The Ruthless Billionaire's Revenge

On Thin Ice

I stood frozen, staring at Adrian as he narrowed his eyes at me. I swallowed, trying not to let my fear show on my face.

"What?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

Adrian only stared hard at me, his eyes still fixed intently on mine. I tried my best not to let my hands tremble, and I bit my lips to keep the tears threatening to fall from appearing.

"Do you perhaps think I'm the one who leaked the product information?" I asked, my eyes blurring with tears when I saw Adrian's hurt expression.

He sighed, brushing a hand through his hair before asking, "What were you doing in the restricted part of the company?" he reiterated.

"To use the bathroom," I lied, wiping my cheeks, but another tear fell. Adrian raised a brow, unfolding his arms. "What happened to the bathroom on your floor?" he asked, and I swallowed.

"It was full. And I really needed to use the washroom. I knew no one would be there, so that's why I went there," I added to my mountain of lies, which made my eyes blur with tears even more because I could see how hard Adrian was fighting to believe me.

"Did you see anyone else in the bathroom when you left? Or did you meet anyone on the way?" Adrian probed, and I wiped my nose as another tear slid down.

"No," I said, looking at his shoes since I couldn't hold the gaze in his eyes anymore.

"In the footage, I saw you exiting the bathroom, and about fifteen minutes later, a woman with ginger-red hair entered, clearly evading the cameras. Either you wore a wig, or it was someone else entirely." Adrian stretched, taking a step forward, and I shut my eyes.

"I don't know why you would accuse me of such a crime. I wouldn't do anything like that," I said as tears continued to stream down my cheeks.

I didn't even know why I was crying anymore. Was it because Adrian had caught me? Or because of the hurt in his eyes?

Adrian stopped before me, and I continued to stare at his shoes as my tears fell onto them, scared of what I might see when I looked into his eyes.

I felt him hug me, and I leaned into him, inhaling his natural scent. "I'm sorry, Ariana. Please stop crying," he muttered, guilt thick in his voice.

He patted my back soothingly, and I tried to calm down. The door to his office burst open, and both Adrian and I turned at the intrusion.

A woman entered, her hair held in a low bun, with a smile that immediately turned into anger and disbelief when she saw my face.

Before I could comprehend what was happening, I saw her hand bag flying towards us , and I ducked to the side, only for it to collide with Adrian's face.

My eyes widened, wondering who this woman was to dare throw something at the almighty Adrian.

"What did you do to her?!" she bellowed, storming inside and then holding my cheeks affectionately. "Tell me, what did he do to make your eyes so puffy?!" she asked, already taking off her shoes.

I heard Adrian whimpering behind me as he touched his nose. She raised her hand to throw the shoe, and I stood between her and Adrian, stretching my hand out to protect him.

"Please, it's a misunderstanding," I said quickly.

"Grandma, you almost broke my nose," I heard Adrian whining behind me. I turned to look at him, already moving to touch his reddened nose, before my eyes widened.

Wait! What? Grandma?

My eyes widened, and I closed them in despair at my predicament.

As if being almost caught by Adrian wasn't enough, I'm also standing before the Matriarch of the Blackwood family, the very people I was asked to avoid like the plague.