3

CHAPTER 3

ALEX

A pregnant silence hung in the air as Blake drove, his jaw ticking nonstop.

He didn't say a word to me until he entered a secluded corner and brought the car to a halt. Then he killed the engine and looked at me, his gaze burning with unspoken rage.

“What the fuck are you doing, Alex? Why would you make friends with my wife and show up at my house all of a sudden? I have no idea what you're up to but I won't let you ruin my marriage!”

He seethed at me and all the self control I'd been holding onto since he showed up before me snapped. I scoffed.

“You have no right to be mad at me. I'm the one who should be mad at you, Blake! Why the fuck did you do that to me?”

I yelled back, making sure to let him know how enraged I was.

“You left me without a word or a decent goodbye. You just vanished into thin air, leaving me to deal with your absence…”

I paused, breathing heavily as our unresolved past hung heavily between us.

“Then you got married and of all people, it had to be my ex roommate, Lacy, that you chose as your wife. Why Blake. WHY?”

I let out a deep guttural scream in his face, my voice filled with all the pain I'd been holding in for the past four years as my body trembled with consuming anger but he didn’t say a word.

Instead, his glaring stare softened as we kept our eyes locked, silence now filling his car.

“Fucking say something before I lose it!” I yelled again but he didn't. He just bowed his head and that made me angrier.

“Say something damn it! Say. Something. Blake!” I started to hit him, my fists meeting his shoulders and chest, hoping I would push him to lash out but still, nothing.

Only my heavy breathing reverberated through the silent car and I realized it was all a waste of time with him. So I decided it was best I left before embarrassing myself more.

“You know what? Forget it. Lacy is my friend and I'm keeping the job she gave me as her chef. So go fuck yourself because you didn't matter from the day you left me and you don't matter now”

I scoffed while I eyed him angrily and with that, I turned around, grabbing the handle to get out of the car when all of a sudden, he caught my arm and pulled me toward him.

“What are you d…” I was silenced once he pressed his lips against mine, forcing my body to go rigid from shock.

Then he pulled away to look at me, his eyes filled with intense longing and the alarms in my head blared loudly the longer I stared at him but I couldn't bring myself to leave.

My body seemed to detest but also want more of what he'd just done and that rendered me limp and speechless. Especially as memories from when we dated kept coming back to me.

“I never wanted to leave you, Alex” he sounded tortured.

“Then why did you leave?” I whispered, hoping he would make me understand and he shook his head while he breathed heavily, his heated gaze fixed on my mouth that he caressed with his thumb.

“I had no choice. There was nothing I could do” he answered vaguely and the alarms kept blaring in my head.

“But… But you're married to Lacy” I forced out those words while his left hand slowly traveled down my neck to hold it delicately and he shook his head once again.

“That doesn't matter” he sighed, his warm breath melting down my last resolve and I let him pull me in for another kiss while his right hand worked its way up my thigh and inside my dress…

********************

THE NEXT DAY

The Uber came to a stop right before the villa’s gate and I paid the driver before getting off.

I typed in the code Lacy gave me and slowly, the gate slid open, giving me entrance into her very large abode.

My heart thumped the closer I got to the building and remorse ravaged through my insides while I wondered how I would face her after getting kissed and finger fucked by her husband.

I could still feel his finger digging into me, pushing through my folds while he hungrily kissed me like he'd been starved for years and now, I was about to meet his wife, smile at her and act like nothing happened while I cooked for her.

That was diabolical. In fact, it was very cruel of me to do such a thing to her. I knew that, but I needed the job.

It was the only way I could change my life because I was sick of being an unknown seamstress living in a manageable studio apartment above her shop.

I pressed the doorbell and waited. A few minutes later, the door was pulled open to reveal a man who seemed to be in his early forties, dressed in a crispy ironed suit, a small smile plastered on his face.

“Good morning, Ms. Alex. I'm Mr Preston, the butler. Nice to meet you” he greeted me warmly as he stepped aside for me to come into the house and I smiled back at him too.

“Good morning, Mr Preston. I didn't know Lacy had a butler” I told him while I took off my jacket because I didn't recall seeing him the previous day. He nodded in agreement.

“I take a day off every week and that was yesterday” I finally understood why he was absent once he gave me an explanation and I nodded in return.

“I’ll head to the kitchen and get started with breakfast” I told him while I made my way to the kitchen and he nodded before walking off.

I dashed away once I was alone and following the timetable Lacy had provided the previous day, I buried myself in work while hoping she wouldn't show up until I was done… but the universe wasn’t on the same page with me.

Lacy walked in just as I was placing the muffins in the oven and clad in a silk night dress, she had a huge smile on her face as she entered.

“What’s smelling so good?” she asked with her usual cheerful voice and I forced a smile, an attempt to not act awkward around her.

“I’m making muffins. Then I’ll prepare lunch and dinner once I’m done with breakfast” I said while serving her a cup of coffee.

She took a seat behind the kitchen island and Blake came in right then, his eyes fixed directly on me as he walked toward her and kissed her on the temple, as if to instigate me.

“Good morning, darling” Lacy chirped as her cheeks blushed red.

“Good morning, love” he told her softly while his eyes remained on mine and I couldn’t look away. He was definitely messing with me.

He wore a black tank vest with shorts and had messy bed hair that I itched to run my fingers through. But Lacy was there and I couldn’t even look at him for too long or it would get suspicious.

Quickly, I turned away and poured another cup of coffee.

Then I walked over to where he was now seated and held out the cup of coffee toward him.

“Good morning, Mr Newton” I forced a smile again and he took the coffee from me, making sure to brush his fingers against mine and I almost visibly flinched as flashes of our escapade in his car crossed my mind.

I swiftly took a step back as he took a sip from the coffee. Then he placed the mug on the island and smiled at me.

“Nice. Just how I like it.”