Eve's POV
When I had seen Adam, I'd prayed for the earth to open up and swallow me. And like always, my prayers were unanswered. It had been so uncomfortable listening to Tom as he spoke to me while Golden glared daggers at me.
The shock in his eyes when Tom had introduced me as his wife had been evident. To me at least. Tom, however, seemed oblivious as usual, he was rather focused on glaring at me as well.
I knew it was a dumb idea to bring food for a man who didn't give a shit about me. He seemed quite annoyed with me. And that I was used to. What I wasn't used to was him calling me pet names. When he had called me honey, I could swear that my stomach dropped in fear.
I had messed up. That was the only thing I could deduce from his hard gaze when he beckoned for me to come closer. I never should have left the house. The
Eve's POVI wiped my eyes with my sleeve, staring at the mirror before me. Bloodshot eyes stared back at me. I was exactly what I was before I met Adam.A shell of myself.I had to leave. If I stayed here any longer, they could finish their meeting and either Tom or Adam would see me eventually. I didn't want to deal with either of them.Not now. Not yet.So I walked out of the bathroom and found my way out of Harrison and co. And then I kept walking.New York streets teemed with people. Young, old, great, or small. Years ago in high school, my friends and I would talk about walking the streets of New York, holding cups of cappuccinos and sipping from them while laughing wildly at nothing.For us, New York was the dream. It was the goal. And I
TOM’S POVI glared at the door after Eve had closed it. What the hell had happened? One minute, I was right in the middle of convincing Mr Stone to invest in the casino and I could swear that I almost had him. He seemed interested. Okay, scratch that, he was interested. I had seen the gears in his mind rotating and rolling trying to figure out what to do and what not, but he was interested. He would not be considering it if my idea didn't have merit.And Eve just had to barge in.Oh, I was furious when she did. Shocked too. Some nerve she had, leaving the house under the stupid pretense of wanting to bring my lunch. Why had she left the house when the driver wasn’t around to drive her? I had asked him to take the car to the car wash that morning. She knew the rules. She could not go anywhere unless her driver was around.And what was the damned security guard looking at when she left? I had told him ex
Adam's POVHarrison must have said something in reply when I asked us to reschedule. I didn't hear him. I couldn't hear zilch over the loud thudding in my chest. I was confused. It felt like a fog had settled on my head making it feel heavy and off balance and there was nothing I could do about it.Eve.I walked out of Harrison's office quickly, a part of me desperately hoping that she would be around. She had to be waiting for her husband right? The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth but I still looked around the area when I stepped out of Tom's office.His secretary smiled up at me and rose to her feet, batting her lashes. "You're done, Mr Stone? I trust everything went as you expected?"Fuck no, it didn't, I wanted to tell her. The urge to laugh at how much of a dumbass I was was strong. I gave her a brisk no
Madeline's POV"Is it done?"I caressed the long spine of my wine glass with my fingers, waiting for the answer I had expected all day. The red liquid in my cup sloshed around slightly as I lifted it to my lips. I pressed my phone tighter against my ear with my other hand, hating the suspense yet loving it all the same."Yes. It is done" came a deep mischievous voice after what seemed like forever.A smirk played on my lips and I ended the call, tossing the phone on my table.Wonderful. Everything was wonderful!I tipped my glass up and took a long slow sip of my wine. A sigh of satisfaction slipped from my lips as I swallowed, savoring the taste."This has to be the best Merlot there is," I murmured, taking another sip.Everything was going according
TOM'S POVHe was gone.The bastard was gone.He'd stood right up like the pompous ass he was and just walked out.Fury burned through my veins and I trembled, grinding my teeth hard against each other. How dare he?! I had worked my ass off to get this meeting with him! I had done everything! A year!"A whole damned year!" I bellowed, hurling the laptop on my desk at the wall. It crashed against the wall but it did nothing to quell the anger that frothed inside me."What the hell happened?!" I growled, tossing the stack of papers to the ground and stomping on them. "Everything was going fine! I had him! I swear I had him! How could he just leave?!"With a yell, I drove everything on my desk to the ground, stomping on them, rage blinding
Eve's POVI hissed as I rubbed my concealer over the rest of the bruises on my face. There were too many of them and though the concealer tried to make them look less gory, there was only so much it could do.It had been two days since Tom's rampage. Our bedroom had been cleaned up the day before, and it looked like nothing had happened. I ached for someone to clean up my heart too. And my mind. And everything else so I could forget. I wanted to live as if nothing had happened too.But how could I? Every blow to the face, every belt whip against my arms and sides, every kick, every toss against the wall. My whole body screamed in agony even at the slightest movements. I could never forget.My eyes glistened at the thought and I blinked rapidly. I could not afford to ruin my makeup with tears. I had to get on with Tom's assignment quickly or by the time he c
Eve's POVI hadn't expected him to sound so... Terrified. It would seem my concealer did nothing to hide the markings on my face. Was that why Sasha and her Colleagues had been looking at me weird? Could everyone see the bruises?Adam walked round his table with long hurried strides until he stood mere inches before me. He raised his hand to hold my face but caught himself just in time and snapped it back."Eve," He whispered, "What the hell happened?"For the umpteenth time that day, I fought the urge to cry. Why did he sound so concerned? He shouldn't be concerned about me! I had hurt him! I had lied to him! I hadn't told him the full truth and yet he was so nice, it was hard to watch.I gave him a weak smile, one I knew didn't amount to anything but I couldn't help it. What was I supposed to tell him? That Tom dealt with me like this regularly? Th
Adam's POVThe workload never seemed to decrease. I had sent half of my mornings, signing and scribbling in documents and going through proposals from teams in the HQ and from other branches. I had plans to establish two more branches in Europe and while Paris was thriving well, I had been trying to figure out a way to establish on German soil.But that would mean making a deal with a German investor and those guys were quite tough to crack. I wasn't worried though. I was certain that with proper planning, and the right tools, even the hardest nut would get cracked.Mother had called that morning too, saying something about me having to meet Madeline and of course I had refused. I wanted nothing to do with that bitch ever again. She ought to be grateful that I hadn't had her thrown in jail for what she did to me. Instead she had befriended my mother, conniving with her.I shou