Craved By My Husband's Best Friend 의 모든 챕터: 챕터 101 - 챕터 110

Xavier POVI should have seen it sooner.That was the thought that kept repeating in my head as I stood in the corridor outside Marissa's apartment, one hand pressed against the wall and the other gripping my phone, pretending to listen to Julian's update about the man in the grey jacket."Sir, security has traced the photographer," Julian was saying. "His name is Dennis Hollis. Private investigator, licensed, hired by Mr. Harrison eleven days ago. He has been working out of a rental car near your building.""Keep him monitored but do not touch him," I said. "If he sees us react, Ethan will know we are afraid.""Understood. And sir...""Yes?""If I may say so, the way Mr. Roosevelt was looking at your sister tonight was not the way a Vice President looks at a colleague."I went very still."I noticed that as well," I said."Sir, do you wish me to stay on the line?""No." I hung up.The corridor was quiet. The party noise had faded behind the door, replaced by muffled laughter and a fa

Marissa POV The Sterling family house sat behind iron gates at the end of a long avenue lined with maple trees, a pale stone mansion with tall windows and a garden that looked as though it had been painted rather than planted. Xavier drove us there on Sunday morning in grim silence, one hand on the wheel and the other resting on my knee, and I knew without asking that he had not slept."You do not have to be nervous," I told him."I am not nervous.""Your thumb has been tapping the steering wheel for ten minutes."He looked at his thumb as if it had betrayed him. "I am about to apologize to my sister in front of my mother. I would describe it as a controlled form of dread.""You will be fine.""You do not know my mother.""No," I said, smiling. "That is why I am so calm."Eleanor Sterling met us on the front steps in a pale blue cardigan with her silvery hair pinned loosely behind her head. She was slim and delicate, with deep lines of kindness around her eyes, and the moment she

Xavier POVAt two in the morning the penthouse was silent except for the hum of the city.I sat in the dark at my desk with the study lights off and my laptop open to a single window. A black and silver chat interface glowed on the screen, the one I had built two years ago and never imagined would ruin my life.My phone had rung at eleven. Arthur Sterling, my father, had not bothered with a greeting."I land Wednesday at six. I expect the girl at dinner.""Her name is Marissa.""I expect Miss Jennings at dinner," my father had said, as though correcting a typo. "And Xavier. I have read the file on Belladonna Ferreira. We will discuss it in person."The line had gone dead.I had been sitting here ever since, frozen, staring at the black screen, wondering how my father had found out. Wondering how much he knew. Wondering whether the cold knot in my stomach was fear or simply the sensation of a long dreaded door finally opening.The laptop pinged.Marissa: Are you awake, Xav?I stared at

Xavier POVSt. Alder's Hospital smelled of antiseptic and old coffee, and every minute inside it felt like a year.I had been in this building once before, at nineteen, when my grandfather died. I remembered the same flat green walls and the same hard plastic chairs. Back then I had sat very still and told myself that grief was just another business problem. I did not believe that now.Alina had flung herself into my arms the moment I walked through the emergency doors, trembling, mascara streaked down her face, and James had stood two steps behind her with one hand on her shoulder, silent and steady. Marissa had stayed at my side the whole time, saying nothing, keeping her fingers locked through mine. When the doctor finally emerged, it was her hand that kept me upright.Dr. Leopold Brandt was a tall, bald man in his fifties with tired eyes and a calm voice. "Mrs. Sterling is stable," he said. "She has suffered an episode of atrial fibrillation, probably triggered by stress and exhau

Marissa POV The family lounge on the fourth floor of St. Alder's was almost shockingly comfortable. It had low lamps, deep leather sofas and a small round table by the window, where a silver tray of tea and dry shortbread waited. Outside, night had settled over the city in a deep, rain washed blue. Arthur Sterling sat in a wingback chair with his cane across his knees, looking like a general waiting for a cease fire.I sat down opposite him without being asked."You are punctual," he observed."I am usually early. I wanted to give you the satisfaction of arriving first."A muscle moved in his cheek. It might have been irritation. It might have been a ghost of a smile. "You do not like me.""I have known you for twenty one hours. I do not dislike you yet. I merely do not trust you.""That is wise." He poured the tea himself, a slow and precise ritual. "Do you take sugar?""No.""Good. Sugar is a weakness." He placed the cup before me. "Miss Jennings, I will be direct. My son has been