Her voice was soft, her fingers intertwined with Colton’s as if claiming him as her own. “But we’re truly in love.”
Allison propped her chin on her hand and asked, “So?”
It seemed to throw them for a loop; Colton looked taken aback by Allison’s calm indifference. He drew Melany closer, wrapping his arms around her.
“So stop playing these games to get my attention. I don’t know how you managed to cozy up to Rebecca or find me here, but this charade ends now!”
Allison let out a laugh.
“Games? Let’s not forget that I have already agreed to meet you in the courthouse and prepared divorce documents. No matter how low I might sink, I wouldn’t stoop to going back to someone I dumped.”
Her words were sharp, with an unmistakable edge. After all, Melany had vanished on her wedding day, fleeing abroad with a note claiming her parents had forced her to. Then, as if by magic, she reappeared just as the Stevens Group was on the rise. The timing was just too perfect.
Melany’s expression wavered, but she quickly masked it with a sorrowful face, her eyes welling up. “Colton, I was forced back then.”
But Colton wasn’t really there. His mind wandered, his gaze locked onto Allison like a moth to a flame.
Her demeanor remained aloof, yet her smile was a burst of sunlight. It was a side of her he’d never glimpsed before – Allison, a rose with thorns, alluring yet perilous, leaving him feeling… rattled.
“Don’t forget to go to the courthouse tomorrow morning,” Colton said, his eyes still fixed on Allison, searching for even a flicker of regret in her expression.
But there was none. The love and longing that once burned for him had morphed into icy indifference.
“Sure thing. Just remember to keep your promise, Mr. Stevens,” Allison responded with a nod.
She’d faced her share of heartbreak and disillusionment. But after weathering the storm so many times, she’d learned to rise above it, treating it like a fleeting nightmare.
And now, it was time to wake up.
Colton felt unsettled. He couldn’t fathom her cold indifference.
“By the way, Grandpa’s being discharged from the hospital the day after tomorrow. He insists on seeing you.”
Allison took a leisurely sip of her drink. “Oh? Anything else?”
The subtext was clear – if there was more to say, spit it out now. Otherwise, it’d be best to leave!
Colton fell silent, his frustration evident.
Melany, sensing his irritation, spoke up softly. “There’s nothing more, but I understand it’s hard to let go. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble to show up. You see, Colton and I genuinely care for each other, so I hope you’ll bless us. And perhaps you could grace us with your presence at the wedding.”
Allison saw right through Melany’s thinly veiled motive. Melany, aware of her tenuous hold, wanted to extend an olive branch to Allison, the ex-wife, to appear magnanimous.
But Allison had already repaid whatever debts she owed and had no reason to endure any further discomfort.
“There are plenty of fish in the sea, Miss Johnson. Though it seems like you’re clinging to this one,” Allison said as she rose, a sardonic grin curling her lips.
“As for the wedding, I’ll pass. I wouldn’t want anyone saying the ex-wife turned into the other woman. That would be a bit of a pickle for Mr. Stevens.”
She tipped her glass, letting the drink spill freely onto the floor.
“Oh, and best of luck. May you two enjoy a lifetime of-“
Colton’s face flushed with anger. “Don’t come crying to me later!”
With that, he stormed off, Melany trailing behind him. Allison headed straight for the VIP area to change for the evening’s affair.
But as soon as she closed the door behind her, a gun was pressed against her side in the darkness.
“Don’t make a sound!”
Allison remained perfectly still, her calm only growing in the shadows.
She couldn’t see his face, but the tense muscles in his arm and the heat radiating from his body spoke volumes about his danger.
Without a hint of fear, she said softly, “Your hand is trembling.”
“You’re not afraid of much, are you?”
The man stood there, exuding a cold, menacing aura. Allison didn’t flinch, though her right hand was already coiling with the subtle force she’d perfected over years. It had been a while since she’d tasted this kind of life-or-death tension. The lull in her days had almost made her forget what it felt like.
Outside, the pounding of hurried footsteps echoed, closing in fast.
“Find him! We used Shadow’s latest. That stuff could knock out a whole squad. He’s not getting far. Move it, before sunrise!”
Allison’s mind worked quickly. So, he was drugged.
As the footsteps faded, the gun pressing into her side began to tremble. His hand was barely steady, the grip weakening by the second.
“I’m not in the habit of meddling. I’ll act like I never saw anything tonight.”
Her voice was steady even as a gun dug into her waist. “And if you don’t want that wound festering, you’d better hit a hospital soon.”
Though she couldn’t see clearly in the dark, her keen senses picked up the sharp tang of blood in the air. But his voice, though strained, was ice cold. “Keep running your mouth, and you won’t live to regret it.”
There was a rasp to his words, deep and magnetic, but fraying at the edges, likely from the drug seeping into his system. The tremor in his voice was so slight that it was nearly lost in the tension.
Allison’s lips curled into a smirk. “Sure thing.”
Her fingers clenched into a fist, calculating.
Kellan, on the other hand, was grappling with the fire raging in his veins.
His eyelids fluttered as he fought to control his breathing. From where he stood, he could just make out a sliver of her neck, pale and delicate, as if a single twist could break it.
And yet, she stood there so calmly, as if she were the one holding the upper hand-smiling, even!
The drug was stronger than he’d thought. His vision swam, but the sharp scent of plum cut through the haze, briefly clearing his mind.
That moment was all Allison needed.
Crack!
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.