Breaking The Rules

Chapter 16

I woke to a gentle tapping on my cheek.

“Seems my baby is exhausted,” Harrison said, a knowing smile playing on his face.

“And what’s so funny?” I asked, weariness lacing my voice.

“I’m sorry about that,” he winked. “But you enjoyed every bit of it.”

I rolled my eyes weakly and turned on the bed, my body aching. A sharp, throbbing pain in my core made me wince as I moved.

“Still sore? Let me see,” Harrison offered, shifting closer.

“Just transfer the money so I can get out of here,” I replied flatly.

Harrison laughed out loud.

“What’s so funny?” I frowned at him.

“Sorry, it’s just the way you said it. Come on, let me see,” he said, setting down the phone he had been scrolling through and climbing back onto the bed.

I immediately shifted away from him.

“You don’t have to do that, you know,” he said, chuckling softly.

“You know we still have to handle the press today, right?” I asked, my voice rising with impatience.

At that exact moment, his phone beeped on the nightstand. We both turned to look at the screen.

The digital clock read 12:45 PM.

What the f**k!

My heart dropped into my stomach. I couldn’t believe I had spent half the day trapped in this room.

I scrambled out of bed and rushed into the bathroom. When I came back out, I grabbed my phone from the vanity and saw a barrage of missed calls and unread text messages from both Tony and Deborah.

Deborah had worked the night shift yesterday; she must have been calling because I promised to explain everything to her. And Tony? By now, I was supposed to have deposited the cashier's check and transferred the funds directly into his corporate account.

Shit! I cursed under my breath.

I pulled my clothes hastily, snatched my handbag, and caught a glimpse of myself in the full-length mirror. My hair was disheveled, my clothes rumpled, and my eyes wide with panic. I quickly smoothed down my hair and turned toward Harrison.

“I’m leaving. I’ll text you later,” I said, my words tumbling out in a rush.

“Text me the bank details,” he replied calmly. “You’ll have the funds in the account before you even get home.”

“Thank you,” I murmured.

With trembling fingers, I opened my messaging app, located his contact thread from last night, and pasted the account details.

“I’ve sent it,” I said.

He looked down at his screen and nodded.

The transaction was set. The money would be sitting in Tony’s account within minutes, allowing him to sort out the firm's legal mess, secure the contracts, and stabilize everything.

Yet, instead of relief, an unbearable heaviness settled over my chest.

A quiet chime echoed from my phone. A single system notification blinked back at me: Sent.

The message came directly from Harrison, but it brought me zero joy. The money felt filthy, carrying a price far greater than its monetary value. No matter how desperately we needed it, I knew I had crossed a boundary I could never return from.

Tears burned the backs of my eyes as crushing guilt tightened its grip around my heart. I loved Tony more than life itself, and the horrific reality of what I had just done shattered me from the inside out. If he ever discovered the truth, it would instantly destroy our marriage and everything we had built together.

I took a slow, shuddering breath and wiped away the tears before they could fall. I made myself a silent vow right then and there: No matter what happens, this burden remains mine alone.

It was a secret I would carry to my grave, buried so deeply that no one, especially Tony, would ever know the true cost of his salvation.

Desperate to escape, I turned and rushed out of the hotel suite. My head was spinning so violently with guilt that as I stepped into the carpeted corridor, I slammed directly into someone walking past.

"I'm so sorry," I muttered instinctively, my voice barely a whisper.

Without lifting my head, I quickly sidestepped him and kept moving, my only instinct being to put as much distance as possible between myself and that room. In my blind panic, I never once looked up at the face of the man I had just bumped into.

It was Lucas.

I had chosen Crown Perth for one reason: it was far enough outside our city that I believed no one we knew would ever cross my path. I had calculated every variable, convinced that distance would protect me from watchful eyes. The absolute last person on earth I expected to run into was Lucas.

Had I looked up for even a split second, I would have recognized him immediately. But guilt had stolen my composure, and fear kept my eyes glued to the floor. Oblivious to the fact that fate had just placed someone from our inner circle directly outside the door, I hurried down the hallway toward the elevators, leaving Lucas standing frozen in the corridor, staring after me in quiet bewilderment.

—

Lucas’s POV

What is Sandra doing here? I asked myself, watching her shadow vanish around the corner.

Curiosity quickly got the better of me. Every instinct screamed at me to mind my own business and walk away, but a nagging suspicion refused to let me move.

Glancing down the quiet hallway to ensure no guests or hotel staff were watching, I reached for the brass handle of the room she stepped out from and slowly pushed the door open.

The suite was dead silent.

My eyes immediately landed on a man who was lounging lazily across the unmade bed, his dress shirt discarded carelessly over a nearby chair.

The sight made me freeze. My heart skipped a beat as the horrific timeline of events clicked together in my head.

Without waiting another second, I quietly pulled the door shut, locking it as swiftly as I had opened it. I leaned back against the wall of the corridor, my mind racing out of control.

The woman who had just bolted out of that suite . . . could it really have been Sandra?

The idea felt absurd. I shook my head, trying desperately to dismiss the thought. Surely there had to be a logical explanation. And yet, the image of the woman lowering her face as she practically fled past me burned into my memory.

I hadn't planned for any of this. I had traveled to Crown Perth for a straightforward, three-day corporate conference. Once the final negotiations wrapped up, I intended to catch an evening flight back home and return to my regular routine. The last thing I ever expected was to stumble upon a secret capable of destroying a marriage.

I let out a low breath, replaying the collision in my head. Sandra hadn't looked at me, not even for a fraction of a second. Her head had been tucked down, and she had moved with the frantic energy of someone running from a crime scene.

That realization offered a tiny sliver of relief. She didn't see me, I realized.

At least that meant she had no reason to suspect I was standing right outside. If fate was merciful, she would leave Perth believing her secret was safely buried.

But I wasn't sure I could carry it.

The image of Sandra emerging from Harrison's private suite refused to leave my mind. It didn't make any sense. Tony and Sandra had always been the ideal couple, the kind of marriage people looked up to. Never in a million years would I have associated Sandra with a scandal like this.

"There has to be another explanation," I muttered under my breath.

Yet the evidence was staring me right in the face.

I slipped my hands into my suit pockets and began walking slowly toward my room, my thoughts in complete disarray. I hadn't come to Perth looking for trouble, but somehow, trouble had found me.

And now I was left holding a truth that could either stay buried forever . . . or completely annihilate my best friend's life.