All Chapters of Craved By My Husband's Best Friend : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Marissa POV"I am just appreciating the view," he replied. His voice dropped into that low, dangerous vibration that made my stomach do a slow flip. "I have been waiting a long time for this view."I felt the heat crawl up my neck. I was just about to open my mouth and ask exactly what he meant by "a long time" when a screech echoed from the edge of the VVIP lounge, cutting through the heavy bass like a jagged blade."Hey! Get your hands off me, you oversized refrigerator!"I’d know that drunk, high-pitched wail anywhere. Hailey. She was trying to charge past a bodyguard who looked like he had been carved out of granite. He had his arm out like a steel beam, and she was bouncing off it, her chocolate brown gown shimmering under the red lights as she struggled to keep her balance."Hailey!" I called out.The bodyguard didn't budge an inch until Mr. Silver Mask gave a sharp, subtle signal. The guard instantly stepped back, melting into the shadows. Hailey staggered through, looking like

Marissa POVI woke up with a start, the sunlight stabbing at my eyes through the gaps in the curtains. My head felt like it had been put through a commercial blender, and my mouth tasted like I had been chewing on copper coins."What the hell happened yesterday?" I groaned, clutching my temples as I tried to piece together the blurred fragments of the night. I stretched out to my bedside table and then poured myself a glass of water. I gulped down its entire content and then I was finally able to breathe properly.Okay, let’s see. I went to the club to forget about my hectic day and my consistent rejections. I drank—a lot. I got swooned by a blonde guy named Elon, which felt like a win until the masked guy spotted us. Then came the teasing, the tension, and the offer to go to his penthouse. I remembered saying yes and the fact that I had bade Hailey goodbyes earlier on... then a very loud, drunken no! And then he took me home.I bolted upright in bed, a cold sweat breaking out. He too

Marissa POVI stumbled toward the door, my head spinning from the wine and the sheer, jagged reality of what had just happened on the phone. I yanked the door open, ready to scream, but Ethan beat me to it. He stepped into the light of the foyer, looking more inconvenienced than guilty."Marissa, why are you drunk? Is that why you told me the wrong thing about the code?" he asked, his voice dripping with that smug, 'rational' confidence he always used to make me feel small. I may be drunk but I am not that drunk to forget my passcode and the nerve of him trying to make me look stupid. "No, you idiot!" I barked, the word tearing at my throat. "You are the one who doesn't even remember my birthday! For God's sake, Ethan, you don't even know me at all! We have lived in this house for three years. I have been in your life for seven. How is that possible?""No, no, Marissa. Don't view it that way," he said, stepping inside without an invitation. He shrugged off his coat, already trying t

Marissa POVI sat on the edge of the bed, the silence of the room ringing in my ears. "Oh my goodness," I muttered to the empty air. "I can't believe Hailey actually thought I would sue her. Is that really the kind of person she thinks I am? After everything?"Ethan, who was hovering by the door with a pathetic, lingering gaze, took it as an invitation to speak. "Well, to be fair, Marissa, the way things have been going lately... people don't know what to expect from us anymore.""Ethan, just stop already," I snapped, my eyes flashing with a cold fire. "Look at yourself in the mirror and ask if you know exactly what kind of person you are before you start analyzing my friends."He went still, his hand gripping the doorframe. "I can't say. You tell me.""Well," I started, my voice dripping with a bitter honesty. "Just like I didn't believe you were the kind of man who could cheat on me but you did it anyway. It is better to keep that in the back of your mind. Don't act shocked when

Marissa POV"And you will get to those," Rachel promised, her eyes darting toward the elevators like she expected a firing squad to emerge at any second. "But if you want to keep this job and trust me, Marissa, you really want to keep this job you will get him that coffee. Black, two sugars, and it better be hot enough to melt lead. You have three minutes left. Go!"I didn't wait for another word. I turned and practically sprinted toward the break room Rachel pointed out. My mind was a chaotic mess of frustration and a nagging, rhythmic sense of déjà vu. That voice. It was deep and had a gravelly, vibrating quality that resonated in the pit of my stomach. It was the same voice that had whispered "Zaika" into the shell of my ear while I was half conscious and reeling from tequila at the club.It is impossible, I told myself, my breath hitching as I fumbled with the high end espresso machine. Xav was a stranger from a masked club a midnight phantom. Mr. Sterling was a billionaire mogu