Breaking The Rules

Chapter 15

“I told you, I was just changing the settings because I’ve been so scattered lately,” I lied, forcing myself to hold his gaze even though every instinct screamed at me to look away. I couldn't blink, couldn't flinch. A single micro-expression of guilt would blow the entire facade wide open. “With the firm collapsing, the media breathing down our necks, and everything else . . . I just wanted some privacy. Is it a crime to want a little bit of personal space?”

It was a defensive gamble, turning the suspicion back onto his invasion of my boundaries.

Tony stared at me for another agonizing, heartbeat-stretching second. The silence in the bedroom was so thick I could hear the faint, rhythmic whir of the ceiling fan overhead. Finally, his rigid shoulders dropped an inch. He brought the phone up, swiped over to the weather app to check the radar, let out a heavy, bone-weary sigh, and tossed the phone onto the nightstand.

“I’m sorry,” Tony muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose as the anger drained out of him, leaving behind only the crushing weight of his defeat. He reached out, his warm hand awkwardly brushing against my arm. “I’m just . . . I’m losing my mind, Sandra. Every time my phone rings, I feel like the floor is dropping out from under us. I didn't mean to interrogate you.”

I swallowed hard past the burning lump in my throat, forcing myself to nod and lean into his touch. “I know, Tony. I know. We’re both exhausted.”

“By the way, what were you doing awake?” he asked suddenly, glancing back at me.

I racked my brain to pull together a quick answer.

“Deborah texted earlier about the funding,” I said, making a subtle move toward the phone. “She said her contact is ready to release the cashier's check tomorrow morning. She sent over the meeting address, I can show you if you want.”

Deep down, I prayed he wouldn't ask to see it, because there was no address from Deborah.

“No, no. It’s fine,” Tony said softly, shaking his head. “Why does her contact want to meet you in person, though?”

“Deborah has a morning shift at the hospital, so she asked me to go handle the pickup,” I lied again, the words slipping out with terrifying ease. “She said she had already cleared it with the lady.”

“That means you should get an early start tomorrow,” Tony suggested, pulling the covers back up.

“Yes, exactly. I need to leave before 7:00 AM. Her contact has an appointment at noon.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. Come here, baby.” He pulled me gently against his chest, wrapping his arms around me in a tight, desperate embrace. He held me as if I were his only anchor left in a violent storm, the one thing keeping him from drowning.

And as I lay there in the dark, resting my cheek against his shoulder while silent, scalding tears soaked into his pajama shirt, the horrific irony of my reality shattered me from the inside out. He was holding onto me for safety, completely unaware that the price of his salvation was the utter destruction of everything I was.

******

Before 6:30 AM the next morning, I was ready to leave. The plan was for Tony to meet with the media, pay the $1 million deposit so they could start preparing the release, and once Harrison transferred the funds, I would call Tony, so the press could finalize everything. We only had today and tomorrow to fix everything. Tony had hired the most influential PR firm available, expensive, but they guaranteed the fastest turnaround.

Minutes later, while most of the city remained quiet in the early morning darkness, I arrived at Crown Perth and made my way up to room 612. Every step down the corridor made my heart beat faster.

I shouldn't have been there. I knew it. This wasn't the kind of meeting anyone had in broad daylight. Too many eyes. Too many questions. But desperation had pushed me past every boundary I used to hold.

When I entered the private suite where Harrison was waiting, I found him sitting comfortably, looking as though he had all the time in the world. I stopped several feet away. I still couldn't believe I was actually standing there.

Harrison was an influential figure, wealthy, distinguished, and powerful. Politicians sought his backing; corporate executives valued his word. He was accustomed to getting whatever he wanted. And for years, I had been one of the few women who had consistently refused him.

Until today.

Harrison looked up at me. I immediately broke eye contact.

"I'm not doing this because of love," I said quietly, the words feeling heavy on my tongue.

Harrison leaned back. "You know you shouldn't do anything you don't want to do, Sandra."

I swallowed hard. "We need the money urgently. My husband needs it to clear his company's name in the media. If you lend us the two million, we'll pay you back."

Harrison studied me for a long moment, then let out a small, humorless smile. "You know, I keep wondering . . . what are you still doing with a man who can't even secure two million dollars when everything is on the line?"

My eyes hardened. "Tony isn't just a man who's short on capital."

"Then what is he?"

"My husband."

Harrison raised an eyebrow.

"I love him," I said firmly. "That should be enough of a reason."

"And yet, here you are."

I fell silent. The words stung because of their truth. I had come to him, not because I wanted to, but because Tony had no other way out.

"Tony is a good man to me," I finally said.

Harrison's gaze remained fixed on me. "And what am I?"

My lips parted, but no answer came. I looked away. Harrison gave a low, quiet laugh that made my stomach turn.

He had the kind of authority and wealth that commanded rooms, but none of it mattered to me. Harrison wasn't Tony. He never would be. Tony was the man I chose, the man I loved. Yet here I was, standing in Harrison's hotel room because desperation had stripped away my choices.

Harrison cleared his throat, cutting through my thoughts. "You're wasting time," he said calmly.

I straightened my posture. "I'm sorry." I looked down at my hands, remembering Tony's exhausted face from hours earlier, the panic in his eyes, the papers strewn across the bed. I couldn't go back home empty-handed. "No one can ever hear about this," I added, my voice tight.

Harrison didn't hesitate. "Deal."

My heart pounded. I pointed toward the bathroom door. "I'll just freshen up first."

Without waiting for his answer, I slipped inside and closed the door. The moment the latch clicked, I leaned back against the wood and shut my eyes, my breathing coming fast and uneven.

I stared at myself in the mirror, barely recognizing the pale woman staring back at me. What was I doing? I knew Tony trusted me completely. I knew the line I was about to cross.

A sharp knock sounded against the bathroom door, shattering the quiet.

"Sandra?" Harrison's voice came through the door.

I took a deep breath before opening it.

As Harrison stood face to face with me, naked, without anything on, his gaze locked onto mine with quiet, predatory triumph, my mind wandered.

He's muscular, but I didn't know that applied to his third leg too. He's 60 times bigger than my husband; I found my lips parting.

“Look at you," he rasped, holding out a hand. Come here”.

I stared blankly at him as my heart hammered against my ribs.

I almost lost my mind when his hard fingers touched my cl**t. Surprisingly, I'm dripping.

No, no, this isn't right.

The room felt suddenly freezing, the light far too bright.

And then, everything went blank.