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Chapter 369
Chapter 369:
Cole stood frozen in the hallway, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned bone-white.
He felt his authority being crushed beneath the heel of her shoe.
Behind his back, hidden from his view, Alycia slowly lowered her hands from her face. A dark, triumphant smile flashed across her lips.
The elevator doors slid open. June stepped inside.
She turned around as the metal doors began to close, and looked at Cole one last time. Her eyes were completely empty.
Cole stared at the closing doors. The hatred burning in his chest reached a terrifying peak.
He firmly believed June had become a psychotic, jealous monster.
In that freezing hospital corridor, the fragile, broken remains of their marriage were pulverized into dust. The relationship had finally hit absolute zero.
The air inside the private dining room of the Waldorf Astoria was thick with the smell of expensive truffles and suffocating hypocrisy.
𝘋ow𝘯𝗅o𝘢𝘥a𝗯𝗅𝗲 𝖯𝖣F𝗌 on.с𝘰𝗺
Cole sat at the head of the massive mahogany table. He had just dropped a “traumatized” Alycia off at her apartment. Within ten minutes, Richard Beasley had called his private line, his voice dripping with false concern, demanding an immediate dinner meeting.
Cole knew exactly what this was. An ambush.
He dragged a finger around the collar of his dress shirt, feeling suffocated. His chief executive assistant stood silently in the shadows behind his chair, holding a thick leather briefcase.
Across the table, Richard and Martha Beasley wore identical masks of deep, parental distress. The table was covered in plates of untouched appetizers.
Martha did not even wait for the wine to be poured before she launched her attack.
“Cole, we are just so incredibly worried,” Martha began, pressing a silk napkin to her dry eyes. “Alycia has been crying non-stop. She is having terrible nightmares about June attacking her again. Her doctor said the stress is causing early signs of a potential miscarriage p>
Richard nodded heavily, playing the role of the stern but reasonable patriarch.
“We know you are in a difficult transition, Cole,” Richard said, leaning forward. “But Alycia is carrying the heir to the Compton empire. She is living in the shadows. She is being publicly assaulted by your ex-wife. She has no protection and no title p>
Martha dropped the napkin. Her eyes sharpened with pure greed.
“For the sake of the child, and to protect Alycia’s reputation, this wedding cannot be delayed any longer,” Martha said, her voice losing its false softness. “We expect a formal, public announcement of your engagement by next week p>
Cole squeezed his eyes shut. A throbbing migraine pulsed behind his temples.
Every time he heard the word “wedding,” his stomach twisted into a violent knot. The only image that flashed in his brain was June’s cold, mocking face staring at him in the hospital corridor.
He did not want to marry Alycia. He just wanted the noise to stop.
“I will handle the situation,” Cole said, his voice completely flat. “But not now. The Compton Group is in the middle of three major acquisitions. The board will not tolerate a messy public scandal p>