Chapter 10 Playing Her Own Game?
The voice cut through the air like a blade of ice, sharp enough to slice through the haze clouding Bianca's mind. Her eyes flew open.
In the next heartbeat, the crushing weight pinning her down vanished.
Bianca turned her head with effort, tears blurring her vision, and saw Terrence standing at the edge of the bed. He looked like something torn from a nightmare—handsome features carved in stone, his expression frozen into an eternal winter. Behind the dark lenses of his sunglasses, his gaze burned with lethal rage.
"Terrence."
Her voice broke, the name spilling out raw with fear and relief. No titles. No formalities. Just him.
Without hesitation, Terrence stripped off his tailored jacket and wrapped it around her bare shoulders, shielding her from the cold and the eyes in the room. In one swift motion, he scooped her up into his arms. "You're safe now… I'm here."
The moment her body pressed against him, he felt it—her skin was fever-hot, trembling in a way that had nothing to do with fear. Something inside him, dark and violent, surged dangerously close to the surface.
Terrence's gaze lifted, locking on Zephyr, who was staggering to his feet after the collision. The look Terrence gave him was the kind reserved for corpses.
Zephyr met that gaze and went pale, as if his soul had been ripped from him. He collapsed to his knees, scrambling forward until his forehead struck the floor again and again. "Mr. Anderson, it's not my fault… I wasn't going to hurt Ms. Rodriguez. She said she was lonely, that she wanted me to keep her company."
Bianca forced her thoughts into focus, glaring at Zephyr through the fog in her head. A single tear slid down her cheek. "Liar."
Her voice was sharp enough to cut glass. She turned her face up to Terrence. "I would never betray you. I don't know what happened… After dinner I came back to my room and suddenly had no strength. Then I saw him sitting on my bed."
Her brows drew together, her nose reddening. One hand clung to his arm. "Mr. Anderson… I feel awful. I'm so hot… I can't breathe…"
Somewhere deep inside, she made a decision. She was his fiancée. Sooner or later, they would be together. The drug's grip tightened, burning away her restraint.
Her flushed face pressed into his chest. The cool fabric of his shirt was a brief relief, but the sound of his heartbeat stirred something far more dangerous inside her.
"Mr. Anderson… We're getting married. I'm ready. You can have me now."
She was soft and warm in his arms, smelling faintly of soap and something sweeter, her heat radiating against him. Terrence's throat worked, his grip at her waist tightening involuntarily.
But he forced the storm back down, pulling her slightly away. His voice was low, rough. "You've been drugged. Stay calm."
He laid her gently back onto the bed, covering her with the blanket. Then he turned, every step toward Zephyr thickening the air with menace.
Terrence's boot slammed into Zephyr's chest, sending him sprawling. "Guards."
The word was as cold as steel.
Several men entered at once. "Take him. Hand him to the police."
"Yes, Mr. Anderson."
"And call a doctor."
In her own room, Mira had been startled by the noise from upstairs. Her stomach knotted. Then came the knock at her door.
"Mira!"
It was a servant's voice.
Annoyed, she opened the door and glared. "What is it?"
"Mr. Anderson is back… Something happened in Ms. Rodriguez's room."
Sweat prickled Mira's palms. "I knew she was up to no good. Probably trying to seduce Mr. Anderson again."
"I'll go see."
She hurried to Bianca's room—and froze at the sight before her.
Her gaze locked with Zephyr's. The state he was in made her pulse spike. If Terrence found out she had a hand in this, she had no idea what punishment would follow.
"Mr. Anderson…" Mira's voice was pitched high with shock as she looked at Bianca. "Ms. Rodriguez… What happened to you? Your clothes are…"
Her eyes flicked to Zephyr, her tone sharpening. "You… You weren't secretly meeting with him, were you? And Mr. Anderson caught you?"
Bianca's body was a battlefield between heat and willpower. She fixed Mira with a stare. "You're just in time. I want to ask why you drugged me."
Mira's face morphed into a mask of wounded innocence. "Drugged you? Ms. Rodriguez, I don't know what you're talking about. Do you think I'd do something like that?"
"Mr. Anderson, please believe me. I made a soup tonight to apologize to Ms. Rodriguez, but she didn't drink a drop. How could I have done anything? If the servants hadn't told me, I wouldn't even know there was a strange man in her room.
"If this gets out… Ms. Rodriguez hasn't even married Mr. Anderson yet, and she's already bringing men into the house? The Anderson family would never allow it."
As she spoke, Mira shot a warning glance at Zephyr, who was being dragged toward the door.
Zephyr caught the signal. He thought of the leverage Mira had over him, and his face went ashen. "Mr. Anderson… I confess. I gave Ms. Rodriguez the drug. I lost my head… She's too beautiful. I couldn't resist.
"Please… forgive me just this once."
Terrence's expression didn't change. He didn't waste another second on Zephyr, waving for the guards to take him away.
But Bianca had seen the flicker of satisfaction in Mira's eyes. She fought for clarity. "I didn't drink your soup… but I did have tea at dinner. That tea… something was wrong."
"I'm not trying to accuse you without cause. It's too much of a coincidence."
Terrence's gaze shifted to Mira, weighing her.
She bit her lip, her voice trembling with practiced hurt. "Yes, I made you chicken soup, but you didn't drink it. And if you had, and something happened, wouldn't it be obvious it was me? Why would I be stupid enough to make it so easy to trace back to me?"
Terrence turned to a servant. "The tea from dinner. Is the cup still here?"
The servant's voice shook. "It's… already been cleaned, sir."
The evidence was gone.
Mira's satisfaction was harder to hide now. She looked at Terrence with tear-bright eyes. "You heard them, Mr. Anderson. The tea was something Ms. Rodriguez chose herself. It has nothing to do with me. She's trying to throw mud at me… I don't even know what I've done to deserve it."
Her gaze slid toward Bianca, her words carrying just enough suggestion to plant a seed. "Or perhaps… Ms. Rodriguez used some… special trick to catch your attention, Mr. Anderson. And this… was all part of her plan."