บททั้งหมดของ MERCILESS SEDUCTRESS : บทที่ 51 - บทที่ 60

CHAPTER 52052JAKE’S POVI had always considered myself good at hiding things.I could walk into a boardroom with millions of dollars at stake and never let anyone see him sweat. I could sit across from investors who were trying to tear my proposals apart and remain composed. I could smile at competitors while secretly calculating how to destroy their next move.But sitting in my parents’ living room was somehow worse than any business negotiation I had ever faced.My mother sat opposite me, watching me carefully.My mum had known me my entire life. She had watched me lie about breaking a vase when I was seven,even watched me sneak out of the house as a teenager, watched me return from university with the confidence of a man who thought he knew everything.She knew my expressions.She knew my silence.And apparently, she knew my nervous habits too.“Jake.”I looked up.“Yes, Mum?”She studied me for another moment.“Is there something wrong?”My heart immediately tightened.“No.”T

054ANN’S POVWhen I got home, it felt like I wasn’t nearly as prepared as I had convinced myself.My hands trembled slightly as I unlocked the front door.The familiar smell of home greeted me.Home.The word suddenly felt strange.I stepped inside and closed the door behind her.For a moment, I simply stood there.Everything looked exactly the same.The furniture was where it had always been.The flowers I had arranged earlier in the week were still sitting on the console table.The photographs on the wall hadn’t moved.Their wedding photograph was still there.My eyes immediately landed on it.I froze.There they were.Jake and I Smiling.Happy.Young enough to believe that love alone could protect a marriage from everything life could throw at it.I looked away.It hurt too much.I slowly walked into the living room and placed my handbag on the sofa.Jake wasn’t home.A strange mixture of relief and disappointment washed over me.I had expected him to be there.I had expected the

056ANN’S POVI woke up the next morning feeling as though I hadn’t slept at all.My eyes opened slowly, but instead of feeling refreshed, I felt strangely exhausted. My body was heavy, my mind crowded with thoughts that had refused to disappear even after I had finally fallen asleep.For a few seconds, I simply stared at the ceiling.The room was unusually quiet.I turned my head toward Jake’s side of the bed.Empty.I sat up slowly and listened.Nothing.No footsteps downstairs.No sound of the shower running.No movement coming from his study.The house felt different when Jake wasn’t in it.For years, I had been accustomed to waking up and knowing that he was somewhere nearby. Even when we weren’t speaking, even when there was tension between us, his presence had always been part of the rhythm of my life.Now I wasn’t sure whether that comforted me or frightened me.I pulled the blanket away and got out of bed.The events of the previous day came rushing back.The conversation wit

058Louis’s POVAnn was giving me that suspicious look again.I couldn’t quite explain it, but there was something different about the way she was looking at me.Her eyes stayed on mine for a few seconds longer than usual, almost as if she were searching for something behind my words.I shifted slightly in my chair.For a moment, I wondered if she already knew something.Had someone told her?Had Jake said something?Or perhaps she had heard some version of what had happened and was simply waiting for me to admit it myself.I studied her expression carefully.She wasn’t angry.She wasn’t accusing me either.But there was definitely something behind those eyes.“Is there something you want to ask me?” I finally said.Ann blinked.“No.”The answer came a little too quickly.I raised an eyebrow.She gave me a faint smile.“I just…” She paused. “You seem different.”“Different how?”“I don’t know.”She looked away.I leaned back in my chair.“Ann, if there’s something you’re worried about

060Louis POVWhen I was finally done with my meetings, I leaned back in my chair and let out a slow breath.It had been a long day.One meeting had dragged into another, followed by a series of discussions that could have easily been handled through emails. Yet somehow, every department head had decided that today was the perfect day to bring their problems directly to me.Normally, I wouldn’t have minded.Today, however, my mind had been somewhere else.Ann.I glanced at the time on my watch.It was almost closing time.Without giving myself much time to think about it, I stood up, grabbed my jacket, and left my office.I headed straight for the designing department.I wanted to see how she was doing.Ever since she had arrived here at Crescent, I had deliberately tried not to hover around her. I didn’t want her to feel as though I had brought her into my company because I had ulterior motives.She was definitely going to earn her place here.I knew that for sure.And judging by what