Chapter 20: Claims and Consequences
1240 Words
Bonny’s POV
The kitchen went silent.
Even Evelyn stopped speaking on the terrace.
Adrian’s expression changed first.
Not shock.
Not confusion.
Annoyance.
Cold, measured annoyance.
“That narrows nothing,” he said to Mara.
She blinked nervously.
“She gave no name, sir. Only that she is Mrs. Knight and demands to be let up.”
Evelyn and Edward re-entered at once.
Edward looked intrigued.
Evelyn looked delighted.
“This could be entertaining,” she announced.
“It will not be,” Adrian replied.
I folded my arms.
“Depends which wife she means.”
His gaze slid to me.
“You are the only one.”
“That sounds reassuringly confident for a man with mystery women at the lobby.”
“It is not a mystery. It is a nuisance.”
Mara cleared her throat.
“Security asked whether to remove her.”
“Yes,” Adrian said immediately.
“No,” Evelyn said at the same time.
Everyone looked at her.
She smiled serenely.
“We should hear her. I’m old. I deserve spectacle.”
“Mother,” Adrian said flatly.
“Grandmother,” Edward corrected. “And she has a point.”
I stared at all of them.
“This family uses chaos as recreation.”
“We use truth as entertainment,” Evelyn said.
Adrian exhaled once, the sound of a man surrounded by unreasonable bloodlines.
“Bring her up,” he told Mara.
I turned to him sharply.
“Why?”
“Because if we remove her now, she returns louder later.”
That was probably true.
Still irritating.
Mara hurried out.
I suddenly became aware of my pulse.
Ridiculous.
Why did I care?
I was his wife.
Legally.
Publicly.
Emotionally… complicatedly.
Still, some stranger downstairs claiming my place stirred something primal and deeply inconvenient.
Evelyn noticed everything.
She patted my arm.
“Jealousy can be clarifying.”
“I’m not jealous.”
“Then why are you standing like a cat near an open window?”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“It means defensive and elegant.”
Edward nodded.
“Accurate.”
I hated them affectionately.
Adrian moved to the living room and stood near the fireplace, hands in pockets, posture relaxed in the dangerous way only powerful men managed.
I remained by the sofa.
Close enough to witness.
Far enough to deny interest.
The elevator doors opened moments later.
Heels clicked across marble.
Then she appeared.
Tall.
Blonde.
Early thirties perhaps.
Designer coat, dramatic sunglasses indoors, and the confidence of someone sustained entirely by delusion.
She removed the glasses slowly.
Pretty.
Polished.
Aggressively curated.
Her gaze landed on Adrian and brightened.
“There you are.”
His face remained unchanged.
“Who are you?”
Her smile faltered.
Then recovered.
“Very funny.”
“It was a question.”
She laughed too loudly.
“Oh, Adrian. Always teasing.”
I nearly choked.
Evelyn leaned toward Edward.
“I dislike her already.”
“Efficiently done,” he murmured.
The woman finally noticed the rest of us.
Her eyes moved over me, paused, and sharpened.
“And who is she?”
I smiled sweetly.
“The legal wife.”
A beat of silence.
Then she turned back to Adrian.
“She’s joking.”
“No,” he said.
Now the woman truly looked at me.
At my bare left hand where the ring sat.
At the room.
At the grandparents.
At reality assembling against her.
Her expression cracked.
“You married someone else?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Recently.”
“You told me we had unfinished business!”
I frowned.
“You told this woman that?”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“No.”
The woman pointed dramatically.
“He implied it.”
“That usually means he was polite while you hallucinated,” I said.
Evelyn coughed to hide laughter.
The woman straightened.
“My name is Bianca Hale.”
No one reacted.
She continued anyway.
“Adrian and I dated for six months.”
I looked at him.
He looked faintly inconvenienced.
“She attended three dinners and several events,” he said.
Bianca gasped.
“We vacationed together!”
“You joined a group trip in Monaco.”
Edward muttered, “Clinical.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to stop smiling.
Bianca’s eyes filled instantly with tears that looked rehearsed.
“You said I was special.”
“I said you were charming with donors.”
“You monster!”
“That escalated quickly,” I said.
She rounded on me.
“You stole my life.”
I laughed outright.
“Ma’am, I inherited paperwork and emotional resistance.”
Evelyn clapped once.
“Excellent girl.”
Bianca looked betrayed by the room itself.
Then she pulled a folded magazine from her handbag and threw it onto the coffee table.
A gossip publication.
Adrian photographed at a charity gala months ago.
Bianca at his side.
Headline: Knight Heir and Mystery Beauty: Wedding Bells Soon?
She stabbed a finger at it.
“They announced us!”
Adrian didn’t even glance down.
“Tabloids announce alien pregnancies weekly.”
“That is not the point!”
“It rarely is with you.”
I should not have enjoyed this so much.
But I did.
Bianca’s tears vanished, replaced by anger.
“You owe me!”
“No.”
“You embarrassed me publicly!”
“You arrived announcing yourself as my wife.”
“You made me believe—”
“No,” Adrian said sharply, stepping forward now. “You believed what served you.”
The room stilled.
Even Bianca faltered.
His voice dropped colder.
“This ends now. You will not return here, contact my staff, or make claims using my name.”
She swallowed.
“Or what?”
He gave a thin, terrifying smile.
“Try me.”
Security appeared at the elevator entrance as if summoned by tone alone.
Bianca looked around, finally recognizing defeat.
Then at me.
“This won’t last.”
I stood slowly.
“Maybe not.”
I adjusted my sleeve and met her gaze.
“But unlike you, I’m actually invited.”
Evelyn made a delighted noise.
Security escorted Bianca out, protesting dignity all the way.
Silence followed.
Then Edward sighed contentedly.
“Well. Better than television.”
Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose.
“I need new staff screening.”
“You need boundaries,” I said.
“I have boundaries.”
“No. You have legal teams.”
He looked at me.
Then, unexpectedly, laughed once.
Low and brief.
Everyone stared.
Evelyn whispered dramatically, “He still can.”
I smiled despite myself.
Adrian’s gaze stayed on me a second longer than necessary.
Then he said quietly:
“Walk with me.”
My pulse betrayed me instantly.
I followed him to the terrace.
When the doors closed behind us, city wind met my face.
He turned.
“You were jealous.”
I lifted my chin.
“You attract unstable women.”
“That is not a denial.”
“It is an observation.”
He stepped closer.
“And this?”
“What?”
“The part where you defended your place.”
My heartbeat thundered.
I held his gaze.
“I defended the truth.”
A pause.
Then he touched my jaw lightly.
“Same thing, perhaps.”
And before I could craft a better answer—
he kissed me again.
- Writer
