6

Chapter 6

Jennie Orlando

"You are hurting me!" I cried out as Maverick dragged me along the hallway, but he didn't stop. Not until we got to a room, then he shove me inside, slamming the door behind us.

"Ugh! You didn't have to do that. My hand is all red now," I muttered, rubbing my wrist.

He paced in the room, raking his fingers through his hair, breath heavy.

He paused and turned to me, gritting out. "What was that?" His eyes searched mine for answer. "I heard wrong, right? You didn't date my son, did you?" His nails dug into my shoulders.

I sighed. The fact that he was the CEO of our rival was already driving me crazy, and now this?

"Let go of me!" I shrugged his hands off my shoulders.

"Answer me, Jennie!" He demanded, his eyes searching mine. Not a trace of anger. Just frustration and curiosity.

I dragged in a deep breath as I squeezed my eyes shut and blurted out. "Let's divorce, Maverick."

Silence thickened around us. And as I opened my eyes, I was met with his eyes. Gazing at me blankly.

"What?"

I sighed. "Look, Maverick... Accepting this proposal was stupid of me, I know. But we can't continue this. I can't continue this marriage with you."

Heat crept up my chest. Yes. It was better this way. I couldn't throw away the job I've worked hard to keep for years. Hell no!

His stare lingered on for seconds, then he scoffed. "Divorce..." He muttered.

"Maverick..."

Just one stare from him made me take a step back.

"What do you take me for, Jennie?" He raised a brow as he took a step close to me. "Someone you could use and dump, just like that?"

"You need to calm down, Maverick. I accept that this whole thing was a bad idea. It was stupid of me..." I paused and held his hand. "Your son is my ex-boyfriend. People are going to talk if they find out about this."

His face remained blank. Like he was trying to figure everything out.

"And then what?" He raised a brow.

"Huh?" I blinked my eyes. Didn't he fall for that.

"I mean, your reputation is going to be on the edge. People are going to judge you... They are going to judge us. We just need to pretend this never happened, and... And..." The rest of the words got stuck in my throat.

God! I'm losing my mind.

"Look, if it's the announcement earlier, we can fix it, alright? We can tell them that was a prank. I mean---"

"Mathew will take you home. Let's talk about this later." He cut me off, his voice eerily calm.

My eyes widened. Just that?

And without another word, he turned to leave, but paused as he reached the door.

"We are not getting a divorce."

"Maverick..."

He didn't pause to spare me another glance as he walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Shit!"

I dragged my fingers through my hair. I wanted to blame myself, but how would I have known that he was the CEO of MH group?

My attention was drawn by the gentle knock on the door, followed by Mathew's voice. "Mrs. Hughes..."

Mrs. Hughes? Don't kid me, please.

He stood tall in front of me as I opened the door.

"Mr. Hughes asked to take you home."

My eyes scanned the hallway, looking for nothing, then back to Mathew. "Where is Maverick?"

"Mr. Hughes is busy. This way, please."

He led the way, and I hesitantly followed.

Mathew led me through the back exit. A car was already waiting for us in the parking unit, different from the one through which we entered earlier.

We hopped in, and he drove off.

Goodness! I don't want to lose my job. My boss is on crazy ass jerk, and he wouldn't hesitate to fire me.

My phone pinged with a text, and I quickly reached for it. A message in the company forum popped on the screen.

'Did you see the news? Ms. Orlando is married... To the CEO of MH group'

'How did she get herself such a rich handsome man?'

'God! I'm so jealous'.

It was barely an hour that my marriage was announced, and they were already gossiping about me.

I exhaled, putting my phone away. I guess I would have to wait until tomorrow to know my fate.

The revenge... Everything was bad idea in the first place. I should never have started this in the first place. I should never have agreed to marry him.

My phone rang, disrupting my thoughts. Heat mixed with coldness seeped through my body at the sight of the caller. Mr. Holt.

"Shit!" I cursed silently, biting into my lip, that it almost bled.

For a second, I thought of taking the call, but a voice whispered in my head. 'Not tonight, Jennie', and that was all I needed to drop the phone.

I closed my eyes, resting my head on the seat as Mathew zoomed past the city. I had no idea how, but I need to find a way to divorce Maverick. I have to...