Scrolling down, I found Yssa’s apology strikingly sincere.
Even so, the dissonance jarred me. I couldn’t reconcile this meek, contrite voice with the woman who had just screamed at me over the phone.
With a few weightless lines, she had brushed herself clean of blame.
I drew a long breath.
“Fine,” I murmured to myself.
I had no intention of sparring endlessly with a young girl.
So, I chalked it up as a small hiccup in life and let it go.
...
The next day, however, reality snapped back.
I recalled removing my bracelet and leaving it in Xavier’s office, so I asked the driver to pick it up. However, at the company entrance, I discovered that my fingerprint and facial recognition access had been deactivated.
It was absurd.
My own company, and I no longer even had the right to enter.
So, I pulled out my phone and called Xavier.
“What’s going on? Did you reset the building access?” I asked, trying to keep my tone even.
He didn’t answer.
Instead, I heard a rustle, and then a man’s low, muffled grunt.
Only after he let out a long breath did he fumble up the call.
“Vivian, what did you say? I’ve been busy. I didn’t catch that…” he said, sounding distracted.
But that strange sound had already put me on high alert.
Cold spread through my veins.
I knew that sound of his voice too well—the way he only sounded when he was aroused, in bed.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice winter-cold. “Who’s with you right now?”
Before he could answer, a thought struck me.
Swiftly, I opened the surveillance backend on my phone, and in the next second, my world caved in.
As expected, the office blinds were fully drawn.
In the sealed room, Xavier sat in his chair while a young woman worked her hands over his shoulders.
I recognized her at once.
Ysabelle Lawson, the very intern who had been hurling insults at me yesterday.
My fingers clenched tightly, and heat stung the corners of my eyes.
Xavier had lied to me.
No wonder he was always so patient with her, defending her repeatedly, even when she had clearly crossed the line.
Now, I understand. They had been involved all along.
He stammered on the other end, trying to come up with an excuse.
“It’s nothing, babe. You misheard. I’ve been sitting too long, so I was massaging my own shoulders,” he said lamely.
“Really?” I said quietly. “You did it all by yourself? No pretty little helper around?”
On the screen, he furtively waved Yssa away.
She slipped out of the office, reluctant.
“See? No one here,” he said then, switching to a joking tone as if to lighten the air. “If I had that kind of time, I’d go to a massage parlor, wouldn’t I?
He tried to sound playful, lighthearted. "Vivian, why are you calling right now? Is something wrong? Do you want me to come keep you company?”
I stared at the man on the feed. He was the same one I knew, yet somewhere along the way, he had rotted.
He lied to me so casually. Every other time, I’d believed him.
Who knew how many times he’d fooled me already?
For a moment, I just breathed.
I forced myself to breathe and sound calm as I asked. “Why was my building access canceled?”
Then, unexpectedly, a memory resurfaced from a recent get-together with my friends, their gentle warnings echoing in my mind.
“These days, the real danger isn’t mistresses,” one of them had said, wine glass in hand. “It’s men who live off their wives. Be careful with your husband.”
“We all know Xavier treats you well, practically worships you,” another added.
“But you can’t ignore a man’s pride and ambition,” a third chimed in.
“Especially after he found out you're a rich heiress. With him being pressed under your heel like that, what man would enjoy it?”
