Chapter 442
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Chapter 442:
“Mr. Collins,” Chloe purred, her voice dripping with calculated, overly familiar sweetness. “I certainly didn’t expect to run into my most disobedient former patient here p>
Gaston slowly turned his head. His dark eyes locked onto her face. There was absolutely zero warmth in his gaze.
“Dr. Monroe,” Gaston said, his voice a low, flat rumble of pure ice. He did not invite her to sit.
Chloe ignored the blatant rejection. She slid into the leather booth directly across from him and crossed her long legs, the silk of her skirt riding up her thigh. Her eyes immediately dropped to Gaston’s left hand, staring openly at the heavy platinum wedding band resting on the table.
“You look tense, Gaston,” Chloe murmured, leaning forward. “How is your sleep architecture? I have to admit, your new… domestic life doesn’t seem to be giving you the relaxation you need p>
The implication was disgusting. She was probing the rumors of his fake marriage.
Gaston’s blood ran cold. The muscles in his forearms coiled tight beneath his suit jacket. He took the Cohiba cigar and crushed the burning cherry directly into the crystal ashtray. The violent crunching sound echoed through the quiet booth.
“My wife,” Gaston said, his voice dropping to a lethal, vibrating whisper, “takes exceptional care of me. Do not ever question my marriage again p>
Chloe physically flinched. The absolute, terrifying devotion in his voice felt like a slap to her face.
𝗡𝖾𝘸 𝗰𝗵a𝘱𝘁𝗲𝗿ѕ ev𝗲ry 𝘄𝗲e𝗄 𝗈n
She recovered quickly, forcing a tight, plastic smile, and raised her martini glass. “Of course. Just a doctor’s habit. Occupational hazard p>
Less than twenty feet away, completely hidden by the shadows of a marble pillar, Bella stood frozen.
She had just walked out of the dining room with a PR client when her socialite radar instantly locked onto the scene in the booth. From her specific angle, the dim lighting and the high back of the leather sofa created a perfect optical illusion: it looked like Chloe was leaning intimately across the table, her face inches from Gaston’s.
Bella’s stomach dropped. Her loyalty to Jocelyn was absolute.
She pulled her phone out of her Prada bag, turned off the flash, zoomed in, and snapped a photo of the exact moment Chloe leaned forward.
Bella immediately opened her chat with Jocelyn and attached the photo.
Bella: Honey, I am at the Core Club. There is a stray cat trying to climb into your territory. Look at this.
Back in the booth, Gaston’s patience completely evaporated.
He stood up, towering over Chloe, his massive frame blocking the dim light.
“Excuse me,” Gaston said coldly. He didn’t wait for her response. He turned his back on her and walked straight toward the private conference rooms.
Chloe sat alone in the booth. Her fingers gripped the thin stem of the martini glass so hard her knuckles turned stark white. A hot, ugly wave of jealousy burned in her chest.
Forty blocks south, inside the glass-walled penthouse office of the Wolfe Hotel.
Jocelyn sat behind her massive mahogany desk, reviewing the final, complex data models for her Series B financing. Her phone screen lit up on the desk.