Chapter 38: The loving husband pt 2
"It’s perfect," Alice said, stepping closer to him.
"We can play the media like a drum. You’re the poor, devoted husband who worked himself to the bone while his blind wife ran off with a Russian mobster. Public sympathy will be entirely on your side. We can smear her name so badly she’ll never be able to show her face in this city again."
She leaned forward, her hands sliding over his broad shoulders as she stepped between his knees, climbing smoothly onto his lap.
Kian felt her weight press against him. She smelled like expensive perfume and sweet wine.
For six years, this was the woman he had wanted. This was the partner he had chosen to build his future with.
"We’ve come so far, Kian," Alice whispered, her fingers reaching up to loosen his tie a little more, her manicured nails brushing gently against the skin of his throat.
She held his face between her hands, staring down at him with bright, greedy eyes. "This is a cause for celebration, don’t you think?"
Kian looked up at her. He tried to feel the rush of victory. He tried to feel the heat that usually came whenever she touched him.
But everything felt muted, like he was watching the scene from behind a thick glass wall.
"After I clear up the mess outside," Kian murmured, offering her another quiet smile.
Alice pouted, her lips pressing together in a playful line. "Who cares about the mess outside? Let the guards clean it. In fact, we should sell this entire estate."
Kian froze.
Alice didn’t notice. She smoothed her hands down his chest, leaning her face closer to his. "We can put the land on the market next week. We’ll take the money from the sale and buy a new place up north. Double the acres, bigger gates, somewhere fresh where we don’t have to look at any of Lance’s old things. What do you think?"
"No," Kian said.
The word came out of his mouth before he could even process it. It was quick, sharp, and flat.
Alice stopped mid-breath, her face pulling back an inch as she blinked down at him in confusion. "No?"
Kian’s mind raced, his instinct immediately kicking in to cover the sudden slip. He forced a soft laugh, resting his hands on her waist.
"It would be stupid to sell it now," Kian said quickly, his voice smooth and logical. "The estate has massive historical value in the city. Selling it right after a break-in makes us look weak, like we’re running away. Besides, the security grid can be upgraded. It’s close to the main corporate offices. It doesn’t make financial sense to give it up."
He gave perfect, logical reasons. He sounded like a businessman making a cold business choice.
But as the words left his throat, a dark image flashed behind his eyes. He pictured the long, carpeted hallways of the house. He pictured the sunlit sitting room near the garden, the small piano near the window, and the quiet sound of soft footsteps walking down the hall in the afternoon.
This house was full of Isabella.
He had spent six years watching her move through these rooms. He knew which floorboards creaked under her light feet. He knew which window she sat by when she wanted to feel the morning sun.
Selling the estate meant wiping all of that away, and somewhere deep inside his chest, a strange, stubborn wall had instantly slammed shut against the idea.
Alice stared at him for a second, her sharp eyes studying his expression. But Kian’s mask was completely solid now.
She let out a small, disappointed sigh, her red lips curving back into a sly smile. "Always thinking about business."
"It’s how we keep what we’ve earned," Kian murmured.
Alice hummed, leaning down to press her lips against his.
Kian didn’t let her. He smoothly shifted his head, catching her gently by the wrist before her lips could touch his.
He leaned up and pressed a soft, firm kiss against her forehead instead, keeping his movement gentle enough that it didn’t look like a rejection.
Alice groaned playfully, her hand reaching down toward his belt buckle. "I’ve been waiting all day for you to stop acting like a boss and start acting like my man."
Kian caught her fingers again, laughing softly under his breath as he held her hands away. "If we start celebrating now, who’s going to make sure the lawyers don’t mess up the public statement?"
"You’re terrible," Alice smirked, wiggling her hands in his grip.
"I’m practical," he replied, using the exact word he had used a thousand times before. He stood up from the leather chair, carefully guiding her off his lap so she was standing on her own feet beside the desk.
He reached out, sliding his thumb gently over her cheekbone. "Go upstairs and rest. Let me handle Luke and the press. I’ll make it up to you tonight."
Alice looked at him, completely satisfied with his answer. She smiled, stepping back to grab her glass of wine from the desk. "Fine. But don’t keep me waiting too long."
"I won’t," Kian said.
She gave him one last long, lingering look before turning on her heel and strutting out of the study, her hips swaying as she pushed the heavy door open and walked down the hall.
The moment the oak door clicked shut and the room went silent again, the smile on Kian’s face vanished instantly.
The mask melted away, leaving his features cold, pale, and entirely blank.
He stood alone in the dim, gray light of the office, his hands slipping into his trouser pockets. He looked around the large room, at the dark wood shelves, the heavy leather chairs, the quiet fireplace.
He had won. He had everything he had ever planned for.
He turned back toward the window, looking out at the quiet, empty driveway under the gray winter sky.
And for the first time in his life, Kian felt completely hollow.