You Buried Your Wife, Mr. Hayes. Now Beg. のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 21 - チャプター 30

Seraphine POV "Hey girl." I winced as Alice, Diego's sister and my closest and apparently only friend, shouted through the phone loud enough that I had to pull it away from my ear. "Omggg, it's too early for this," I said, rubbing my eyes and squinting at the sunlight already pouring through my curtains. "Oops, sorry." She didn't sound sorry at all. "What is it, Alice? Why did you call so early?" I asked, propping myself up against the headboard. "Well, it's the weekend, and you're not working, so I thought we could hang out. You know, go to the mall, shop a little, have brunch or dinner together. The usual." I groaned internally, because Alice was a shopaholic in the truest sense of the word. Once she started, she didn't stop until we'd been through every single store in the mall, and I dreaded it every time. "I don't know," I said, already trying to find a way out. "I've got a lot going on this week, Alice." "You always have a lot going on," she said, her voice shifting into

Seraphine POV "Send a message to Hayes Industries for a meeting on Monday morning, eight am sharp," I said to my assistant, Bella, over the phone. "Alright, ma'am," she said, and I could hear her already typing. "Should I specify a location? Their office or ours?" "Ours," I said. "I want him walking into my building, not the other way around." "Understood, ma'am. Anything else?" "That's all for tonight."I said "Goodnight, ma'am." "Goodnight, Bella." Cutting the call, I headed to my bathroom, dropped my robe, and sank into a warm, relaxing bath, letting the heat work slowly into muscles that had spent the entire day carrying shopping bags I never agreed to carry. "Gosh, Alice almost killed me," I muttered to myself, tilting my head back against the edge of the tub. "I'm so exhausted." I must have dozed off somewhere in the middle of my own complaining, because the next thing I registered was my phone buzzing loudly against the tile floor, Diego's name lighting up the screen o

Seraphine POV "I'll be a bit late tonight, babe. I have some late night work to do at the office, but once I'm done, I'll come straight to you, and we can celebrate, my love." I heard Adrian say as I slowly approached the table. I made sure to stay quiet enough that he wouldn't notice me standing behind him, listening as he lied straight through his teeth to Mira on the phone. It made me wonder how many times he must have said those exact words to me, back when I was still his wife, back when I believed every single excuse he handed me on his way out the door to spend the night with her instead. I almost laughed at the irony of it. Now, it seemed, he was doing the very same thing to Mira that he used to do to me. The joy that settled quietly in my chest at that thought surprised even me. How the tables turn. "Alright, baby. Love you," he said, and ended the call. The moment I saw him slide the phone into his jacket pocket, I timed my steps to make it look like I was only just arr

Adrian POV "Hey, baby." Mira hugged me the second I walked through the door, her arms sliding around my neck before I'd even set my keys down. "Hi, my love," I said, hugging her back and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I missed you," she whispered, smiling as her hands traced slowly down my chest. "Baby, calm down," I said, gently catching her wrists. "I'm exhausted from work and everything else today." She sighed, pouting up at me. "I know, love. Long day at the office?" "Longer than you'd think," I said, already thinking about the dinner I wasn't planning on mentioning. "Let me shower first, then we can celebrate with a little wine. How about that?" Her whole face lit up. "Yes, I'd love that." I headed upstairs, undressed, and stepped into the shower, letting the warm water pour over my head. I couldn't help but think about Seraphine, the way she'd looked across that candlelit table, the way she'd smiled at me like she found me at least slightly amusing rather than complete

Seraphine POV It was finally the Saturday of the party, and I was so close to changing my mind. "I can't believe I agreed to go to this party when I could have been sleeping my whole stressful week off," I said, sitting on the edge of my bed as I slid my feet into a pair of Louie Vuitton red bottom heels. "Well, too late to change your mind now," Alice said through the phone, her voice muffled slightly like she had me on speaker while doing something else at the same time. "Yeah, yeah. I'll pick you up in ten to twenty minutes. Be outside." "I've heard you," she said, already hanging up before I could add anything else. Once my glam team finished with my hair and makeup, they packed up their kits and left, and I walked over to the full length mirror in my closet, taking in the finished look for the first time. A deep black gown clung to every curve, the fabric catching the light with each small movement, a slit cutting high along one leg, the neckline plunging low enough to draw