Chapter 2

When Xena walked in, her steps looked steady and confident.

"Mrs. Hawkins, it looks like staying home really was more suitable for you."

The corners of her lips lifted in a challenging smile.

"The company has me and Daddy. That is all we need."

I looked up and studied her properly for the first time.

She was young and beautiful with a great figure. Her sweet, breathy voice and delicate mannerisms made her hard to ignore.

Life was fair in its own way. It had given her beauty, but it had forgotten to give her a brain.

I gave a soft laugh.

"You know Seth has a daughter, right? She is only five years old.

"You are twenty‑two. Do you really have no shame calling him Daddy?"

Xena covered her mouth and giggled.

"You really do not get it.

"He liked me calling him that. It was part of our little game."

She looked me up and down.

"I heard you were thirty‑five this year. You looked more like forty‑five."

She winked at me.

"Especially these lines around your eyes. Tsk. You should get some work done."

I did not respond. I looked at my reflection in the mirror.

Even with heavier makeup than usual, I still looked bright and striking. She was just a young girl. She had no right to criticize me.

When Xena saw that I was not getting angry, she stepped closer and lowered her voice.

"Daddy told me last night that you were like a dead fish in bed. He said after seven years of marriage, being with you every time felt like he was checking something off his to‑do list."

My fingers curled into tight fists as I glared at her. She knew exactly what she was doing. She wanted to provoke me.

"Oh, do not get mad." Xena smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "Men were like that. They preferred someone young and full of energy."

She pulled a bottle of perfume from her purse and sprayed some on herself.

"This was a custom‑made perfume for me and Daddy. You must have smelled it when he came home, right?"

I frowned slightly as the familiar scent reached me. I had smelled it many times before, and because I was allergic to perfume, I had always hated it.

Xena smiled.

"Here was my advice. Stay home like a good wife and stop coming to the company to stir things up.

"Otherwise, you and your children would be kicked out of the house sooner or later."

Kick me out?

Interesting, I thought.

I had no idea what Seth had told her to give her that kind of blind confidence.

I glanced at her and let the meaning of my look sink in.

"Did Seth know you told me all this?"

Xena smiled smugly.

"Why did that matter?

"He could spoil me in front of the entire company. If I did not tell you, do you think you would not figure it out yourself?"

I nodded slowly.

"So, you did it on purpose just now?"

"Of course." Her expression hardened. "Old woman, you could not beat me."

She reached into her purse and tossed something onto the counter.

It was a condom.

The wrapper looked crumpled.

"We used it in Daddy’s office last night." She said it as casually as if she were talking about the weather. "I forgot to throw it away. I hope you do not mind."

For a second, I forgot how to breathe. She had provoked me again and again, and it was clear she had come prepared. She wanted me to lose my temper. She wanted me to make a scene.

Fine.

If that was what she wanted, I could give her exactly that.

I slowly raised my hand.

The restroom door suddenly swung open.

Tracy, the head of the sales department, rushed inside with a pale and urgent expression.

She did not look at Xena. She grabbed my arm.

"Ms. Yates, there is an emergency!"

She dragged me out of the restroom.

Behind us, Xena gave a soft laugh.

"Take care, Ms. Yates."