Semua Bab The Boss I Shouldn't Want, Now My Stepbrother : Bab 131 - Bab 140

Elias Clarkson's POVShe sat frozen for what felt like hours but was actually a few seconds. Her expression was a mix of horror and frightened deer, and for some reason, it stung.Not that I expected her to accept my words immediately, but her expression told me all I needed to know. Bridget had never looked at me in that way and was horrified that I had.And why the heck not? What was wrong with me? Not to toot my own horn, but I was a prime catch—voted top among the youngest and richest CEOs on the Forbes list.I've been dubbed the moonlight prince on Wall Street and hottest man of the month five times in a row, among many other accolades. This was not the expression I wanted to see when I popped the question.It made me angry—not enough to change my expression, but enough to make me want to push on. To find out why she'd looked at me like that.The initial plan had been to take her unaware, woo her, get her to like me, to let her guard down around me before I collected information.

Rhysand's POVInside my office, I slammed the door and locked it behind me. My breath was ragged as the memory of Bridget in his arms ran through my mind.My fist tightened, the veins popped green with effort. I wanted to smash them into Elias' face, maybe wipe that smirk off his pretty face, or knock out a couple of teeth. Whichever came first."Rosa!" I called out through the intercom. "No one comes in. Especially not Bridget.""Yes, sir," came Rosa's prompt reply, although it held a hint of confusion. I didn't wait for her to ask questions. I switched the intercom off and dropped into my seat, pretending to focus on my work.But that was impossible. There was no way I could do that, not when all I could think about was jealousy and fear.Elias had touched her, hugged her, and she hadn't pushed him away.The jealousy I felt was mind-consuming. What was Bridget thinking? Why was she with him in the first place? Had she been with him all day, or night too?The questions churned, burni

Rhysand POVI stood still for what felt like hours, but was only a few seconds, staring into the room filled with women. Every face was dolled up to perfection, and yet they all reminded me of her."Gorgeous distractions, aren't they?" Payne whispered in my ear, throwing an arm around my shoulder. "What do you think? Do you like my present?""You didn't have to," I replied dryly, eyeing him.He gave me a knowing look. "Of course I did. I'm just a best friend. Who else will help you find release if not me? And I happen to know your preference." He added, wiggling his brows."What do you say? Feeling lucky?""I don't know," I shook his arm away, stepping into the booth with a dispassionate look. "Let's try it out, shall we?"Payne's laughter was drowned out by the loud, pulsing beat of the disco music, while I rolled my eyes, stepping fully into the room.As though taking my silence as an invitation, the women flocked towards me, trying to catch my attention.Each one was trying harder

Bridgette's POVI stared at my phone for what felt like the hundredth time that evening. The screen came up black, save for a couple of messages from a few friends and acquaintances. Yet there was still no reply from Rhysand.The message I'd sent a couple of minutes ago sat there—read but unanswered, floating in silence—unlike its previous counterparts, which had a few simple responses. I was left wondering what went wrong.I flipped through my other messages, hoping it was network issues, but the collective chime of my phone alerted me to incoming messages. None belonged to Rhysand.Something was definitely off with him. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Rhysand had been more annoyed than normal earlier. Even our argument had a hint of something I couldn't place, and his texts felt colder somehow.I read through our old chats. His one-worded answers were very different from his usual emoji-packed texts. It felt as though the argument we had earlier still settled ar

Rhysand's POVBridgette's silence irritated me, forcing me to think up different scenarios where Elias would offer her a proposal.I stalked towards her until I was standing right in front of her, blocking her escape."I told you… It's nothing," she stuttered. "He doesn't mean anything.""But he does, Bridgette," I snapped, losing my cool. "He means a lot and will mean much more if you don't tell me what I want to know." I demanded, my voice low. "What proposal was he talking about, and why did you end the call so suddenly without an answer?""Rhysand, I…" Before she could continue her words, I leaned over until our faces were a hair's breadth away. Her breath hit my face as she gasped, shrinking back.But I stopped her. "Answer me, Bridgette.""It's the truth."The room exploded with charged tension, neither of us backing down for the other. At any other time, I would have felt impressed, or even aroused at Bridgette's progress, but not today—not when my heart weighed heavy with the