"ANY problems you encountered while I was gone?"
Ethan posed the question to his wife as a way to begin a normal conversation. He wanted her to chat with him and share things with him the way a normal partner would in the morning, trading inquiries and such.
"Nothing happened," she simply replied and swallowed a spoonful of bacon and eggs.
His lips curled as he locked his gaze on Michelle. He'd love to figure out what's going on in her head right now if he could only read her mind. Ethan could hardly focus when he looked at his wife, who seemed to have extra time to dress up in an oozing way—wearing makeup and a head-turning office dress.
He was merely too shy to admit that he had assumed this was her way of welcoming him after his business trip. But, who was he kidding, though? He knew Michelle would never act in that manner, though the idea made his palm twitch and the ticklish desire traveled down to his groin, making him need her in the morning.
SHE WIPED her sweaty palms against the side of her skirt. For some reason, she was so nervous, thinking that she had done something wrong in her work. She was trying to recall whether she had submitted an unfinished report or forgot to add something to it that might have caused her husband to be so mad. But for Pete’s sake, she was all too aware that she had double-checked every report she made prior to submitting it.Walking into his office, Michelle felt the coldness of the place. Ethan gave her an intimidating stare, which doubled the nervousness she was feeling at the time."What’s happening?" she asked carefully. Her voice was almost like a whisper.His expression darkened. Inhaling sharply, he tossed the tablet on the table and motioned for her to read the article on its screen. She swallowed the lump in her throat, walked up to his desk, and took the tablet.Shit, she cursed in her mind.Her eyes widened upon reading the exact desc
ETHAN was ignoring her on their way to his parents’ house. Michelle was silent the whole time, as she felt like she was in deep shit at the time. She took a quick glance at him, and from the corner of his eye, she saw his cold expression.She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling so guilty about what happened. She then focused on her other side, where she could see the streets they passed by. Along with the guilt was the anxiety that made her lose her mind. They were visiting his parents, and she had a hunch that they would talk about the issue she was in.By the time they arrived at his parents’ place, Ethan still hadn’t spoken any words. He was making her feel as if she was totally invincible. That made her emotions well up more."Ethan..." she called for him the moment they got out of the car.Ethan did not even give her a stare. He only stopped and fixed his coat."Ethan, I’m—""Save it," he said in his deep tone
SHE FELT Ethan was holding her hand tight, and it was something that made her heart rate pick up at the time. From Jacob, her eyes glanced at her husband. When she saw how Ethan looked at his older brother with such hate and disdain, it made her eyebrows twitch."What are you doing here?" Ethan asked. It was evident in his voice that he didn’t like Jacob’s presence in the house, and Michelle shuddered at her husband’s ruthlessness.She wanted to call Ethan’s name and probably to call him out for his rude behavior, but she knew at this point that it was useless given their current situation. The only thing she wanted was to clear her name and move on... though she was all too aware it might take time for the people around her, including the media, to move on from this rumor."I want to clear our names. That’s why I came here," Jacob answered."Hell yeah," Ethan said sarcastically, and then exhaled, still giving his older broth
THE deafening silence engulfed both of them. Michelle looked at him intently, while Ethan only took a quick glance at her before he gazed back at the road.It took a minute before Michelle finally realized that Ethan had ignored what she had just said. She let out a sigh of defeat. She thought that they were already cool because he already believed and defended her from his parents.She assumed that he finally realized that he thought low of her at some point and did not trust her enough. That’s why she asked for an apology, but then, she felt so wrong once again; so wrong to assume that somehow he would realize that she deserved his sincere apology because of what he made her feel."Never mind," she said, feeling the pang of pain inside her chest as she turned to the window next to her."Michelle," Ethan called her name, sounding as if it was the most beautiful name in the whole world."I shouldn’t have said that. Pretend that I did no
"ALRIGHT...."Michelle could not seem to figure out why it was needed for her to treat Ethan as if he was her true boyfriend, but if it could help strengthen their relationship as partners bound by the contract they signed and would lessen his parents’ suspicion, if there was any, then she would cooperate.Though she had no idea how to act as a woman who had a boyfriend or in love or whatsoever.Their eyes were still locked, and the longer she looked at him, the more her heartbeat intensified. Behind his marble gray eyes, Michelle glimpsed a spark of something that sent an unfamiliar warmth curling through her stomach."I... I mean, I can’t resist that. If that’s what will make our lives easier," she added. Her tone sounded a bit defensive and awkward.Her jaw tightened when he grinned—a boyish grin she did not expect."Those reddened cheeks look good on you, Mich."Reddened cheeks? Michelle instantly cupped he
HER EYES lingered on Ethan and Ashley that could be seen through the blind curtains. Michelle could not help but fist her hand, noticing how touchy the woman was to her husband. The woman kept leaning down in front of him to show her huge breasts that looked like about to explode in her white tube dress.“Is she a prostitute?” She winced and shook her head.She tore her gaze away and focused on her monitor to finish the report she’d been writing all day, still clenching her jaw as the unwelcomed thoughts whirled on her mind.Why the hell Ethan did not inform her about this project he was cooking with Ashley? Wasn’t she supposed to know the details of it since she was his secretary... and his wife, apparently? Those thoughts made her blood boil even more.“Michelle, are you there?” She heard the familiar voice of her husband from the intercom.Sighing, she pushed the answer button and said, “Yes, I am here.
SOMEONE smelled annoyed. Ethan found it hard to believe but that was what his instinct had been telling him. From the moment Ashley arrived in his office, he was stealing glances at his wife through the small space of blind curtains.It was pretty obvious that Michelle did not like Ashley at all. If not for the project their families had started, he would not be interacting with his ex-girlfriend. It was a great project he did not want to miss, and even if he was all too aware about Ashley’s motive to take over this project from her parents, he did not make any move to dismiss it.“So... this is the final contract.” Ashley held his arm and leaned down to the extent that her breasts became so exposed, before she handed him the folder. “Read it carefully before you sign.”“Thanks, Ash.”He did not want to embarrass her, and so he pretended that he wasn’t aware that she was seducing him and slightly removed her
THE streets were busy on their way to the office. Michelle could not seem to hide her smile, remembering how Ashley reacted when Ethan rubbed it in her face that she, his wife, had to be with him in every meeting they would do for the project they were working on.Needless to say, Michelle felt victorious. Ashley was one of the women she hated the most. The woman got into her nerves the moment she humiliated her as a human.Had she handled things differently, the situation would have been worse of all. However, she decided to stay silent, and kept the truth from Ethan for as long as she could.“Ashley will be coming over.”From the front seat, Michelle turned to him with furrowed brows.“Again?”Ethan nodded. “Yeah, we need to discuss some things about the project. You’re going to attend that meeting, too.”Michelle was grateful that Ethan was not staring at her right now. She could not help but