Chapter 2

Chloe scanned through her side of the wardrobe as she towel-dried herself and pushed down the pang of pain as she glanced at Kylian's side of the wardrobe, resisting the urge to run her fingers over his neatly pressed suits. It would just make her cry all over again, and she didn't want that.

Just as it has been for a while now, Chloe is rarely in the mood for heavy outfits and makeup. having lost the drive to look good since Kylian stopped looking at her the way he used to.

She slid into comfy jeans and a casual shirt and didn't bother to check out her reflection in the mirror before leaving the walk-in closet. As she headed for the bedroom door, Chloe grabbed her purse and phone and slipped into her sneakers.

She was late, but she didn't care. She was the owner of THE GIRLY LUX. A fashion house that produced one of the best lingerie brands ever sold in New York. While Emma's fashion store, LA BEVA, produced the same things, they have both been successful in their own rights. There is no competition whatsoever. They only strived to make the best out of their brands.

Chloe walked out of the mansion and into the wide compound. The air was cool, but the sun was blazing hot. As she walked down the front steps, a car separated from the fleet of cars parked in the compound and pulled up at the bottom of the stairs.

The driver got out of the car and opened the passenger-side door for her, greeting her with a bow.

Chloe smiled and said, "Good morning, Calvin," before entering the car.

The drive to her fashion store was a long one. Chloe leaned her head on the cool tinted glass and watched the streets of New York blur as her car sped up. She was thinking of ways she could get her marriage back on track.

She hoped it would work.

====

Emma Anderson shoved her phone into the pocket of her lace shorts after her call with Chloe ended. Her face broke into a wry smile.

"Oh, Chloe,"   She shook her head sadly.

The game of men is for the smart, not the foolish.

Walking quietly from her balcony, Emma entered her room. She had to sneak out to call her cousin, not wanting to wake up her man with annoying talks of Chloe's failed marriage.

Her man...

She couldn't help the excited smile that replaced her wry smile at the thought. Who would have thought that she was ever going to find a man she could call her own?

After all the trash she'd unfortunately met, just when she felt all her hopes had been dashed, Adam cheated on her. She finally got herself a man—one that was willing to stay. All Emma had to do now was keep him.

And she would keep him.

She stared at her man with bliss as he slept peacefully in her bed. He was so cute, even in his sleep. Chloe could go jump over a bridge with her failed marriage; her own life was perfect.

"Time for the next course of action," she muttered under her breath.

The man under her sheets stirred and blinked his beautiful eyes open.

"Good morning, sunshine," Emma greeted brightly as she rounded the bed and sat on the edge.

"Good morning, babe," his rough morning voice said, warmly greeting her.

Oh, how it felt like a dream to Emma that she could snatch such a man. There was one pesky little problem though—he was married. But that wasn't a big issue for Emma; she'd dealt with married men before.

The only thing bothering her was her man's divorce from his slutty bitch of a wife. It was taking longer than expected, and Emma was getting impatient about being his secret mistress.

She wanted to walk with him proudly and take his last name. Her mother would know what to do in regards to hastening the divorce process; after all, she had helped her so much with artful seduction and winning a silent war.

"Wanna shower together?" Emma arched her eyebrow, giving him a playful smirk.

"Not now, babe," came his stressed reply as he moved out from under the sheets and headed to the bathroom.

Emma frowned, but it didn't last. She never took "no" for an answer. Hastily, she undressed and followed him.

====

Kylian Kincaid sat in his white and gray lavish office, which had a floor-to-ceiling window displaying the impeccable view of the city in the afternoon sun. But he couldn't appreciate its beauty; his cold blue eyes were fixed on his assistant, who was shifting from one foot to the other and looking like she wanted to bolt.

"What did you say?" He hoped he had heard wrong. He hoped she wasn't standing there spouting news that made his blood boil.

His assistant visibly gulped. "The Hampton contract got canceled. Mr. Milton said West Construction would do a better job, and they already have high praise.”

Kylian nodded, laced his fingers under his jaw, and fell silent. A thousand and one thoughts were running through his head, echoing the same thing.

West had gotten his contract.

"S-Sir?"  The woman, who was no older than twenty-two, had glossy hair and terrified lips.

"Leave," Kylian said quietly. Too quietly. He just wanted a moment to—

"Sir, what's our next plan of action? We need to-"

"I told you to leave, Heather!" Kylian slammed his palms on his oval glass desk, rattling all the objects laid on it and making the woman jump in fright. She disappeared quickly through his office doors, away from his furious gaze.

Kylian leaned forward, grabbed a glass figurine of a horse from his desk, and flung it. The figurine sailed through the air like a missile and exploded on the wall, shattering into pieces on impact.

"Damn West!" Kylian yelled angrily, grabbed his empty coffee mug, and flung it as well. The crash echoed throughout his office, making him want to smash his entire office. But he wasn't about to lose himself in his rage.

His shoulders trembled with contained rage, and he ran a furious hand through his hair. He'd been smashing things lately, and it was starting to bother him. West always made him see red.

Why was West so hell-bent on making his life difficult? Why didn't he just fall down and die? or get crushed by a crane? or get poisoned?

Kylian sighed.  He had never liked his crude, intrusive thoughts, but at that moment he wanted to smash everything in his office in the hopes that one of them was West.

He'd worked so hard to get that contract from West, and now he'd lost it. Kylian rubbed his face blearily.

He was tired and had barely slept because his thoughts had gotten too loud.

Work was fucked up. His personal life was even more... He didn't even want to think about Chloe in his state; he was currently not sleeping in his house because of her. He hated her so much; he couldn't stand to see her.

Marrying her had been the biggest mistake of his life. She was a liar, a cheat, and a fucking hypocrite!

Kylian stood from his desk, took his phone, and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. In a smooth move, he dipped his hand in his pocket, tapped his phone, and held it to his ear.

"Good afternoon, sir," a male voice said over the phone.

"Hugo, prepare the papers," Kylian ordered. "And send them to her."

"Yes sir."

Kylian hung up and stared out the window with a frown that creased in between his brows. He didn't feel better, but at least Chloe would get what she deserved for making a fool of him, and once he was done with her, he would make West pay.

Nobody messes with him or his empire.

Kylian walked back to his desk, picked up his work phone, and called his assistant. A nice plan had started taking shape in his head. He took his seat gracefully as she entered.

"Sit," he commanded, opening his laptop. The woman sat stiffly, clutching her pad tightly.

"Our next course of action is simple," he started, long fingers flying over the keyboard as the white screen brightened his eyes, "we are going to make a purchase."

"A purchase?"    His assistant asked in confusion.

"You know the NYC daily paper?" Kylian turned his laptop to face her.

"Yeah."  She nodded.  She looked at Kylian, not able to understand him.

"We're buying it."

"But...Why?"

"The news is a powerful tool, Heather. I can't believe I hadn't thought of it sooner. Do you know the quickest way to destroy a company?"

His assistant shook her head, "no."

Kylian's face broke into a menacing smirk. "You'll know soon enough. Arrange a meeting with my financial analysts and the media department."

The woman stood up, tapping on her pad and nodding.

"Also get in contact with our informants. I'm interested in learning everything they know about the West's business."

"Yes, Sir."