EX-HUSBAND'S BOSS FOR VALENTINE

ONE STEP AHEAD

Melania’s POV:

As Royal pulls away, I expect him to continue pleasuring me in some other way. Instead, he grabs my hands, pulling them away from his robe before standing and adjusting it. I remain on the bed, pressing my legs together, trying to contain the pleasure still coursing through me. His gaze lingers on me, reveling in my suffering, and heat rushes to my face.

Flustered, I yank the blanket over my head, but the wave of orgasm crashes over me, anyway. A muffled moan escapes my lips as I grip the sheets until my knuckles turn white.

When my body finally relaxes, I slowly unclench my fingers, releasing the sheets. I throw the blanket off my face, ready to give Royal a piece of my mind—

“You—!”

But as I sit up, my words die in my throat when I find the room empty. With a frustrated groan, I scramble to my feet, rushing to the closet and bathroom, only to find them empty, too.

Heart pounding, I storm toward the door and grab the handle, yanking hard, only to find it locked.

“Royal! Open this door this minute!” I yell, pounding against the wood. I keep banging, my frustration rising with each second, but I am met with silence.

After a full minute of getting no response, I realize he’s not coming back. I know he’s angry, and he’s trying to keep me from trouble, but I wish he would just let me handle it, and this would be over in a couple of days. If he keeps intervening, then we might clash someday, and that is the last thing I would want. Fuming, I march back to the bed and throw myself onto it, seething.

**

Morning comes faster than I expect, and as soon as I open my eyes, I march to the door, pulling it, and it opens easily, almost causing me to fall.

“Oh,” I mutter, grounding myself.

I had already planned to threaten him about jumping out the window if he didn’t open the door for me, but he already did, and now I don’t have an excuse. Keeping a straight face, I make my way downstairs, where I hear Royal’s voice—he’s on a call. As soon as I reach the landing of the stairs and he spots me, he hurries to end the call.

“Good morning, Mel,” he says with a smile, as though last night was pure bliss between us. “I trust you slept well,” he adds, and I roll my eyes, making my way to the dining room while he follows me.

He pulls out a chair for me, trying to be the perfect gentleman as always, but I ignore him. He takes a seat across from me, and I glance up as he picks up a plate, helping me serve my meal before sliding it to me.

“Thank you,” I mutter. Then he says a quick prayer before looking up at me.

“Shall we eat?”

I ignore him, digging into my plate, and he sits there, eating like everything between us is fine. To be honest, it is killing me, and I want to say something to him, but my plan is already almost perfect, so I decide to remain silent.

When we finish eating, he mutters a goodbye before leaving for work. I walk to the window, watching his car leave the gate, and as soon as I am sure he isn’t home, I decide to execute my ultimate plan.

I rush up to the room, grabbing my phone to see that Brady has called. Well, he called late, which makes me wonder if he’s too slow to spot when his plan has already failed. I call him back, and the moment the call connects, he starts yelling.

“What the hell did you do, you little—” I pull my phone away from my ear as his voice threatens to deafen me. “I know it was you who kidnapped your attorney. What do you have planned?” He growls, and I let out a chuckle as his meltdown does nothing but fuel me.

When he’s done rambling, I let out a sigh, throwing myself head-down on the bed.

“I love seeing you miserable, and even better, I love that you’ll be watching me spend almost your entire fortune. But do you know why you’ll keep quiet?” I question, and he falls silent. “Because you love your job.”

“What the hell are you blabbing about?”

“Oh, you’re about to see.” I chuckle, and I hear him swallow hard.

“What did you do?” he asks, and I kick my legs in the air like a little child, knowing I have secured victory.

“Simple. You hired a f*****g clone of yourself, just as I expected—or rather, as Sylvie advised you to. All I had to do was get a video of you two together. I knew you would tail Sylvie after the hearing, given that she double-crossed you.”

“It still doesn’t make sense.” Hearing him say this makes me realize he still hasn’t caught on to what I am trying to do here.

“I have a video of you and your clone together, which might interest my husband. He’ll find it quite intriguing that you’re working with the enemy. For all we know, you might be a spy. And my attorney getting kidnapped immediately after the court hearing? What do you think will happen when she testifies you kidnapped her? I know you, Brady. When you’re angry, you get violent, and you didn’t hesitate to put a hand on Sylvie when you pushed her against the wall in that gas station yesterday. I have it all on tape, so good luck working your way out of this one.”

I act like I’m about to hang up, and he starts begging.

“Please don’t hang up!”

I pause as a smile crawls onto my lips.

“What good will that do me?” I ask, and he inhales sharply.

“What do you want, Melania? An apology?” he asks, and I chuckle.

“I’m sorry I’ve been an asshole. Please don’t make me lose my job.”

“Oh, I won’t—if you give me what I demand. Remember, seventy percent means you’re broke for now, but pulling you away from the factory you milk from will make you poor for life. So choose wisely.”

With that, I end the call.