Wasting no time, Max hurried through room after room. His heart beat faster every time he found an empty space. Only when he arrived at the only door that locked from the outside did his breath stop rumbling.
“Gabriella?”
There was no answer. A bad hunch instantly made nerves tense up. With a pounding heart, the man unlocked and pushed the door.
Two seconds later, a naked woman had stung his heart. With mouth agape without a word and eyes quivering violently, he watched Gabriella’s face turn red.
The silence broke when the woman blinked.
“What happened?” Max asked as he removed the suit from his body.
Then, the man wrapped his wife’s body so it wasn’t exposed to the air.
“Why don’t you come earlier? Do you expect me to freeze to death here?” Gabriella said in a trembling voice full of rage.
Hearing the fierce response, Max was wide-eyed and examined his wife’s face. “Are you okay?” he asked in disbelief.
Before Gabriella could answer, the man had already rubbed her cheek and checked the texture of the red liquid stuck to his finger. A second later, a sigh of relief escaped Max’s mouth.
“It’s lipstick,” the man mumbled before laughing blandly and shaking his head for a moment.
“Are you happy to see me suffer?” Gabriella asked, sounding annoyed.
The man spontaneously pursed his lips. “You’re lucky Amber scratched your face with lipstick. Don’t you know, she once slashed a maid’s face with a knife?”
Gabriella’s brows furrowed. “You lie.”
The man’s shoulders lifted briefly. “I thought you were going through the same thing as that poor maid.”
The woman swallowed and looked down. The anger she had cultivated was almost replaced by gratitude.
“How did you know this was Amber’s doing?”
“I’m smart,” Max replied as he stood up. A moment later, he had come out of the room while calling Sebastian, asking his secretary to bring woman’s clothes.
“I don’t want anyone to see me like this,” Gabriella said when her husband came back with some tissues.
“I’m still sane. There’s no way I can let other people stare at my wife’s body,” the man said before cleaning the lipstick stain from the woman’s face.
Gabriella thought for a moment. Her husband’s words had reminded her of something.
“Amber took my picture,” she said in a low voice.
The tissue in Max’s hand suddenly stopped moving.
“Why don’t you fight back? You should be able to protect the reputation of the Evans family.”
Gabriella’s lips automatically pursed while her forehead creased. “Why are you scolding me?”
“That’s because you are weak, always allowing others to oppress you.”
Annoyance suddenly filled Gabriella’s heart. Tears had involuntarily welled up in her eyes.
“Do you want to cry?” Max quipped as he lifted his wife’s chin.
Gabriella suddenly looked away. Her shoulders were now up and down to compensate for the tightness of the lungs.
“You’re really a crybaby,” Max mumbled as he forced Gabriella back to face him.
Without feeling awkward, he continued to wipe away the red color that was starting to mix with the tears.
“Why would I marry a man like this? Aunt Minnie must be lying. This man isn’t good at all,” the woman thought while keeping her mouth shut. She was tired of speaking up for herself. The husband would never respect her feelings.
***
Gabriella rushed in with sadness on her face once she got out of the car. The butler was surprised to see the woman passed by without saying hello.
“Did something happen, Sir?” Minnie asked with worried brows.
In an instant, Max raised the corners of his lips while shaking his head faintly. “Please make sure Gabriella takes a bath. Then, give her some food. She’s had a tough day.”
The butler nodded quickly.
After seeing Minnie left to carry out orders, Max rushed back to the car. However, when the driver asked the destination, the man just raised his hand. The CEO’s attention was caught by the cell phone on his ear.
After a while, a woman’s voice greeted. “Hello, Max. Do you miss me?”
“Stop your nonsense! Where are you?”
“I’m on my way to my villa. Do you want to accompany me? Don’t you have to take care of your new project?”
Max suddenly pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in annoyance. Without giving an answer, he hung up the phone.
“Please take me to Amber’s villa, Sir,” the CEO said after taking a deep breath. He had to act fast in order to save his wife’s pride.
***
“We’ve arrived, Sir,” the driver said after stopping the car.
The man in the back seat looked out the window. The blackened trees immediately greeted him.
After a blink, he glanced at the watch. Their journey turned out to be longer than he had anticipated.
“It won’t be long,” Max said before closing his laptop and getting out of the car.
With quick steps, he walked towards the door which was guarded by two well-built men.
“Sorry, Sir. You have to drink this if you want to go inside.”
The guest’s brows furrowed.
“She’s trying to copy my protocol?” Max thought before snorting lightly.
