He Paid Half My Mother’s Surgery, Now I Own Half His Company Chapter 07
Selena walked in carrying a coffee mug and set it
on the desk beside him. “Mr. Fleming, is Jessie still refusing to come back?”
Antony lifted his gaze toward her.
He used to admire Selena’s drive–smart, fiercely ambitious. She’d pull multiple all–nighters to land a
deal. Reminded him of his younger self.
But now all he could think of was that botched
quote file. When disaster struck, Selena had
immediately shifted all the blame onto Jessie.
Antony’s voice turned sharp and cold. “Why
haven’t we received the revised renewal
proposal?”
Selena froze. “I just took over the project. I need
time to get up to speed.”
“Jessie had no grace period when she first joined.”
Antony shot back. “If she could deliver, so can
you.”
Tears welled instantly in Selena’s eyes. “Mr.
Fleming, you have never spoken to me like this
before.”
“That was then.” Antony snapped the file shut. “Starting tomorrow, you’re transferred out of the executive suite. You’ll be reassigned to a junior team for performance review.”
Selena stood rooted to the spot.
That night, she showed up at Antony’s hotel room carrying what she claimed were handover
documents.
When he opened the door, she wore only a silk slip
dress under a thin trench coat. “Mr. Fleming, I
need to speak with you one last time.”
Once inside, she deliberately bent over to pick up
papers she’d dropped. Her trench coat slid off her
shoulders.
Antony looked away. “Put your coat back on.”
Selena stiffened. She lifted her face, glistening
with tears. “Do you truly feel nothing for me at all?
I went on business trips with you. I memorized
every single one of your quirks. Everyone else thinks we’re the real couple.”
Antony stayed quiet for a long moment. “Selena, I’ll admit I looked the other way when you crossed
boundaries. It felt good to have a bright, attractive young woman looking up to me, putting my needs first. Your ruthless hunger to climb the ranks reminded me of who I once was.”
Selena’s eyes lit up with hope.
But his tone grew heavy. “Admiration is not love. I have always only seen you as a subordinate under my wing. The only wife I have ever acknowledged
is Jessie.”
Selena’s face drained of color. “Just a
subordinate?”
“You let me sit in the passenger seat. You changed your phone passcode to my birthday.
You posed for those couple photos at my
hometown that everyone thought were
engagement pictures.”
“Now that Jessie’s gone, you’re telling me I’m just
a subordinate?”
Antony frowned. “I indulged you. That doesn’t
mean I made any promises.”
Selena suddenly laughed. All trace of soft, hurt
vulnerability vanished. “You are such a hypocrite,
Antony. You loved having me worship you. You loved watching two women fight over you. Now your wife has walked out on you, and suddenly you want to play the devoted husband?”
She dropped all pretense. “I sent those couple photos to Jessie’s mother on purpose. I’m the one who altered the project quote. But every single time, you knew exactly what had happened–and you still chose to protect me.”
Antony’s expression went deathly still. “Get out.”
Eyes blazing, Selena spat back. “Would I have dared any of it without your tacit approval? It was
never me who drove Jessie away. It was you.”
The hotel door clicked shut. Silence filled the
whole room.
Antony picked up his phone and dialed Jessie’s
number on his own for the very first time.
A cold automated voice played in his ear: “The
number you have dialed has been disconnected.”
She had even changed her phone number.