Michelle

Torí's POV

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I stared at her, her lips puckered up with a smirk as though she loved the look of surprise on my face.

Alpha Adrian cleared his throat, obviously sensing the discomfort that surrounded me.

“Emily, you should go now,” he said, his voice holding the same nonchalance it did when talking to me. That seemed to comfort me. She was not that important to him.

She turned to look at him, her eyes temporarily leaving mine, and I could almost sigh with relief. I was only a few seconds away from crumbling under the weight of her stare.

“But why, baby? I have not even seen Kylian. He is inside, is he not? I will just pop in and say hi before leaving,” she said, but Adrian stopped her again.

“Kylian would like to be left alone for now. And I don’t want you hanging around my son when I’m not around. You can come back later,” he said.

She scowled a little but shrugged, walking toward him and planting another sloppy kiss on his lips, her eyes practically stripping him naked.

“I will be back later in the evening, babe, and maybe then, we can have this conversation more…” She trailed off, turning to give me a once-over before she finished her statement.

“…privately.”

The car seemed stuffy all of a sudden when we finally got into it, Alpha Adrian speeding in the direction of the hotel.

“You will be seeing Emily a lot more around the house, so get used to her presence,” he suddenly said, jolting me out of my uncomfortable thoughts.

I waited for him to add something—maybe an explanation of who she was or why she looked at me like an opponent—but none came.

I cleared my throat.

“Is she really your girlfriend?” I asked.

“That is not in your place to ask. Your job in the house concerns Kylian and not me. She comes to visit me, so as long as she is not with Kylian, you don’t have a right to ask about her,” he said.

I gaped at him, my mouth open for what felt like minutes before I finally closed it.

How was he so cold to me?

The car only got stuffier, and when finally I saw the largesse of the hotel, I could almost jump for joy. He had barely stopped the car before I dashed out, muttering some excuse about checking in before rushing away.

I could feel myself suffocating with the amount of time I spent in that suffocating car, and when my lungs finally got a whiff of the breeze outside, they were grateful.

Even though I had run up to the receptionist, he still managed to catch up with me, not one hair out of place, bringing with him the same suffocating air I was trying to escape.

I tried to focus on the cool steel of the keys in my hands as I walked toward the elevator, but it was so hard to concentrate when he was so close, his natural minty scent stinging my nose.

“Tori! Oh, really, it is you. What a pleasant surprise to run into you here,” the voice said, and I paled internally.

It was a voice I recognized anywhere, mostly because I was so used to hearing it at every party Alex deemed fit to throw.

I was accustomed to the fake laughs and her fake batting of lashes as she pointed out my flaws in organizing the party—the too-little drinks, the missed spot on the floor, or perhaps an out-of-place balloon.

She was the wife of Alex’s best friend, Micheal. And while Michael was vile, Alex was calm—or at least I thought so, until he left me for my best friend.

I turned around, giving her a fake smile of my own.

“Hi Michelle, it’s such a pleasure to see you again after all this time. I hope Michael is well,” I asked, even though secretly I was hoping Micheal had somehow ended up on his deathbed.

She batted her fake lashes at me as usual, toying with her synthetic hair.

“Oh, he is fine. He sent me to come pick up a few documents from one of his clients. But you must have seen my shock the other day!” she said.

I pursed my lips.

“What other day?” I asked.

“Oh, you know, at the party Alex threw. He officially announced your best friend as his new wife, and I was shocked. I wondered why he would do such a thing. You are such a lovely girl, Tori, and it’s just so sad.”

But I could see through her fake lashes and chemically bleached teeth. She was just a sniveling gossip, looking for the next best news she could share with her friends.

If anyone was happy about my downfall, I was willing to bet she was part of them.

“Well, it’s what happened. I’m no longer in charge of the parties, so you can go complain to my best friend now whenever the food is not to your liking,” I said.

My heart ached. The fact that while I was drinking myself numb, he was partying made me sick. I wished the elevator would move faster, just so I could escape her eyes and curled-up lips.

Her gaze finally settled on Alpha Adrian, and she immediately seemed unnerved.

She gave me a fake laugh as she looked at me.

“I was wondering why he would do such a thing, but now I can see why. I hope you have a good relationship with Alpha Adrian.”

Just then, the hotel elevators chimed, and she squeezed her way out.

My heart was thudding, and slowly, I could not feel myself breathing.

My vision was lined with black dots as I struggled to remember how to breathe.