SHOPPING SPREE

“Sir, we’ve found the man who has been leaking our company secrets,” one of the agents reported calmly.

“Hmm.” The man hummed, taking the cigarette from his lips and calmly stubbing it out in the ashtray. His expression remained unreadable.

Another man was dragged roughly to his presence by some of his men. He was an older man in his mid-forties who had worked with his family for five years now.

“Mr Hayes, please forgive me,” he pleaded, almost at the brink of tears. “I have a wife and kids, please,” he continued.

Julian only narrowed his gaze at him, looking down at the man who was on his knees begging. An agent brought a black brief case before him, opening it. 

Inside lay a gun.

Julian took it out without a word. The moment the man saw it, his face went pale. He immediately bowed his head, begging for his life even more, discarding whatever little dignity he had left.

“You say you have a wife and kids, right?” His words were controlled.

“Yes. Yes.” The man immediately answered, raising his head.

The moment he raised his head, a gunshot echoed in the room. Then Julian lowered his gun, his expression unmoved by the bloody scene in front of him.

He laid the gun back into the case. “Clean this up,” he ordered before standing up to leave.

Adele paced to and fro the bedroom.

She thought about the newspaper she had seen in his library the day before. So her father had once partnered with Julian in the past? She didn’t have the opportunity to go through the details, but she had seen enough to know that her father did something to make them withdraw their partnership.

She threw herself on the couch, tired from all the thinking. She wanted to go back there and check, but she was sure Vincent must have moved the documents by now. Perhaps she should meet her father and ask him? Wouldn’t that be naïve thinking on her part?

“A penny for your thoughts, my dear wife?” Julian’s words interrupted her train of thought.

She stood up in a haste, as if she was caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to. “Y-you’re back early?” she stuttered a bit, though she tried not to let her surprise show.

“Would you prefer if I slept at the office?” he said casually, moving towards the wardrobe and pulling out his night trousers and sleep vest. Adele’s gaze followed him as he hung his towel around his neck and reached for his bathrobe.

“That entirely depends on you.” Her tone came out a bit pissed at his constant teasing.

He turned to her. “Have you decided on reading books lately?” “What?” Once again, he had managed to throw her off guard with his abrupt questions. “Were you looking for a particular book on my desk? I don’t read fantasy much, though.”

So he was aware that she was snooping around his desk. 

How much did he know? Obviously, Vincent must have told him something, but she wondered what he told him and how much he told him. Should she spew the same lie she told Vincent or find something else to say?

No, she thought. The first one sounded more plausible. 

“You seem to be quite messy yourself.” She folded her arms across her chest, the corner of her lips curved into a smug smile.

“Your books and documents were disorganized, so I wanted to help put them in order.” His gaze lingered on her for a while, as if searching for evidence of her lie. “We have people for the job.” His gaze remained on her.

Adele slowly walked towards him and only stopped when she was inches away from him. She stretched out her arm, tracing a line from his forehead, down to his nose and stopping at his lips.

“Is it so bad to let a wife do a few things for her lovely husband?” A faint smile tugged at Julian’s lips. He couldn’t help but find this new behavior amusing.

He placed his hand on top of hers, slowly taking it down.

Huge, she thought, her gaze shifting to how big his hands were compared to hers.

“It seems my beloved is cooped up in this house. How do you see dinner tomorrow night? I have an upcoming event on Saturday night too. We could use the next three days to prepare. Hmm?”

This man. She wanted to grit her teeth. Just when she thought she figured him out, he uses another tactic on her. Could she ever be able to win against him?

“Do what you want. It’s not like I have a choice on the matter.” She turned around and made her way to the bed.

“Then tomorrow we’ll be going shopping. Sadly, I can’t be there due to my meetings, but I’ll have Vincent and another trusty man go with you.” She just lay down and covered herself with the duvet, turning to face the lampshade.

The next day, Julian had actually done as he promised. Vincent and two of his bodyguards escorted Adele to one of the city’s top-notch boutiques.

Maison Velmora.

A boutique that she couldn’t even book their services even though her family had money. Adele had always admired how original their fashion styles were and dreamed of getting a dress there even if it was just once.

“Welcome to Maison Velmora.” A lady attendant greeted them on entering the boutique. The attendant led them to the waiting area where they met with the owner.

Mrs Céline Velmora. She was a renowned entrepreneur and the founder of Velmora boutique. She was a forty-three-year-old woman who had built her empire from the ground up.

“Bonjour, Mrs Hayes. Or do you prefer I refer to you less formally?” She smiled, one that reached her eyes, her French accent still fresh on her tongue.

Adele was stunned to see her. “Ah, no. You can refer to me however you want. I mean, it’s not like I’m of a higher status than you are.” It was hard for her to find her words. Céline just smiled at how naïve she was.

“Being the wife of Mr Hayes has certainly given you a higher status than mine.”

Adele just quietly admired how independent this woman was. Even after her husband had passed away, Celine had continued to build her empire.

“Okay. Chop, chop, mes chéries.” She clapped her hands. “Let’s start moving, we don’t have much time to waste,” Céline announced, then lowered her voice so only Adele could hear. “Mr Hayes has ordered to give you the best on the market,” she said with a smug smile, leading her in.

Céline had personally attended to her. Adele wondered just how much influence Julian had to make her personally attend to her.

“Now, what are we looking for?” Celine said, running her fingers along the rack of dresses.

“Evening gown?” she answered herself. She pulled out a dress, turning to look at Adele with a playful smile. It was a rich burgundy shade, its satin fabric gleaming under the boutique lights.

The off-shoulder neckline gave it an elegant appearance, while the fitted bodice flowed into a long skirt that trailed slightly behind.

“Wow,” Adele mouthed.

Celine had a proud smile, as if showing off her most elegant piece. “You would look gorgeous in this dress, and your dear husband won’t help but fall for you all over again.”

A light shade of pink colored Adele’s cheeks, and she quickly looked away, pretending not to have heard the last part of Celine’s comment. “I’ll try this one out.”

It was almost evening by the time they were done, and Adele returned home with more dresses than she expected.

Julian probably won’t be back by then, so she planned to take a nice warm bath and slip into bed. Once she got home, she dragged herself upstairs and into their bedroom.

She hadn’t noticed Julian’s clothes that were arranged at the corner of the bed and just lazily pulled hers off, replacing them with her towel.

She reached out for the bathroom handle but before she could open it, the door suddenly opened from inside.