"I... I don’t know," Drake admitted, his shoulders slumping as if the weight of the question had physically landed on him.
"There," she said, holding her arms out. "That’s exactly the problem. I’m not Queen. I’m not the kind of woman who walks into a room and everyone stops breathing. I’m not the kind of woman people make stupid, grand, decisions over. I’m just Chay...the daughter of convicts, rember? The one who blends into shadows."
Drake swallowed hard. "I... I had sex with Queen."
Chay blinked. "I...what? Wow. Okay. That’s... random."
"I’m not saying it to hurt you," he rushed to clarify, "I’m saying it to prepare you...for what I’m about to do."
Drake stepped closer, guilt written across every line in his face. "She may drive crazy. But I do love her, Chay. And I love you too...just... not the sa way."
Drake sighed, then reached out slowly, his hand brushing her shoulder. "Like ho. You’re the one I go to when everything else is chaos. I’m not saying I deserve your forgiveness, because I don’t. But I want it. Not because I chose Queen. But because I never gave you the closure you should have."
Chay looked up at him, her heart torn.
"So what is this, Drake?" she asked. "A goodbye speech?"
"A start? Of sothing new. Sothing that doesn’t break what we had."
"What are you saying?"
Drake stepped closer, his heart pounding. Gently, he cupped Chayara’s face, his thumb brushing against her cheek. Their eyes locked, and in that mont, a silent understanding passed between them. Leaning in, he placed a soft, lingering kiss on her lips, a kiss that spoke of unspoken feelings, of monts missed, and of a bond too precious to jeopardize.
Chayara’s breath hitched as she stepped back, her fingers touching her lips, tracing the warmth he left behind. "I’m sorry," she whispered.
"Don’t be. I am a jackass," Drake replied, a rueful smile tugging at his lips.
Chayara chuckled, a bittersweet sound. "I was just hurt. I..."
"Sshhhh... I wouldn’t trade you for anything, Chay. Not even to be with Queen. But what’s done is done," he said.
She looked up at him, her eyes shimring with unshed tears. "That was my first kiss."
"I know," Drake said softly, his gaze tender. He turned and walked out of the apartnt, leaving Chayara standing there, her heart a whirlwind of emotions.
*****
Queen had just settled into her office. The honeymoon had been a whirlwind and fucking hot, and she was ready to dive back into work. Her assistant, Cassie, was briefing her on the day’s agenda when the door burst open.
"Mr. Falco! You cannot just..." Cassie began.
"Get the fuck out!" Liam shouted, his eyes blazing with fury.
Queen raised an eyebrow, her deanor calm and composed. "You can leave, Cassie," she said.
Once the door closed behind her assistant, Queen leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs elegantly. "Who do you think you are? What right do you have to disrespect this way? Are you out of your goddamn mind?"
"Yes!" Liam shouted.
"Yes, I am! I found out who you married. You said you were just friends with him, rember? Isn’t that what you told ? You swore up and down that it was nothing. So how the hell do you explain marrying him the second I was out of the picture? Was my mistake what you were waiting for? Huh? You just sat there, biding your ti?"
He looked wild-eyed, desperate, as if hoping she would suddenly apologize and beg to explain herself, maybe even cry and say she still loved him. But Queen just sat behind her glass desk with the composure of a lioness, sipping her coffee.
"In what universe do you think I owe you an explanation?" Queen asked with a drawl so cold it could have iced her cappuccino.
Her lips barely moved, but the disdain in her voice was deafening. She leaned back in her chair, deliberately, as though she were just stretching and not trying to look like a goddess while her ex-fiancé self-combusted across the room.
"I owe you nothing, Liam. You an absolutely nothing to ."
Her words slapped. Liam looked like soone had physically struck him.
"I was your fiancée, Queen!" he shouted, chest heaving.
Queen’s lips curled.
"Key word being ’was’," she replied, each syllable a nail in the coffin of his ego.
"You want to sit there and judge for making a simple mistake," Liam fud, his hands now planted on her desk, "when you had a side dick all along?"
Queen slowly stood, her eyes narrowing.
"I’m going to say this once, Liam," she began, standing toe-to-toe with him.
"You will leave my office. You will never co back. You will never speak to or of . Because if you do, I will make sure I ruin your reputation so thoroughly, your shadow will file for unemploynt."
Liam swallowed hard, but she wasn’t done.
"You thought cheating on with your ’cousin’ was just a little mistake. Well, here’s mine. I misjudged your potential. Your worth. Your stamina."
"I was never the problem, Queen," Liam said, softer now.
"I did love you. But you demasculated at every turn. You act like you’re above everyone. Tell , what man can survive that kind of woman?"
Queen tilted her head and smiled as if he’d finally asked her sothing interesting.
"Lesser ones," she said sweetly.
"You were always nothing, Liam. A placeholder. A settlent because I was too busy to scout soone better. You were the drive-thru al when I could’ve had a five-course dinner if I’d just waited a little longer."
She stepped closer.
"And judging by the events of my honeymoon? You weren’t just forgettable, you were practically invisible. You were small, lacking. A less than average fuck. Now, get the fuck out of my office."
Liam nodded, his eyes glassy with the kind of male pride that refused to cry in front of the woman who just bulldozed his ego into powder.
"You can go to hell, Queen," he said, still trying to sound like he had the upper hand.
"Bu-bye," she scoffed with a lazy wave of her fingers.
She watched him walk out, then sighed heavily and collapsed into her chair. It had been a long day. And judging by the steady drumbeat of incoming emails, it was about to get longer.
She flipped open her laptop and the mont her inbox refreshed, the first email blinked up at her.
Sender: Legal representative of Chayara Nuro. Subject: CONTRACT TERMINATION.
"What the fuck!" she shouted.
*****
Richard was deep in a "business eting" with his new son-in-law.
Okay, not entirely business. Between discussions of quarterly profits, he’d also managed to sneak in two unsolicited jokes about sex, three passive-aggressive comnts about grandchildren, and a surprisingly touching advice on "keeping the romance alive."
Drake was nodding politely, still adjusting to this new life where one of his best friends was now his wife and his boss was his father-in-law.
Queen stord in wielding a printed sheet.
"Dad, did you know about this?" she demanded, slapping the paper onto his desk.
Its a new month guys! Happy new month!! The algorithm has reset so please guys, lets get this to the chart once more. Power stones, golden tickets, gifts. Thanks.
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