EX-HUSBAND'S BOSS FOR VALENTINE

OR WHAT?

MELANIA:

Hours after Royal broke the news of Sylvie being kidnapped, he has been nowhere to be found. He is angry with me, and I cannot imagine what will happen when he gets back home.

It’s ten at night, and he isn’t back yet. This alone makes it impossible for me to sleep, and I cannot help but wonder if this relationship is worth it. It’s like every second, something is out to destroy it, and worse—it’s not even a real one, yet we fight and argue like actual couples.

The sound of the gates opening draws me out of my thoughts. I look out the window to see the lights from the headlamps illuminating a part of the house slightly. This causes me to breathe in relief as I walk back to the bed, sitting on it with my hands on my lap. I am torn between pretending to be asleep and watching this drama pan out.

I waste time before deciding, and before I can tell, the sound of the soles of his shoes slapping against the tiles fills the hallway. My grip on my lap tightens as the door swings open. He glances at me before walking to the closet without a word. Swallowing hard, I move to the side of the bed where I sleep.

He spends time in the closet before walking out dressed in a night robe. Then he grabs his paper from the nightstand, making his way to the door. Is he planning on sleeping elsewhere? Not that I care, but...

“You are leaving?” The words leave my mouth before I can control them. He ignores me and walks back to the nightstand, opening the drawer to take out his glasses.

“Fine, if we are not going to speak, then so be it! Do not say a thing!”

He pauses with his hand on the handle of the door.

“What do you want me to say to you, Melania?” he questions, sliding his hand away from the handle. “You clearly do not listen to me, and this is only going to end up in another argument,” he adds, and I scoff.

“So I am nothing more than an inconvenience and a headache to you?”

He presses his lips into a hard line. “That is clearly not what I said.”

“That is all I hear.” I cross my arms over my chest.

“Look, I am too tired for this tonight. I have had a long day, but the important thing is that Sylvie has been found, and she is not totally hurt.”

My brows wrinkle, and I get to my feet.

“And you didn’t think it wise to let me know this?” My voice goes higher than I intend. “Instead of telling me about my lawyer, you...”

“For God’s sake, stop!” he growls, startling me, and for a moment, I stop, glaring into his eyes. He tosses the paper away, and it lands on the couch.

“I keep trying to hold myself back, but you make it even more difficult. This is all your fault.” My brows knit together as I push my head backward.

“My fault?”

“Yes!” he snaps. “If only you thought it wise to play by my rules, then maybe things would have turned out better, but you wanted it your way, and I let you have your way. Where has that gotten us?” His voice keeps going higher the more he speaks, and for the first time, I feel a chill run up my spine from the fear of him doing something drastic.

But then I do not back down.

“Once more, I was someone before I met you, and if you think I will belittle myself, let you lead because you are the man of the house, then you are wrong, Royal.”

“What the f**k are you saying?” He squeezes his face as he yells, the veins on his forehead popping. Then he runs both his hands across his face. “I am trying to keep you f*****g safe, but it is clear you do not give a damn about that. You want things done your way, and that shows exactly how selfish you are!”

His words take multiple jabs at my chest—each one deeper than the other. For some reason, it hurts that he thinks I am selfish. I am only trying to protect what we have, and hearing that he thinks of me that way makes me want to cry.

“You know, Brady said something earlier about you being in cahoots with your husband, and now I cannot unsee it.” Hearing Brady’s name makes his accusations dig deeper into my flesh, and worse, he says “your husband,” and not ex.

“I tried to tell him it wasn’t possible because you are Melania. Kind, smart, and sweet, but maybe I judged too early. Who the f**k are you?”

I stand there, staring at him, trying to keep the tears shimmering in my eyes from falling.

“Did your husband even maltreat you, or are you both in this together? He sent you to spy on me, didn’t he?” He grabs both my shoulders. “Or is it the Chestwicks?”

Hearing my family’s name breaks every barrier, and before I can stop myself, my palm connects with his face, leaving the sound of the resounding slap in the air.

I stare at him, my chest rising and falling.

“You really are an asshole,” I say, shaking my head. “The fact you would doubt the abuse I faced will forever tell the kind of man you are. I bet you never abuse the women you are with, so they do not damage your name in the media. Everything is about your reputation and never because you care as a human being. For the record, I would rather starve on the streets than spy on you, and this deal is off. You can find another woman who isn’t in cahoots with her ex-husband…” I pause. “No, her husband, who is a criminal.”

I walk away from him, heading to the closet. I grab his jacket and a car key, then I walk out.

“Where are you going?”

“Are you worried I will use your fingerprints on your jacket to steal from you?” I ask, and he scoffs.

“You have a car key in your hand, and...”

“I am going to use it for what it is for. Driving away. The deal is off, but I played a part, which includes fooling your family, and it will take a while before they discover you no longer have a wife. So this can be my repayment, or am I stealing too much from you?”

“Melania, stop, please. It is almost midnight, and it isn’t safe for you to drive.”

“Because I am a woman?” I raise a brow. “Fine, Callum will drive me since you hired him to police me.”

When I say this, I turn around at once, but before I can take a single step, he wraps his hand around the back of my neck, pulling me to him.

He applies pressure on my neck, but not enough to cause discomfort, then he stares into my eyes, breathing erratically.

“Stop f*****g testing me, Melania!”

“Or what, Royal?”