Chapter 04: The Perfect Combo
1246 Words
Chapter 04: The Perfect Combo
“My dear Marlon, calm down for a moment. Your wife is not your property. Even less an object, and from what I can see, you seem to have forgotten that.”
His voice echoes with a disarming calmness, yet it is so commanding that, at this moment, I remain captivated by his words, and the only thing I hope for is that he delivers the final blow and makes him shut his mouth once and for all.
“Too bad for you if you don’t have a wife, because here we are talking about mine, and you have absolutely no right.”
Marlon’s voice tightens under the weight of his contained anger.
I feel his hand pressing harder against my arm.
“Marlon...” I sigh, filled with exasperation and a slight pain that has not left me since he started doing whatever he wants.
“Very well,” Robert answers.
And I feel his gaze move down toward me and his hand reach for mine.
He places a light kiss on it.
A gentle kiss.
And I remember that Marlon has never done that to me.
Too formal.
Too ceremonial for him.
That soft kiss takes something out of me, and I cannot look away from him, frozen by his boldness.
“Take care of yourself,” he tells me before walking away.
His hands return to his sides, his chest rises, and his posture, as straight as a general’s, emphasizes the charisma and natural aura he possesses.
“Poor guy! He doesn’t know how to stay in his place!” I hear Marlon complain behind me, and it pulls the most beautiful smile from me without him noticing.
“How I wish he could see it. He would become even redder with anger.”
But immediately, I feel my chest tighten.
And without being able to control myself, my palms close into fists, and I relive that evening, those laughs, and those confessions.
Everything is fake.
He said it.
So this scene is nothing more than a pathetic hunting game where, to him, I am nothing but a simple trophy.
“Liliane, let’s go!” he adds.
I sigh.
I swallow it without forgetting.
Then I turn around and take his arm again.
“My darling, there’s no need to get yourself worked up like this. I am yours, did you forget? Robert Dunkan doesn’t even come close to you, and this ceremony will prove it once again.”
“I know, Liliane. No need to say another word. He doesn’t exist.”
“Very well...” I sigh, deeply annoyed by his disgusting narcissism.
The ceremony brings together company leaders from several fields.
Awards are usually given there, rewarding innovative ideas, impact, and the best achievement — the one Marlon holds onto with such determination and pride:
The quality-price ratio despite market fluctuations, tax pressures, and the influence of its leader on the international stage.
Right across from our table is Robert’s.
Actually, I had never taken the time to notice this detail about him:
His guest seat is always empty, even tonight.
No woman.
No family member beside him.
He is a mysterious man who speaks very little.
And these ceremonies, I think, do not really mean much to him.
He applauds for the others, and once the prestigious moment arrives, he cannot be found anywhere.
He is already gone.
“As usual, I am the winner,” Marlon says, arranging himself and putting on his best smile for the cameras.
His voice brings me back to him for a moment, but I redirect my gaze toward this man who has intrigued me lately, and more and more...
As usual, he heads toward the door...
Straight ahead, alone, in silence.
And Marlon’s name echoes.
Applause fills the room.
Every gaze is on him, and with his arms wide open, he welcomes them with joy and pleasure.
The rise of this extraordinary man who never stops evolving and collecting victories.
And honestly, I am getting way too bored, and his happiness disgusts me...
He reaches the stage.
I stand up, smile the way I should for the media, and immediately gesture with a nod that he can go without me.
I applaud and blow him a kiss.
“Poor i***t!”
And I take this opportunity to get some air outside his world...
Right outside, in the middle of a conversation, is Robert.
His face is slightly tense.
It looks like the conversation is not very reassuring.
I sigh and look around me.
Nothing but silence and the echo of yesterday’s laughter coming back to me.
I have left messages for Elisa, but nothing.
I did not even know she was already back in town...
Since when had they been doing this?
Was it every single time I had her on the phone, when she told me I had been missing from her life, that she couldn’t wait to see me again and hold me in her arms, that she felt lonely without me in this big city, warm yet cold for her...
“I’m hurting... but think, Liliane. It would be far too easy to let him get away with it so easily...” I whisper, or rather, I resign myself to growling in complete silence.
But the movement of my foot spinning around on this poor little plant that had done nothing wrong, crushing it under my endless back-and-forth movements, clearly shows that I am holding myself back from walking through that door and humiliating him for the rest of his life.
“I would like to believe it is because of a little creature that is a bit too invasive that you are putting so much effort into it.”
His voice echoes.
“Uh...?”
I remain surprised.
I hold myself back a little more.
“Uhh... yes. The creature was making me a little too nervous...” I finally say.
“It is very cold. You should be inside, and I think your husband would be happy to share the stage and his reward with you,” he adds before stepping back.
I stop him, intrigued.
“Uhh... excuse me, but why do you never finish the evening like everyone else? Uhh... I mean, I... it’s just an observation,” I say.
He sighs, then with a light but sharp look, he forms a small smile.
“Simply because it doesn’t interest me that much... and I get bored very quickly... I have other things to do.”
“But it is a prestigious title that can work in your favor...”
“At the entrance, all along the way, I can still tolerate the cameras, but it becomes tiring, and my clients matter more to me than a trophy.”
“Your clients? That intrigues me.”
“Yes. I am a lawyer and a legal advisor in my spare time, and believe me, those are the only real moments when I stop talking about numbers and prestige.”
He takes out his car key and, with a click, unlocks it.
At the same moment, the wind becomes stronger, and the first drops of rain begin to fall.
“You should go somewhere warm,” he tells me before walking down the steps toward his large black vehicle, as imposing and mysterious as he is.
“A lawyer? And on top of that, he is Marlon’s rival...
The perfect combo.”
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