Chapter 7: The Woman in Reception
1264 Words
Bonny’s POV
The room went dead silent.
Every executive at the table suddenly looked interested in something other than quarterly projections.
Amelia.
Of course she would come here.
Drama followed her the way perfume did—loud, expensive, and impossible to ignore.
Adrian steepled his fingers.
“Why is she here?”
Vanessa glanced at me.
“She insists she needs to speak with Mrs. Knight immediately.”
Mrs. Knight.
Still surreal.
I straightened in my chair.
“She can wait forever.”
A few board members coughed to hide smiles.
Adrian’s eyes slid to me.
“You know her best. Is she likely to leave quietly?”
“No.”
“Is she likely to embarrass herself publicly?”
“Yes.”
“Useful.”
I frowned.
“That sounded strategic.”
“Everything is strategic.”
He rose.
The entire boardroom followed suit instinctively.
“Meeting paused for ten minutes.”
One director looked alarmed. “Mr. Knight, we still need to finalize—”
“Then pray this is brief.”
He walked out.
Everyone else remained standing awkwardly.
I stayed seated.
Vanessa leaned toward me.
“You’re coming.”
“Am I?”
“She asked for you.”
“I didn’t ask for her.”
Vanessa almost smiled.
“I know. Come anyway.”
---
The executive reception area looked like a battlefield waiting for orders.
Employees pretended to work while obviously staring.
And there, in the center of the lobby, stood Amelia.
She wore a fitted red dress, towering heels, and enough confidence to power a small city. Her hair was perfect. Her makeup flawless.
Typical.
She looked like a woman arriving at brunch, not someone who had detonated another person’s life.
Then she saw me.
Her smile sharpened.
“Bonny.”
I said nothing.
She looked me over slowly.
“So it’s true.”
Her eyes dropped to my ring.
“You really married him.”
“Observant.”
Her gaze flicked to Adrian.
Then lingered.
Too long.
I noticed.
So did he.
Interesting.
“I came to clear up a misunderstanding,” Amelia said smoothly.
“There isn’t one,” I replied. “You slept with my fiancé for years.”
A few nearby staff members suddenly found their screens fascinating.
Amelia sighed dramatically.
“You always make things sound ugly.”
“Because they are ugly.”
She ignored that.
“Seth and I never meant to hurt you.”
I laughed.
Vanessa made a choking noise that might have been hidden amusement.
Amelia’s jaw tightened.
“You know what I mean.”
“No,” I said calmly. “Please explain how betrayal was meant kindly.”
Her eyes flashed.
“You never appreciated Seth.”
I blinked.
“That is an insane sentence.”
“You were always busy working, tired, stressed—”
“To support myself,” I cut in.
“And him,” she snapped back.
There it was.
Truth accidentally escaping.
I took one slow step closer.
“So while I worked to help him, you helped yourself to him?”
Someone in the back audibly whispered, “Damn.”
Vanessa coughed loudly.
Adrian remained silent, watching like a judge with expensive patience.
Amelia regrouped.
“Seth regrets everything.”
“How tragic.”
“He wants to fix this.”
“He can fix himself.”
“You’re just angry.”
“No,” I said quietly. “I’m cured.”
That landed harder than shouting ever could.
Her face changed.
She hadn’t come expecting strength.
She had come expecting tears.
Wrong day.
Then her eyes narrowed toward Adrian.
“So this is revenge, then? You married a billionaire to make Seth jealous.”
Before I could answer, Adrian spoke.
“No.”
Every head turned.
He stepped beside me.
“She married a billionaire because her standards improved.”
The silence that followed was glorious.
Vanessa looked away to hide a smile.
Amelia’s face reddened.
“You think you’ve won?” she hissed at me.
“This isn’t a competition,” I said. “It’s consequences.”
She moved closer, voice low and venomous.
“You think rich men stay faithful?”
I held her stare.
“I know poor ones don’t.”
Even Adrian’s mouth twitched.
Amelia lost it.
“You were always beneath me!”
Security tensed.
I didn’t flinch.
“No,” I said softly. “I was beneath your lies.”
She raised a hand.
Before I could react, Adrian caught her wrist mid-air.
The entire reception froze.
His voice dropped to something deadly quiet.
“You will lower your hand.”
Amelia’s bravado cracked instantly.
He released her like something distasteful.
Then to security:
“Remove her.”
Two guards stepped forward.
“This is ridiculous!” she shouted. “You can’t treat me like this!”
Adrian’s gaze was ice.
“You entered private property to harass my wife.”
Wife.
Still strange.
Still effective.
As security escorted her backward, she twisted toward me.
“Seth still loves me more!”
I shrugged.
“Then keep him.”
The doors closed behind her.
The reception erupted into fake productivity.
Phones lifted.
Keyboards clicked.
No one looked at us.
Everyone was listening.
Adrian turned to me.
“Come.”
“There’s that word again.”
He ignored me and walked toward the elevator.
I followed.
Vanessa stepped in beside us at the last second.
The doors shut.
For three floors, no one spoke.
Then Vanessa said calmly, “That was the best ten-minute recess in company history.”
I laughed before I could stop myself.
Adrian glanced sideways.
“You’re enjoying this too much.”
“She tried to slap your wife in reception,” Vanessa said. “Morale has improved significantly.”
The elevator opened.
Vanessa exited first.
As the doors began closing again, she looked back at me.
“Nicely handled, Mrs. Knight.”
Then she was gone.
I stared after her.
“Was that approval?”
“She hates Amelia,” Adrian said.
“She barely knows Amelia.”
“She met her once.”
I considered that.
“Fair.”
---
Back in his office, Adrian resumed work as if public confrontations were ordinary lunch breaks.
I stood by the window, still buzzing with adrenaline.
“You grabbed her wrist.”
“Yes.”
“You defended me.”
“Yes.”
“You insulted Seth.”
“Yes.”
I turned around.
“Are you going to elaborate on anything?”
“No.”
Infuriating.
I sat opposite him.
“Why help me?”
He signed a document before answering.
“You are my wife.”
The simple statement hit unexpectedly deep.
“This is still a contract.”
“Yes.”
“Then why does that matter?”
He looked up.
“Because I do not allow what is mine to be disrespected.”
My heartbeat stumbled.
I should have been offended by the phrasing.
Instead, I felt… protected.
Dangerous feeling.
I stood abruptly.
“I need water.”
“Sit.”
“I need distance.”
“Denied.”
I glared.
He returned to work.
Then his phone rang.
He checked the screen.
His expression changed instantly.
Sharp. Alert.
He answered at once.
“Yes?”
He listened.
Then stood so fast his chair rolled back.
“I’m on my way.”
He ended the call and grabbed his jacket.
“What happened?” I asked.
“My grandfather collapsed.”
Everything inside me dropped.
He looked at me once.
“Come with me.”
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