Sin For Me: Daddy's Doll

18|Tonight.

Celeste pov.

“You really are an amusing woman, Mrs. Maddox,” Rowan said, his voice cutting through the tense silence that had fallen after I asked him to have a secret affair with me.

If you asked me, amusing wasn’t the right word for what I was. Crazy, insane, deranged, stupid, and delusional — those felt more fitting, especially considering the consequences of what I was doing.

If Ethan ever found out I was planning to ruin him while cheating on him again with our therapist, there was no doubt I wouldn’t live to see daylight. But like I said… I didn’t care. I’d been pushed to my limit, and I had nothing left.

No family. No marriage. Nothing left to protect.

Unlike the people who had wronged me.

Ethan and his family had their reputation to uphold.

My sister had her rising career as an actress.

My father had his beloved company.

My mother had her favorite daughter—Liora.

So why the hell should I be the one cowering in fear?

“So… what do you say?” I asked, my voice coming out as a breathless whisper, even though I felt nothing but fire inside. “That night at the club, you didn’t know I was married to Ethan. But now you do. Now you know who we are—your clients. So, would you still want to have an affair with me?”

Rowan raised a brow at my words, the corner of his lips twitching into a slow smile as he leaned closer to mine. I dropped my hand from his face, but in the next second, he caught it and I whimpered as he pressed his thumb against my panties before speaking.

“Of course,” he murmured, voice low and dark. “How could I possibly say no to a woman like you? That wouldn’t be very gentlemanly of me… now, would it?”

I blinked at his words, then narrowed my eyes at him the next second.

I wasn’t sure why he had agreed so easily, and I wasn’t delusional enough to think it was only because he wanted me. A man like him looked like he could have anyone he wanted, and I wasn’t anyone special. I wasn’t exactly what someone would call a gorgeous woman, and I was also a married woman—so why me?

I opened my mouth, about to ask, but then the sound of approaching footsteps reached my ears, and my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as my head snapped toward the door just as Ethan’s voice came from outside.

“All right, call me later when you get there,” Ethan said.

I gasped and quickly turned to Rowan, pulling his hand out from inside my dress and trying to push him away, but his grip on my wrist only tightened as he leaned into my ear, causing me to freeze.

“Tonight. Same hotel, same room. I’ll be expecting you there, Mrs. Maddox,” he whispered, his hot breath tickling my skin and turning my face pink.

The next second, just as the doorknob began to rattle, Rowan pulled away and walked back to his seat, plopping into it with ease, not a hint of urgency in his posture. I stared in stunned disbelief as he casually picked up his notebook, and when my gaze flickered to it for a brief second, my jaw nearly dropped.

Scrawled across the page were the same words, over and over again:

Fuck her. Don’t f**k her. f**k her.

A disbelieving scoff escaped me just as Ethan walked into the room.

I turned to see him enter with a frown on his face, and not even bothering to hide his displeasure, he stopped in front of Rowan and spoke, voice thick with frustration.

“I’m afraid we can’t continue this session today. I have an important meeting to get to,” Ethan said, glancing at his watch with a sigh as a few strands of hair fell over his forehead.

I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering what had been getting on his nerves lately.

I knew it couldn’t be what happened between Liora, him, and me , the only thing that could stress him out this much had to be work.

“Really?” Rowan hummed, voice void of emotion as if he couldn’t care less. “That’s unfortunate, since you still have an hour left in our session. But I understand. I’ll be seeing you on Thursday, right?” he asked, gaze narrowing on Ethan, whose frown deepened at Rowan’s indifference.

I swallowed nervously as Ethan’s hand clenched into fists, but instead of reacting, he simply nodded.

“Of course.”

I knew he was already regretting the decision to come to therapy especially with Rowan but he also knew canceling now could hurt his reputation. People were already fangirling over how much he loved his marriage, saying he even went to couples therapy. But if word got out that he only showed up once? The public would eat on that gossip.

“See you then.” Rowan lifted his hand and waved nonchalantly before flicking his gaze back to the notebook in his hand. I watched as Ethan snarled under his breath, then took a deep breath, turned to me, and reached out his hand for me to take.

I hesitated for a brief second, but I forced a smile, slipped my hand into his, and stood up. Turning to Rowan, I offered a polite smile.

“Goodbye, Mr. Rowan. It was a pleasure to meet you,” I said before walking out of the room with Ethan.

As I stepped into the hallway, I could still feel his gaze lingering on me. But more than that, his words echoed in my head over and over again.

Tonight. He wanted me to meet him tonight.

I hadn’t expected him to actually suggest something like that. When I asked him to have an affair with me, I meant every word but wasn’t this moving too fast? How was I supposed to go through with it? Ethan would surely not allow me to leave the house in the night and I wasn't sure that I could sneak out with him in the house.

As we exited the building, those thoughts swirled through my mind that I didn’t even realize we had reached the car until I bumped straight into Ethan, who had stopped in front of it. He turned to me with a suspicious look.

“When I was outside… you didn’t say anything to that man, right?” he asked.

I blinked, caught off guard, before quickly plastering a smile on my face and shaking my head.

“Of course not. Why would I do something like that?” I replied.

He scowled, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

“I don’t like him, but for now we can’t change him as our therapist. So he’ll have to make do until the presidential election. Until then, make sure not to say anything to him—do you understand?” he asked, and I raised a brow, almost curling my lips into a snarl.

When Ethan didn’t like someone, it meant he couldn’t read them. And if he couldn’t read them, he couldn’t control them—something that always seemed to infuriate him.

Maybe it was because whatever little love I had left for him had vanished, but I could finally see him for what he truly was: a manipulative snake.

“Of course, I wouldn’t dare,” I responded with a smile as he opened the door for me to get inside.

Once I did, he got in too, and as he closed the door, he kept speaking.

“I’m not going to be home tonight. I have to travel out of the country. I’ll drop you off, grab a few things, and then head to the airport.”

He said it casually, but for a brief moment, my eyes widened as I turned to him.

“Wait, did you say you wouldn’t be home tonight?” I asked, almost excitedly, and for the first time, a genuine smile spread across my face as I stared at him.

He narrowed his eyes at me with suspicion, and I quickly dropped my smile a bit, looking up at him with innocent eyes.

“Ah, I meant—where are you going? Do you have to go?” I asked, feigning concern.

For a brief moment, he stared at me before scoffing and turning away.

“Yes, it’s important. I expect you to be on your best behaviour while I’m gone. Don’t think that just because I’m away, I won’t have others watching you.”

My eyes twinkled at his words, and my smirk widened.

By “others,” he probably meant his mother, Madison… maybe even Liora.

But those three were easy to deal with.

With Ethan gone, sneaking out tonight wouldn’t be hard at all.

“Alright. Have a safe journey, Ethan,” I muttered under my breath, turning to face forward as I crossed my legs.

It seemed like the universe really wanted me to cheat on my husband again.

How ironic.