The Tyrant's Wife

Chapter 215 - One Word

She squirmed only for his arms to wrap tightly around her, and her shock was overcome by his scent. Her body felt like putty as he pushed her against the kitchen island. His body pressed against hers firmly as he kissed the breath out of her.

"Liam," She moaned softly.

"Stop it, baby. I don't want to fight with you anymore." He nipped her bottom lip, his voice coaxing her like a temptation to sin. He dipped his head to take her lips, but she shoved him away with nearly enough force for him to bump against the wall.

"Ximena?" He frowned when he managed to regain his balance.

A slap landed on his face a heartbeat before she shoved him by his chest.

"Get your filthy hands off me!" She roared, her eyes reddened.

He raised both of his hands in surrender and stepped back so he was against the wall. "Okay."

She calmed down a little and turned to saunter away. He still couldn't figure out what he had done wrong so he grabbed her arm.

"Why, Ximena?"

She turned with a fierce glare. "What did you think? That I called you here because I wanted to have sex with you?"

"What the…"

"That was not it, okay? If that's what other women expect when they call you over, don't let it get to you! Not everyone is attracted to you!"

"No. But you are." He protested. He probably should have shut his mouth. His response earned him a more ruthless slap, and she looked at him like he had ruined her life.

"Get out." She snarled.

He had seen it coming.

"I'm leaving." He announced even though he had been asked to.

He grabbed his jacket from the living room on his way out, and smoothed his hair as he turned to look at her. She was staring back at him, and it made him uncertain. Did she want him to leave or not?

He considered turning back and hugging her but laughed it off. Why would he want to make a fool out of himself?

"Ximena Morrell, you are the most incomprehensible woman on earth. Either way, you will not see me when you don't have to."

He paused and rubbed the side of his face, muttering something about birds of a feather flocking together.

Then he was gone. The sound of the door shutting felt like an ominous spell that she couldn't get out of her mind. When she finally tore her gaze away, she looked down at her palms. What was she thinking? How could she let it get this far?

And for the first time in forever, she admitted that it was her fault. She should have ended it before it begun.

___

It was Desmond's turn to laugh his butt off. He fell off the couch, allowing himself to look ridiculous just because he was laughing at Liam.

"What the hell happened to your face?"

It was a familiar conversation. The other time, their positions were switched and Liam was the one looking ridiculous on the floor, laughing at Desmond for being slapped silly by Zaria.

"That woman is the devil. In fact, everyone around Zaria is a devil."

Desmond burst into another fit of laughter.

"Lucy Roatta? The queen of devils. Natalie, who is now her friend, yeah, her too." He ticked the list of sullenly. "Don't get me started on Ximena."

When he saw how hard Desmond was laughing, he frowned. "Is that how you offer your friend consolation?"

"You do look like crap. What did she do to you anyway?" He continued, barely covering up his laughter.

Liam ignored him and grabbed a drink from the cellar, which he offered Desmond. The duo had become friendlier with each other ever since the former stopped pursuing Zaria. After all, they didn't think it made much sense to fall apart for a woman who would never change her mind when it came to choosing between the two of them.

"There is a mole in the company." Desmond made a sudden change of the topic, realizing that Liam was not willing to talk about Ximena. At least not yet.

Liam settled down in his seat and downed his scotch. "I'm betting the rest of your bank account balance that it's Zeus."

"That was fast." Desmond raised his eyebrow. "What does this have to do with my bank account? Never mind. I ruled Zeus out.

If he were a mole, he would be doing it for Lucy. Does Lucy need a mole when investigation is her forte? That, and the fact that Zaria…"

"Is the exact reason why you would never suspect them. But hear me out." Liam placed his glass aside. "What if all this was a plan? Zaria, Lucy, then Zeus? You just found out that they are part of the Su family. Could this be related to them?".

"No." He was certain of it. "The Sus hate them nearly as much as they hate us. They would never be on the same team."

"We have to hire an investigation team." Liam suggested.

"That's what I came to tell you. Don't be too spooked if you see unfamiliar employees around the company."

"All employees are unfamiliar." He stood up and looked out through the window.

Desmond immediately knew that he was thinking about Ximena again. He stood to pat the other's back.

"If she likes you, you will see the signs. If she doesn't, there isn't anything you can do that will change her mind. It has to come from her."

"Thanks for the life advise." He groaned. He didn't want to hear anything about the possibility of Ximena not liking him. Why would she dress up for him if she didn't like him?

He would have thought he was overthinking it and she was merely dressed up because she wanted to, but it was too obvious. It was not the dress, but the way she acted in it, that made him certain of her feelings. She was blatantly seducing him at some point. Besides, the dates they had gone on together, the nightly video calls…

Did they all mean nothing?

Even if they did, he was certain that she was not repulsed by his kiss. She had even kissed him back. It was the word he said that made her snap. Baby.

What was up with that?