For several long minutes, the only sound in the VIP suite was Audra's ragged, uneven breathing. Jakobe remained standing in the dark shadow near the window, deliberately slowing his own breathing to make absolutely no noise.
As the initial shock of the humiliation faded, Audra's survival instincts kicked back in. She assumed Jakobe had left; any normal billionaire who heard his wife being instructed to whore herself out for corporate funding would have walked out in pure disgust.
To be sure, she turned her head toward the center of the room.
"Mr. Hartman?" she called out softly. "Are you still there?"
Jakobe looked at her blindfolded face. Driven by a dark, twisted curiosity, he kept his mouth shut, not making a sound.
Hearing no response, Audra let out a massive exhale, her rigid shoulders finally slumping forward. She fumbled with her phone and turned it back on. The moment it connected to the network, three missed call alerts from Herminia pinged loudly. Audra knew her mother; if she didn't call back and provide a satisfactory lie, Herminia would march into the clinic and cause a massive scene.
Clearing her throat, Audra dialed her mother's number. She had to play the game.
The line connected. Before Herminia could start screaming, Audra completely changed her voice, forcing a sickeningly sweet, breathless tone into her throat.
"Mom, stop calling me," Audra cooed into the phone. "Jakobe is right here with me."
In the corner of the room, Jakobe raised one dark eyebrow, a dangerous spark of amusement flaring in his eyes.
Audra kept acting to the empty room. "Yes, he's taking amazing care of me. He upgraded me to the penthouse suite and canceled all his Wall Street meetings just to sit by my bed."
Herminia's voice crackled through the earpiece, suddenly sounding greedy and pleased. To sell the lie, Audra turned her head slightly toward the empty space next to the bed, softening her voice into a pathetic, loving whisper. "Isn't that right, honey?"
The room remained dead silent.
"Mom, he's reading emails right now," Audra quickly spoke back into the phone. "He hates being interrupted."
Jakobe crossed his arms over his chest, standing perfectly still as he watched his wife deliver an Oscar-worthy performance to thin air.
Audra pushed the lie even further to secure her safety. "About the capital injection... Jakobe said he would consider it. He said he just wants me to be happy." The words tasted like ash in her mouth. It made her physically sick to pretend to be a gold-digger, but she had to survive.
Herminia finally sounded satisfied. She told Audra to keep him hooked, then hung up.
The second the call ended, the fake smile vanished from Audra's face. Pure exhaustion washed over her. She tossed the phone onto the blanket and buried her face in her hands, letting out a miserable, broken sigh. She thought she was safe.
Then, from the dark corner of the room, a low, deep chuckle vibrated through the air. The sound hit Audra like a physical bullet.
"So," Jakobe's low, resonant voice, laced with cold amusement, drifted across the room. "In Mrs. Hartman's mind, I am a foolish king who throws away capital just to make his wife smile?"
Audra's blood froze solid. She whipped her head toward the sound, her mouth falling open in pure horror.
"You... you didn't leave?" Her voice cracked violently.
Jakobe stepped out of the shadows. The slow, deliberate click of his leather shoes against the floor sounded like a countdown to her execution.
"If I left, how could I enjoy such a spectacular performance?" he asked. He walked right up to the edge of the bed and leaned down, his warm breath brushing against her ear.
"Tell me, honey," Jakobe whispered, throwing her fake pet name right back at her. "What else do you need me to pretend to do?"
