Chapter 10:Red vs Emerald
725 Words
*Monday, 8:04 PM. B2 Server Room.*
The door slid open.
Rose.
Red dress. Red lips. Red diamond necklace at her throat.
My necklace. The one from his wall.
Behind her, Security.
“Stand down,” Kelvin said. No look at her. Eyes on me.
Security froze.
Rose smiled. Slow.
“Hello, boyfriend”
My stomach turned.
“Ex-boyfriend,” I said. “Pending.”
Her eyes flicked to me. Top to bottom. Emerald dress. No jewelry.
“Emerald.” She laughed. “How fitting. The color of envy.”
She stepped inside. The door closed. Locked.
Now it was 3 of us. No cameras. No way out.
“Rose,” Kelvin warned.
“Shh.” She walked to the terminal. “I just came to see the girl who thinks she won you.”
She didn’t look at the screen. She looked at my hand.
Still on Kelvin’s wrist.
I didn’t let go.
“Get your hands off him,” she said. Soft.
“No.”
Rose’s smile vanished.
“You don’t know him.” She circled us. “He collects broken things, Jenna. He dated me for shares. He’s marrying you for revenge. What’s next? A pet?”
“Stop.” Kelvin’s voice was low.
“Or what?” Rose stopped in front of me. 1 foot away. “You’ll hit me? You never did.”
The air crackled.
I dropped Kelvin’s wrist.
Good.
Because this was mine.
I stepped forward. Into Rose’s space.
“You’re right,” I said. “I don’t know him.” I looked at Kelvin. “But I know you.”
Her chin lifted.
“You’re the woman who leaked board minutes and got thrown out.” I kept my voice even. “You tried to trap him. He cut you loose. And now you’re here in my house, wearing his trash.”
I reached up.
Yanked the red diamond necklace off her neck.
It snapped.
Gasps. From Security.
Rose’s hand flew to her throat.
“You—”
“I don’t wear second-hand.” I let it fall. It hit the floor. Loud.
Rose’s eyes went black.
She swung.
I caught her wrist.
We were chest to chest now. Red vs Emerald.
“You think because he won’t touch you, he wants you?” She hissed. “He brought me to board dinners. He slept in my bed. You’re just a contract.”
“Then why are you shaking?” I whispered.
Because she was.
Kelvin moved.
He didn’t touch either of us. He stood between us.
“Enough.”
Both of us looked at him.
“Rose. Leave.”
“Not until—”
“NOW.”
One word. CEO voice.
Rose flinched.
For 2 seconds, no one breathed.
Then she looked at me.
“You’ll regret this.”
She turned. The door opened.
Before she left, she stopped. Looked back at Kelvin.
“You chose her because she hates you.” Her voice cracked. “I hope she kills you.”
Door shut.
Silence.
Security left too.
Just me and him.
In a locked room.
My chest was heaving. Adrenaline. Rage.
Kelvin stared at the broken necklace on the floor.
Then at me.
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
“I did.”
He walked to me. Slow.
“Do you know what happens when you break something of mine?”
“You replace it.”
He stopped 1 inch from me.
No touch.
But I felt him.
“Wrong.” His voice was rough. “I don’t replace. I keep.”
His hand came up.
This time, he didn’t stop 1 inch away.
His thumb brushed my cheek.
Real. Warm.
I didn’t flinch.
“Why her?” I whispered. “Why me?”
“Because she wanted my name.” His thumb moved to my jaw. “You want my head.”
The machines hummed.
“Give me the drive, Kelvin.”
“No.”
“Then what?”
His eyes dropped to my lips.
Held there.
3 seconds.
4 seconds.
He stepped back.
“364 days.” He picked up the hard drive. Slid it into his pocket. “You want it? Earn it.”
He walked to the door.
Unlocked it.
“Come on, Mrs. Kelvin.”
I followed.
Because for the first time, I wasn’t sure who was hunting who.
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- Writer
