He Chose His Moonlight, I Chose My New Life

Chapter 2

Oh, so he actually knows his behavior was pretty unclassy? Go figure. I never bothered to pick fights with him over stupid stuff anyway.

"Looks like you've got things to handle. I'll get out of your hair."

I bailed right then and there, not even glancing back. Perfect timing, honestly. I had plans of my own.

I didn't even notice the annoyed little scowl Landon shot my way as I left. Once he peeled off in his car, I pulled out my phone, shot over my location, and tapped out a quick message.

Tiffany: Come pick me up.

The bar's dance floor was chaotic, the bass thumping so hard it vibrated in my bones, and nobody knew who I was. I was dancing my ass off, having the time of my life.

After a few drinks though, my stomach flipped hard, and I had to sprint to the bathroom, heaving dry for ages over the sink.

'Ugh, my tolerance wasn't this garbage, right?'

On my way back to my private booth, I caught my name drifting out from one of the other rooms down the hall.

"That Tiffany sure has a lot of patience, huh? You married her just to have a trophy wife, and she's been camped out at your place for three whole years without even a peep. Wild, man."

Were they talking s**t about me?

I froze immediately, ears perked up like a cat spotting a laser pointer, and zeroed in on the exact booth the voices were coming from.

"Her silly little schemes aren't even worth my attention. She actually thinks she can lock down the Mrs. Jensen spot? Pfft, as if. I'd never like her in a million years."

'Wait, wasn't that my husband? The guy I'd been married to for three years, but barely knew at all?'

"If you ask me, it's high time you got a divorce. You're the CEO of Jensen Corporation now, for crying out loud, can't you even decide your own marriage?"

'Oh right, I forgot. He was officially taking the position tomorrow.'

"Exactly! Tiffany has been hogging the title for three years. It's time to give it back to Scarlet."

'Preach, I couldn't agree more!'

There was a long, heavy silence after that.

Wait, did I suddenly go deaf?

Nope, there we go.

He finally spoke, "She's got nowhere else to go right now, so she's leeching off me. I'm actually worried that if I bring up divorce, she'll run her mouth to the press and tank my family's reputation."

'Me? Leeching off him?'

"You've been feeding and housing her for three years for free. You've more than done your part, after all. Just tell the public you two never had any feelings for each other. That's totally normal, right?"

A chorus of voices piped up agreeing with that take.

Right before I turned to leave, I heard Landon mumble, "We'll see."

I headed back to my own booth.

The guy sitting in the shadows, his voice soft and warm as he asked, "What took you so long? Are you feeling sick?"

"I'm fine. I just haven't drunk in forever, so my stomach's being weird about it."

I walked over and dropped my head on his shoulder, a wave of calm washing over me. I'd lost so much in my life, but thank God he was still here.

It was past one in the morning when I got back to the private villa. I flipped on the living room light and jumped out of my skin.

What was Landon doing sitting in the dark like a total creep? And he was wearing such a hostile scowl, I could practically feel the cold air rolling off him.

"Well, would you look at that? You're even later than I am."

Oh, real cute. Who is he being snarky with?

Like I always did, I kept my tone careful and gentle as I asked, "Didn't I bother you?"

I had no idea that a simple question would strike a nerve and make him snap out of nowhere.

"Can you at least act like a proper wife? What kind of wealthy wife gets home in the middle of the night reeking of alcohol like you do?"

Huh? Act like a wife? That was such a wild thing to say out of nowhere. Other than that stupid marriage certificate, we were basically total strangers.

His remark was so absurd it left me temporarily speechless. I just fell back on old habit, staring up at him with wide, innocent eyes that held a faint touch of timidity.

Landon realized he was being totally irrational too. He cleared his throat awkwardly, scrambling to save face.

"I'm just worried some sleazy tabloid will snap photos of you. Those vultures live for clickbait drama. Don't go dragging my family's name through the mud over this."

"Got it, I'll remember that. Won't happen again."

I always played nice, no pushback ever. But even that wasn't enough for him. He huffed, spun on his heel, and stormed off to his room, still visibly ticked off.

Honestly, this guy was kind of cute when he threw tantrums.

I had just finished washing up when Mrs. Jensen called.

"Tiffany, dear, is Landon still up? He won't answer my calls. Can you pass the phone to him? I have something important to discuss with him."

Oh, that was a problem.

I couldn't go into his room, he never let me in.