“If you had even half a brain, you’d know when to stop talking,” Allison said, her voice steady but laced with razor-sharp precision. “But I suppose that’s asking too much. Keep running your mouth, and before long, the entire city will hear about how you came back from abroad just to crawl into a married man’s bed!”
Allison lifted her gaze to Melany, her expression ice-cold, and snapped a photo of her with her phone.
“A headline like, ‘Courthouse Slapdown: Mistress Gets What’s Coming!’ would definitely stir things up,” she said.
Melany let out a panicked squeal, immediately covering her face with her hands.
But when Allison casually flipped her phone toward her, Melany’s pulse began to slow-the screen was black.
“Relax,” Allison said, her lips curving into a smirk. “I wouldn’t let something that revolting taint my phone. I like to keep things clean!”
Just as Melany’s tension started to ease, Allison’s voice cut through again, smooth as glass. “But hey, don’t sweat it. There are security cameras everywhere here. They probably caught it all in perfect HD.”
At that, Melany’s frail nerves snapped under the weight of fear.
“Shut up! Colton and I are innocent!” she blurted out, her voice shaking as she held back the urge to lash out at Allison. With her anger bubbling just beneath the surface, she turned to Colton, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Even if I’ve messed up, she has no right to ruin me like this! Slapping me to let off steam is one thing, but threatening my whole reputation? That’s way out of line!”
Colton, watching Melany with her tear-streaked face, felt his heart begin to soften. His jaw clenched as he turned his glare to Allison, irritation rising to the surface.
“If you’ve got a problem, deal with me. Why are you dragging Melany into this? Honestly, I still don’t know what my grandfather ever…”
“You act all prim and proper when people are watching, but behind closed doors… you’re nothing but a…”
Before he could finish, a sharp smack rang out.
The force of Allison’s slap sent him reeling, his cheek swelling in seconds. Now, with Melany’s left cheek puffy and Colton’s right equally so, they looked like a bizarrely matched set!
Colton froze, blinking in disbelief. “You…”
“That was for all the nonsense between us,” Allison interrupted, her tone eerily composed. She pulled a tissue from her pocket and carefully wiped down each of her fingers, one by one. “Oh, and best wishes to both of you. Really. You deserve each other!”
Colton’s shock gave way to fury, his jaw clenching hard enough to grind his teeth. “Allison! Have you completely lost your mind?”
Melany stood there, just as shocked as he was. It was one thing for Allison to lose her temper, but to hit her and then slap Colton?!
No one could have imagined the normally sweet, docile woman would deliver such a blow.
The Allison who once endured everything without a word had vanished.
“Lost my mind? Well, I’ve always been like this,” Allison remarked, wiping her fingers with a wet wipe, her voice laced with sarcasm. She didn’t need much to piece it together-Melany and Colton had been entangled from the moment she’d returned to the country.
“Mr. Stevens, your grandpa’s getting discharged tomorrow. I’ll be there. But as for my invitation to Cobweb, I’ll be taking that back.”
Colton opened his mouth to respond, but Allison silenced him with a dazzling smile.
“A man as generous as you wouldn’t object, right? I mean, you don’t still have any lingering feelings for me that would stop you from letting it go, do you?”
Her challenge struck a nerve. Colton’s expression darkened.
“It’s just an intel network-full of back-alley nobodies! You think the Stevens family’s survival hangs on Cobweb? I’ll prove to you that even without it, I’ll land the biggest advertiser in Ontdale!”
His dark eyes blazed with fury, barely holding back the storm brewing beneath.
“Pack your things and be gone by tomorrow! Take every last thing that’s yours. I don’t want a trace of your filthy junk left behind.”
Allison just smiled at him again, as if his words were nothing more than background noise. She pointed to the suit he was wearing.
“But I designed that myself. If it’s as dirty as you say, shouldn’t you give it back?”
The suit had always been one of her proudest creations-flawless tailoring, ruby-studded buttons gleaming against the sleek black fabric.
Colton had worn it all this time, assuming she’d bought it somewhere fancy.
Still seething, he ripped the clothes off and tossed them at her feet with a sneer.
“Figures someone from your world wouldn’t get it. Take it all-I couldn’t care less.”
Allison caught the jacket without a word, then turned and dumped it into a nearby trash bin.
“Great.”
Colton’s face twisted in disbelief. This woman was doing it deliberately, and it was working!
Outside, a small crowd had gathered, whispering to one another as they watched the spectacle unfold.
“Is that guy some sort of kept man? Looks like they’re breaking up, and he’s giving her stuff back,” one person murmured.
“Yeah, and did you see the new girlfriend? He’s not wasting any time after the divorce,” another chimed in.
Colton’s face darkened further as their words hit home, his temper barely in check. He was on the verge of snapping when he noticed Allison driving off, her car leaving a trail of dust in its wake.
How had he missed this side of her-the fierceness lurking beneath her once-quiet demeanor?
Meanwhile, in the luxury suite aboard the Royal Princess, Kellan didn’t wake up until the sun was already high. The room still carried the faint traces of last night’s indulgence, with the bed in utter disarray.
Like a predator stirring from sleep, he lazily reached for the other side of the bed. The pillow was cold-whoever had been there was long gone. His eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint flashing briefly in their depths. He reached under the pillow and pulled out a pearl necklace, likely left behind in the hasty departure.
He turned it over in his hand-a pristine string of pearls, centered by a bold red agate gem. The piece was striking, almost untamed, much like its owner! Beneath her composed surface, there had always been something wild, something reckless.
Kellan massaged his temples, the vivid image of the woman’s lithe silhouette from the previous night still dancing on the edge of his consciousness. Her words echoed in his mind, laced with arrogance and certainty.
“I’ll be in charge!”
Even Kellan had to admit, her movements were sharp and deliberate. Although she hadn’t fought in ages, she’d still managed to injure him-a sign of the strength lurking beneath her composed exterior.
Kellan had always been drawn to danger like a moth to a flame. Whether it was the roar of engines in a race or the heavy thud of fists in the ring, he craved those moments teetering on the brink, where a split second determined everything. That high was more than just a thrill-it was an addiction.
And last night? That had been something else. A clash of equals. The kind of encounter that made his pulse race long after the dust had settled.
But what gnawed at him now was the sense that they were cut from the same cloth. They hadn’t just met by chance-they’d been pulled into each other’s orbit, as if guided by some unseen force.
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.