Chapter 157 Staged Marriage
The defiance in Nadine’s eyes was crystal clear to Tess.
Snap-
56
s
With a cold expression, Tess flicked on the main light. The entire living room flooded with blinding white, like the sun itself had been dropped indoors, exposing even the dust in the
corners.
The sudden re made Finn falter for a moment as his mind began to clear.
Gone was the forgiving haze of warm amber–now Nadine’s face wasid bare before him.
Finn’s pupils tightened. A jolt of strength surged through his weakened body, and he quickly leaned back to put space between them.
The heavy stillness in the air made him realize something was off.
Following instinct, he turned his head–and there was Tess, holding La, standing a few
her cold as ice. paces away, gaze
A rush of panic shot through him. His eyes trembled, lips parting on instinct to exin.
But instead of words, all that followed was the sound of Tess’s calm, steady footsteps. She didn’t spare the two on the couch so much as a nce. Crossing the room, she switched on the hallway lights one by one and headed straight to the kitchen to make La’s form.
Nadine’s eyes lingered on Tess’s retreating back before she turned to Finn, her cheeks still flushed. “Finn, you’re awake?”
Hope glimmered in her gaze.
Finn’s brows drew tight, his eyes carrying a shard of ice. “Why are you still here?”
Nadine froze, clearly not expecting that to be the first thing out of his mouth.
She shook her head, then forced a small smile. “You were drunk. I brought you home–I didn’t feel safe leaving.”
Finn pressed his lips into a thin line, his gaze scanning her face, the frown never easing.
Right.
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Chapter 157 Staged Marriage
He had been drunk.
s
His eyes dropped, fingers pressing to his temple as a pounding headache tore through his skull.
Seeing the change in his expression, Nadine hurried forward, holding out a bowl. “Finn, here. It’s hangover soup. Drink it.”
When Tess returned from the kitchen with a contented La in her arms, she walked in on the picture–perfect scene–Nadine fussing over Finn, Finn surprisinglypliant, his disheveled hair framing his face in a way that made him look almost fragile.
<i>What </i><i>a </i><i>perfect</i><i>, </i><i>beautiful </i><i>pair</i>.
Tess gave a short, silentugh to herself, then turned away toward her room.
“Tess.”
The sudden call stopped her.
She hesitated before turning, impatience flickering in her eyes.
Finn no longer carried themanding edge of a man in power. Instead, there was a shadowed, obsessive intensity about him.
His bloodshot eyes locked unblinking on her. “Where have
you
been?”
The fact that his first words were an interrogation made Tess’s brows pull tight, her irritation in. “What’s it to you? We don’t interfere in each other’s lives.”
With that, she turned to leave.
But in the next moment, the man who had been too drunk to stand somehow found the strength. In a few stumbling steps, he caught up and mped a hand around her wrist.
His <i>eyes </i>bore into hers, unyielding. “I asked you–where were you?”
A dangerous, icy anger swirled in his
gaze.
And then it hit him–he remembered.
and Steven holding La in his arms. When Tess left Lock Group, he’d sent someone to follow her. The photos thatnded on his desk showed Tessughing and talking with Steven
…
First Max, then Charles, Abel, and now Steven–each name burned like a brand.
Chapter 157 Staged Marriage
His vision turned red with rage. If he could, he’d rip them all apart.
Boss or employee, family or not–he was too far gone to care.
+5 Free Cons
Reports piled on his desk went untouched. For the first time, he’d felt the urge to find a bar.
And somehow, he’d ended up back at the very ce where he’d once caught Tess trying to run.
He’d gone alone, no entourage, no private room upstairs–just a shadowed corner on the crowded first floor and several bottles of top–shelf liquor.
From the first sharp burn of the alcohol to the blur that followed, hallucinations had begun to creep in. Bottle after bottle, until his mind was foggy.
It wasn’t until the bar manager spotted him sitting unnervingly still that anyone approached. One look at his face was enough <i>to </i>startle the man into calling Nadine to get him.
With the driver’s help, Nadine hauled him back <i>to </i>Evermount Vi. Even with an injured ankle, she waved off the staff, insisting on tending to him herself, softly coaxing, preparing the hangover soup.
“Mr. Lock, don’t take your drunkenness out on me.”
Tess pried his hand off.
Finn lunged forward again, gripping her tighter. “You’re my wife!”
The word “wife” cracked through the air, low and loud<i>, </i>more growl than statement.
Nadine’s brows pinched; goosebumps prickled her skin.
He had always called Tess “my wife” in a formal, almost distant way–fitting for a marriage in name only.
But this–this intimate word–made her jaw tighten.
Tess’s face went cold. “Mr. Lock, ours is a staged marriage <i>for </i>appearances. <i>I </i>don’t care if you bring another woman back to Evermount Vi–but you don’t get to question where <i>I </i>go.”
Sara Lili
<strong>Sara Lili</strong> is a daring romance writer who turns icyndscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of d’s breathtaking cold.