Craving my mother's Hot Fiancé のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 51 - チャプター 60

~Melissa~We both froze at the sound of the familiar voice.Troy turned.Standing a few feet away, with his phone in his hand, expression dark with barely contained fury, was Marcus.Gavin’s assistant.“Is there a problem here?” Marcus asked, his tone perfectly polite but his eyes promising violence.Troy’s hand dropped from my arm immediately. “No. No problem. Just talking to my girlfriend.”“Ex-girlfriend,” I corrected quickly.“She doesn’t look like she wants to talk,” Marcus continued, not moving. “In fact, she looks scared. Should I call security?”“That’s not necessary…” Troy started.“I was asking her.” Marcus’s eyes found mine. “Melissa, should I call security?”I opened my mouth. Then I closed it. My mind was racing.If I said yes, there would be a scene. If I said no…“She’s fine,” Troy said quickly. “We’re fine. Right, Mel?”Marcus ignored him entirely, still looking at me. Waiting.“I…” My voice came out small. “I’m okay. Thank you.”Marcus studied me for a long moment. T

Melissa’s POV“You have your sad face on. Did something happen ?”I kept my eyes on the road, with my hands gripping the steering wheel.“Nothing. Today was just… long.”“Mmm. Long.” Aria’s head lolled against the window. “Is it Gavin? Who you’re definitely not secretly in love with?”My jaw tightened. I didn’t answer.We drove in silence for a few blocks. Traffic lights blurred past…red, green, yellow, red again. The city moved around us while I sat frozen in this moment, trying to hold myself together.My hands started shaking on the wheel. I pulled over into an empty parking lot, threw the car into park, and just sat there.“Mel…”“I love him.” The words burst out of me like they’d been held underwater too long. “I love Gavin and it’s wrong and it’s terrible and I tried not to. I really tried, Aria. At first I thought it was just because he’s hot, you know? And mysterious. And cold. But that’s not it. That’s not it at all.”My voice was rising, getting faster, words tumbling over e

Gavin’s POVThe silence after the gunshots was deafening.Diana’s breathing was ragged against my chest, her whole body trembling. I kept my hand on the back of her head, keeping her down, my eyes scanning the darkness.Then I heard the sound of struggling and someone grunting. Followed by the sound of someone hitting the ground hard.“Boss!” One of my men’s voices cut through the darkness. “I’ve got him! Gavin, come here!”I've always been grateful to my men. But I was especially grateful today. Not just for myself but for Diana especially.I looked down at Diana. Her eyes were wide with terror, mascara streaking down her cheeks. “Stay behind me,” I said quietly. “Don’t move unless I tell you to.”She nodded frantically.I stood, pulling her up with me, keeping her body shielded behind mine. My hand found hers, gripping tight as we moved toward the commotion.Two of my security team had someone pinned face-down in the sand near the dunes. One of them…Rico…had his knee pressed into t

Melissa’s POVI woke up with my neck aching.For a moment, I just lay there on Aria’s couch, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, trying to piece together where I was and why every muscle in my body felt stiff.Then it came back. The bar. My confession, Aria being drunk and bringing her home.I stretched carefully, wincing at the crick in my neck, and sat up. Morning light filtered through the curtains, painting everything in soft gold. It was a very beautiful sight to see. I reached for my phone and took a picture of it. After taking a minute to arrange my thoughts, I slipped off the couch and padded quietly toward Aria’s bedroom. The door was open. Her bed was empty, the sheets rumpled but no sign of her.Then I noticed the bathroom door was slightly ajar,with a sliver of light spilling through.I walked over and pushed it open gently.Aria sat on the bathroom floor, with her back against the tub, and her knees pulled to her chest. Just sitting there, staring out the small window abo

Aria’s POVI stood against the wall like a decoration.A pretty, expensive decoration in a burgundy dress . I watched couples swirl across the dance floor. Watched waiters glide past with champagne. Christian was everywhere. Every time I turned around, he was there. His hand on my elbow. His breath on my neck. His voice in my ear, reminding me to smile, to stand up straight, to stop looking so miserable.“You’re representing both our families tonight,” he’d whispered earlier. “Try to look like you’re not attending a funeral.”But that’s exactly what this felt like. My funeral. The death of any future I’d ever wanted for myself.I caught Melissa’s eye across the room. She was dancing with Jason, Gavin’s son, and even from this distance I could see the tension in her shoulders. We were both trapped in our own particular hells tonight.At least she had someone who looked at her like Gavin looked at her…like she was the only person in the room, like she was worth burning the world down f