“How many glasses should I drink?” he asked defiantly.
“Just this one glass, Sir.”
Max’s eyebrows immediately shot up. “One glass? Does she think one glass is enough to knock me down?”
Without thinking, the man gulped down the provided drink. A second later, the door in front of him opened wide. With the direction of a servant, Max arrived at a room.
“Please wait a minute, Sir. Miss Amber will be out soon.”
After delivering the message, the servant went out and closed the door. She even locked it so the guest couldn’t leave the room.
“What’s her plan?” Max thought as he observing the situation.
Three seconds later, his eyes were fixed on a small bag on the table.
“Is the cell phone in there?”
Just as Max was about to take a step, Amber came out of the bathroom. The sheer dress that didn’t cover anything explained the cunning woman’s intentions.
“I never thought that you are willing to travel far just to see me. How sweet!”
“You already know what I’m coming for. Don’t waste my time! Delete Gabriella’s photo on your phone now!”
Amber spontaneously chuckles annoyed.
“That girl again,” she mumbled as before pulling out a red cell phone from her bag. “How long are you going to care about her more than me?”
“You will soon marry to Julian. Why are you still teasing me?” Max asked with a look of disdain.
While swinging the cellphone in her palm, the woman walked up to her guest.
“I can call off our wedding, if you come back to me.”
Max suddenly shook his head in disbelief. “You’re insane. There’s no place in my heart for you since the beginning. So, what do you mean by ‘back to you’, huh?”
Amber brought her lips to the man’s ear. “From the start, I was determined to make you mine. You can’t throw away that honor.”
A second later, Max snorted and looked at his interlocutor with sharp eyes. “You’re overestimating yourself.”
Unexpectedly, the woman’s hand started to creep towards the man’s left chest. “Don’t you feel your heart start beating fast?”
Amber’s lips curved slowly. “Admit that your heart is pounding because of a beautiful woman in front of you.”
Max’s gaze spontaneously drew deeper. “I warn you again. Don’t waste my time! Delete Gabriella’s photo on your phone.” he ordered in a low, firm tone.
Suddenly, Amber let out a small groan and shook her head with her eyes closed.
“That voice of yours, Max, is always heartwarming. I’m so curious what if I spend the night with you. I could melt the next morning.”
“Your cell phone!” the man affirmed, holding out his palm.
With a smile, Amber gave her cell phone.
As Max checked the folder containing hundreds of photos, the woman’s hands began to fondle. Every now and then, the man brushed it off. However, Amber had a thousand ways to touch with what she wanted.
“Why isn’t there a picture of Gabriella here?” Max asked furiously.
“Of course not. I saved it on another phone,” the woman replied casually. She did not expect that the CEO dared to slam her cell phone.
“Are you kidding me?” Max’s forefinger was pointed at the sly face that’s starting to move away.
“Don’t be so angry. You should already know that I do want to play with you.”
Max’s patience ran out. After shaking his head in annoyance, he turned toward the door.
“You can’t get out of here. The door is locked from the outside.”
Ignoring Amber’s words, Max pushed the door lever. “Shit! She’s not lying.”
After thinking for a while, the man finally turned around and gritted his teeth. “What’s the point of keeping me here?”
“Didn’t you see my costume?” Amber said as she spread her arms. “You should have some fun before you leave here.”
“Even in a dream, I would never be attracted to you.”
Laughter suddenly burst out. “You are very hard to beat. That’s what makes me even more crazy about you,” the woman said as she walked over to him.
“Let’s make a deal. If you want to have fun with me, I’ll delete Gabriella’s pictures and of course, you can get out of here.”
Unexpectedly, the stubborn man raised both eyebrows and expressed interest. “Is it true? Are you going to delete those photos?”
“Of course, as long as you want to use your body well.”
A second later, the faint smile on Max’s face faded. “Unfortunately, I’m still not interested in your offer.”
The woman’s expression immediately changed to that of malice. “I won’t let that lowly woman win over me.”
Suddenly, Amber dropped her dress and placed Max’s palms on her soft cushions. “Don’t you feel something tickle inside of you?”
“Absolutely not.”
The woman sighed in annoyance and turned towards the bed. Without feeling embarrassed, she sat on the edge, then spread her legs wide.
“Let’s see how long you can last. When the stimulants takes effect, will you still refuse to touch me or not?”
Max’s face stiffened for a moment. At that time, he realized an oddity that was familiar to him.
“You gave me stimulants?”
Amber’s crooked smile immediately stated the truth.