Chapter 168: Cheating...

Stella was at her home when Adrian called.

She had been seated near the window with a glass in her hand. She had been reading a movie script before Adrian’s call entered.

The beginning of the call had started calm enough to make her still hold the glass of drink in her hand.

Then Adrian’s next words landed, and her fingers went slack. The glass slipped from her hand and shattered against the floor. She stood up immediately.

"What did you just say?"

Adrian’s voice remained calm, almost bored. "You heard me, Stella. We should push the wedding forward. Let’s go to the registry on Monday."

Monday was just two days away. The mere idea of becoming his wife in just two days was somehow... Stella couldn’t really describe why but she felt it dreadful.

She furrowed her brows together as she asked; "Why?"

"Why not?" He countered. Then he added sounding thoughtfully, "Oh. Is it because of that nobody you’ve been following around?"

Her jaw tightened. "That was not the question I asked you." she retorted.

"Whether it was or not, answer it," Adrian replied. "Actually, don’t bother. You don’t need to. You should already know that the longer you delay this wedding, the more you endanger that man." he snapped.

Stella’s fingers curled hard at her side. "You better not do anything silly again, Adrian."

Adrian scoffed.

"Okay, ma’am. But I just did something, not silly though. If anything, what I just did isn’t irreversible. And you helped, whether you meant to or not. You’ve already given him an identity that will follow him. A Casanova who targets married women just to rip them off. That kind of label doesn’t wash off easily in any industry."

Stella’s temper snapped.

"What have you done?" she demanded.

Adrian only huffed.

"You should have seen this coming when you chose to disrespect me for a nobody." he later replied after allowing Stella to boil for a few heartbeats.

For a moment, Stella said nothing. Her fists were clenched so tightly her nails bit into her palm. The broken glass near her feet no longer mattered. When she finally spoke, her voice was colder.

"Would this end if I were seeing him when I was no longer with you?"

That made Adrian pause.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked even though he could already tell what exactly it meant.

"It means that I am calling off the wedding." Stella said flatly.

"What? No, You wouldn’t dare."

Stella ended the call immediately. Then she stood there breathing hard, fury and calculation warring under her skin. What she just said carried a lot of weight... She could already imagine how messy everything would be for both her and Adrian. She gritted her teeth, wanting to start regretting her words but she shook her head afterwards.

After a moment, she dialed Tom’s number. It rang but there was no answer.

Her thumb hovered for half a second before she called John Warren instead. He picked immediately.

"Where is your boss?" Stella asked without preamble. "What has he been doing this morning?"

John answered carefully. This kind of scenario had been addressed while he was getting interviewed. If Stella needed information about the person he was employed for, he provided it without any hesitation or holding back.

"He went out for a jog earlier, then stopped midway when he received a call. He came back looking upset. After that, he left for the club site."

"And now?" Stella asked further.

"He’s at a private suite in the city. Meeting someone."

Stella’s frown deepened at that information. A sharp, unwanted pang moved through her chest before she could stop it.

"Who?" The question left her mouth too quickly but she caught herself before John could reply.

"Continue your work," she said tightly, and ended the call.

She swallowed hard, then dialed Tom again. The line rang against her ear while her mind turned over every possible answer she did not want.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Tom still had not checked his phone.

He and Josie were still inside the boardroom. The sex had ended, and Josie had already pulled her skirt back into place with more composure than her body still possessed, but she had not left the table. She sat on the edge of it now, one hand curled into the front of Tom’s shirt, drawing him closer while she spoke against his ear in a low, satisfied voice.

She told him how good he had made her feel. How long it had been since anyone had touched her like that.

How completely he had emptied the tension out of her body.

Tom did not interrupt her. He let her say everything she needed to say. The phone in his pocket vibrated first, then again, but he left it alone. Breaking this moment for a screen felt wrong.

Only after she had finished did he straighten slightly and call the reception to send up refreshments. Then he guided Josie out of the boardroom and into a quieter adjoining room.

"You should lay in bed and relax for a while. You need to settle before you go back to work." he told her warmly.

Josie looked at him for a moment, a softer feeling moving behind her usual control. The aftercare impressed her more than she expected. Most men took what they wanted and considered the rest unnecessary. Tom had not and she liked that.

She sat as instructed, accepted the water when it came, ate some fruits and let the quiet stretch between them without forcing conversation. For a woman like Josie, that kind of ease after sex was rarer than the sex itself.

~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, they left the suite together.

Josie walked beside him with her usual posture restored, though her eyes still carried the aftermath of what had happened upstairs.

They were almost at the car when Tom’s movement slowed.

Someone was already waiting... For him.

Stella stood elegantly by her parked car. Her gaze moved from his face to Josie, then back again and a scowl made its way onto her elegant face, marring the elegance immediately.

"You’re cheating on me?"