my only choice," said Almasi. "I don't see how else I can make this situation work. If I don't go, I'll be betraying Jacob, and he'll lose the diamond deal. And even if I did decide to stay, regardless of the cost it would be to Jacob... My marriage is planned to be annulled this weekend. So I would be out on my own, pregnant and without any sort of support for my baby."

"That's what I find confusing," said Yifeng. "Mr. Adamson... I have seen the way in which he looks at you. No one who would be willing to give up his wife would look at her so pa.s.sionately, with so much adoration. I know that it started out as a charade, but I don't see how the way he so obviously loves you could possibly be anything other than real, true love."

"Then why would he tell Jeremy that he wants me to leave?" asked Almasi, frustrated. "I overheard him saying it. He said 'fine, let her go with him'. I'm no more an expert in matters of the heart than anybody else, but I know that a man who loves a woman wouldn't give up on her like that. So you're wrong, Yifeng. Jacob doesn't love me. He couldn't possibly love me if he plans to abandon me to Mr. Kofi k.u.mi like that."

Yifeng furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head. This still didn't make sense to her. There was something that didn't add up. "It still seems... off to me. Are you sure you heard him correctly? Did you stay for the entire conversation?"

Almasi shook her head. "No, I left after I heard him say that. I was going to go in and talk to him, but those words hurt too much. I had to get out of there." She paused. "Why?" she asked. "Do you think that he meant something else when he said those things?"

"Well," said Yifeng carefully, "I wasn't there, so I don't know for certain, but I think that, especially if he knew about your current state," she gestured to Almasi's belly, "he would never abandon you like that."

"But see, that's another thing," said Almasi. "I don't want to use my pregnancy as leverage for getting him to stay with me. That would be just as manipulative as Mr. Kofi k.u.mi's attempts to pressure me into going to Ghana with him. That's not the kind of person I am, and I don't think I could do that to Jacob. If he doesn't love me, he shouldn't feel obligated to stay with me."

"But the pregnancy is half his!" exclaimed Yifeng. "You're not just carrying your child, Almasi. You are carrying the child of the man you love, of a man who I'm certain, regardless of what you may think, loves you back just as much as you love him."

Yifeng put her hands on her hips. "And what will happen when you raise the child? Will you forever lie to your baby about his or her father, even though it will be clear as the color of the child's skin that he or she is a mixed race?" She looked Almasi directly in the eyes with an intensity that Almasi had never previously seen in her normally friendly stylist. "If you want to punish yourself for something that isn't your fault, fine. If you want to punish Jacob for it too, that's less reasonable, but still understandable, but how could you punish your own unborn baby by denying him or her the truth of his or her parentage? That, Almasi, is cruel, and you're pragmatic, but I don't think you're a cruel person."

Almasi was dumbstruck. She hadn't expected this outburst from Yifeng. Yifeng was right, though, she realized. How could she do that to her child? How could she raise her own son or daughter with these ridiculous secrets? She'd felt like her yearning to stay was selfish before, but this was not only for her sake.

She needed to do it for her child. The lies had to end now. "You're right," she said finally, looking back at Yifeng. "No matter how much it hurts, and even if it turns out that Jacob truly doesn't love me back, I have to do the right thing and dismantle these lies."

"I absolutely believe that you can do it," said Yifeng. "Now, let's get this dress finished. You need to look fabulous for this confrontation."

Almasi smiled. She really did have the best stylist in the world.

When Almasi had said goodbye to Yifeng and emerged from the dressing room, she felt like she was on a mission. She made her way down the stairs, figuring that Mr. Kofi k.u.mi wouldn't be too hard to find. Jacob was nowhere to be seen, which was unfortunate, since she would have preferred to talk to him first, if he would listen, but her most important task at the moment was to find Mr. Kofi k.u.mi and to reject him.

She was almost shaking in excitement, and no small amount of nervousness. She would show him. She would tell that horrible man just what she thought of him, and she would emerge with a clean slate. No more lies. It was time for it all to end.

When she finally came across Mr. Kofi k.u.mi, he was sitting in the living room next to the foyer, smoking a cigar and reading a book. Almasi frowned. She didn't think that he'd been given permission to smoke indoors. Then again, she remembered, he was part of the important pair of brothers who had to be satisfied to save the diamond deal. Well, diamond deal be d.a.m.ned, thought Almasi. She was going to straighten out these lies once and for all and give her child a better future than this whirlpool of deception. She cleared her throat, and Mr. Kofi k.u.mi looked up and saw her standing in the doorway.

He smiled, charm oozing out of his every pore. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" asked Mr. Kofi k.u.mi. "I was under the impression that you were packing. It's a long way to Accra, my dear, and you'll want to bring all of your favorite possessions with you. You won't be back here in the United States of America for a long, long time." His smile was conniving. Almasi marveled at how she had ever trusted him in those first few weeks of his visit.

"I have no packing to do," said Almasi calming. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying here with Jacob."

Mr. Kofi k.u.mi put out his cigar and stood up. "You've said that before, but you know it's not true. Why are you lying to yourself? You know that the end of the week will come, and you will be off to Ghana with me, or else dear Mr. Adamson will suffer greatly and the diamond deal will not go through. Is that really what you want?"

Almasi stood her ground defiantly. "It's not what I want, but I know that Jacob will support me, no matter what, and the only person who has been lying to me is you, Mr. Kofi k.u.mi." She spat his name as if it tasted bitter on her tongue. "And I'm finished with your lies."

"My darling," said Mr. Kofi k.u.mi, still trying to work his charms. "Dear, dear Almasi. Think about my offer still. You could have everything you've ever dreamed of wanting. Riches, power, glory. A husband who dotes on your every whim."

"What I want is here," she said plainly. "And I already have it. I'm not giving it up. Go ahead, tell your brother about the circ.u.mstances of my marriage to Jacob. Tell him it was all contrived, tell him it was a farce to make money off of your diamond company. Go ahead. See if I care."

Mr. Kofi k.u.mi's expression darkened. "Don't do this, Almasi," he said. "Don't test me like this. I know you're strong willed, feisty even, and I can relate to that. I too am strong willed, but this is not the battle to choose." He walked up closer to her, looking down, his gaze hard on her eyes. "I have tried being nice, and I have tried being sweet, but if you don't comply with my wishes, I will destroy you."

Almasi's pulse was racing and her hands were shaking in fear, but she laughed. Mr. Kofi k.u.mi looked disconcerted. "See?" she said. "You're so easy to read. You disguise yourself as a charming man, a considerate friend and a good ally, but the moment your wishes are not adhered to, you threaten violence and show your true nature."

She had gone too far, as Mr. Kofi k.u.mi had suddenly grabbed her hard by the shoulders and brought his face down close to hers. "Maybe I just know how to get what I want," he said. "Maybe I, unlike some people, don't waste my time sitting around and playing dumb while the person I want to be with becomes distant." He squeezed her shoulders hard.

Almasi looked directly into his eyes and said, "There is a difference between being strong willed and being a bully, and that is why you and I, Mr. Kofi k.u.mi, could never be together. Because I refuse to be bullied by you." And with that, she kneed him in the crotch, and when he let go of her shoulders in surprise, she ran.

He cried out in pain and doubled over. He didn't follow her as she ran, but he called down the hall, "My brother will hear of this!"