Two a.m.?
He checked his phone in disbelief. He’d arrived a little after eight. How had so much time passed?
A cold, heavy feeling settled in his chest. He muttered a quick goodbye and hung up.
Khloe still hadn’t replied to his messages. When he tried calling her, the phone went straight to voicemail.
Anger, hot and sudden, surged through him. He slammed the car into gear and drove straight home.
Angela was waiting for him, but when he glanced toward Khloe’s room, the door was shut, no light from beneath
Had she stood him up? Left him waiting out there for nearly six hours?
Trey ripped at his tie in frustration, kicked off his shoes, and stormed toward her room. Just as he reached for the doorknob, Angela caught his wrist.
“Trey, what are you doing? That’s Khloe’s room,” she whispered, her voice tense.
They had always kept separate rooms. For him to charge into Khloe’s room this late-and in front of her-was crossing a line.
Her questioning look brought him back to his senses. She was right. Khloe was probably asleep. Any confrontation could wait until morning.
He let out a steadying breath and allowed Angela to lead him away.
Back in her room, it all came pouring out. He told her everything.
A part of Angela had feared his distraction meant he was developing feelings for Khloe. Hearing the truth, a wave of relief washed over her.
“She’s never done anything like this to me before.”
His voice was low, thick with a rare and genuine hurt. For the first time, he felt the sting of being disregarded by a woman. Even when he’d pursued Angela, his success had always felt inevitable.
“Now you see?” Angela’s voice was soft, almost a purr. “Women only become spoiled when they’re indulged. You’ve treated Khloe too well all these years. Now she takes your affection for granted and thinks she’s above the Fox family’s rules.”
She handed him a glass of water and sat beside him, her fingers gently kneading the tension from his shoulders.
Trey covered her hand with his, but his gaze was distant. “Khloe isn’t like that.”
Even after she had played him for a fool, he couldn’t bring himself to believe she was truly calculating. In his mind, this was just a tantrum-a sign that she cared.
Ever since Angela had moved in, her been harsher than usual.
Khloe paid Khloe less attention. And today, with his sister involved, his tone had
Listening to him, Angela’s heart tightened. Even now, he was still making excuses for Khloe.
“Trey,” she whispered, her eyes narrowing slightly, “don’t tell me you’ve actually fallen for her?”
“Why are you saying this again?”
Trey turned back and pulled Angela into his arms. “If I had feelings for her, I wouldn’t have married you and had Pete with you. But right now, Khloe has to be kept in check. We can’t handle any more instability right now.”
Angela fell silent. She understood the pressure he was under. Even if he had developed some attachment to Khloe, now was not the time to press the issue. She had to be the understanding one.
The next morning, Trey was up early. He’d barely slept, his mind churning over Khloe.
At the first light of dawn, he headed for her room, but his phone rang before he could get there.
He answered, his voice rough with fatigue and tension. “You didn’t come home last night?”
“Mhm. Drank too much with a client. Stayed at a hotel.”
Khloe’s voice held not a shred of apology, only the cool detachment of someone just waking up. “Did I keep you waiting?”
Trey froze. All the restless anxiety that had plagued him all night suddenly felt like a pathetic joke. “You stood me up for this?”!
“Not just that,” she continued, utterly unfazed. “I’m thinking of taking a few days off. I need a break.”
His voice shot up. “Time off? Do you have any idea what’s going on right now? The company just lost a major project! This is the critical moment to recover, and you-“
“I’ve been working nonstop under unbearable pressure. I’m not feeling well,” she interrupted, her tone sharp and cold. “Or is the company going to collapse without me?”
She didn’t give him a chance to respond. “Yesterday, while our assistant was shoving documents at me to sign, I was in the middle of negotiating a multi-million dollar compensation deal with a client. I didn’t have a second to breathe. And then? Your mom called me over and over, demanding I drop everything to cook for Alicia because she only likes my food.”
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.