All Chapters of The Man I Shouldn't Want: A Game of Seduction & Lies: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

“They’re alive, Natalie. That’s all you need to know.”I swallow, feeling strangely deflated. I barely know anything about him, even though we’ve spent some time together. He’s like a puzzle with half the pieces missing. I want to press him for more, but the words die on my lips. The silence that settles between us feels heavy, almost uncomfortable.To divert my mind, I grab my phone and shoot a quick text to Mila, asking her what she’s doing. Her reply is rude but expected.Calendar Queen 👑: doing what I do when I’m not running around u saving ur ass.Calendar Queen 👑: living my quiet lyf. She continues typing so I wait, glancing at Ric from the corners of my vision. Calendar Queen 👑: u shouldn’t have gone alone after saying u were gonna reconnect with fam and friends. Calendar Queen 👑: I could come.I bite my lower lip as I type my reply.Me: im not alone Me: ric’s here with meMeera’s reply is swift and disapproving. Calendar Queen 👑: with Ric? r u serious? I warned u, Na

Ric reaches for my hand, his fingers slipping into mine as we stand by the large window in the kitchen overlooking the shimmering lake. “Come on,” he says, his voice insistent, and his eyes unyielding. “Guide me there.” There’s something soothing about the warmth of his palm against mine, but it also sends a flicker of unease through me that makes me sweat. My thoughts twist as I follow him out of the house and into the greenery, watching the confident way he moves, the fluidity of his steps. He’s confident, sexy even — something I’ve known since the moment I first saw him, but there’s a dangerous edge to him now that wasn’t there the first night we met. It’s no longer the kind of thrill that makes my heart race with excitement — it’s a quiet warning. ‘Be careful with your heart, Natalie,’ my mother’s voice suddenly echoes inside my mind.My heart. The very thing I trusted Mike with, only for him to leave it battered and broken. Perhaps it’s Mike’s betrayal that casts this shadow ov

I thought of all the possible things the next morning could bring as I cried myself to sleep into the pillows last night, but nothing could’ve prepared me for what actually happens.I’m woken up by the buzzing of my phone, flashing the ridiculous nickname I gave to Meera. It’s only 7 am — Ric is still asleep — and I know Meera is a night owl and not someone who can drag herself out of bed before 10. So the moment I see her name on my phone, my heart is racing. I remember the interview I read yesterday — Mike’s words, twisted horribly, painting me as the villain of our story. “Hello?” I whisper into the phone, my voice already abandoning me. Meera cuts straight to the chase. “I sent you a link. Open it,” she says. And I do. The article stares back at me from my phone screen, the words ringing a siren in my ears, as the very earth seems to have slipped from beneath my feet. “From Rising Star to Scandal Magnet: Natalie Jones’s New Mystery Man Amid Divorce Drama.”The accompanying pho

After that conversation, it’s like a wall has been built between us. Not a flimsy barrier that could be broken with a touch or a word, but a cold, unyielding wall that Ric seems unwilling to scale. He doesn’t talk to me — doesn’t even look at me. His usual, effortless confidence feels like a distant memory. Instead, he sits across from me at the breakfast table, quietly eating the meal Rose delivered in the morning. The scrape of his fork against the plate is the only sound in the room, loud enough to make me wince.I sit there, idly pushing the food around on my plate, the knots in my stomach leaving me incapable of taking even a single bite. The guilt of wasting it eventually washes over me, and I force myself to eat. The flavours that would’ve normally delighted me now taste like nothing. I swallow hard, willing the lump in my throat to disappear.A part of me is grateful for Ric’s silence. My mind is a mess, jumbled and disoriented, and I’m afraid that opening my mouth would only m

The morning air feels heavier than usual. The faint, crisp scent of the new freshener I tossed into my suitcase and brought back from the lakehouse weaves through the penthouse, momentarily distracting me as I drag myself out of bed. It’s strange how something so small, so simple, can hold my focus for longer than it should, pulling me away from the bigger, messier things weighing on my mind.I force myself to move, to start the day despite the sluggishness clinging to me like a second skin. After a quick shower and a few lazy attempts at pulling myself together, I convince myself to get ready.Just as I’m pulling out potential outfits from the walk-in closet, Maisie, the housekeeper, arrives. It’s been days since I’ve seen her, and her presence is a sharp reminder of how long I’ve let things slide. I know it’s Meera’s doing — her subtle way of ensuring the penthouse doesn’t devolve into chaos while I’m too busy to notice.Maisie moves with quiet efficiency, her footsteps soft against