Chapter 36 I Misunderstood Him?
Selena's POV
Hotel de Paris.
Monaco's most luxurious hotel, right next to the Monte Carlo Casino—a palace built with money and history.
Royce Sterling's driver dropped me off at the entrance, and a uniformed doorman immediately opened the car door for me respectfully.
I held that black presidential suite key card in my hand.
I walked into the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. The mirror in the elevator reflected my exhausted face.
What the hell am I doing?
Why did I accept his payment?
I should have thrown that card back in his face and called a taxi to any ordinary hotel.
But I didn't.
Because he was right—I needed an absolutely safe and quiet place.
After experiencing Mr. Arnault's setup and the mess Jonathan created, I couldn't afford to let my guard down.
And in this world, there was probably no safer place than Royce's territory.
This man, though an asshole, arrogant, and controlling to an infuriating degree, had an almost obsessive protectiveness over things within his domain.
And now, I seemed to be one of those things in his domain.
The elevator arrived with a soft tone.
I stepped out and swiped the card to open the heavy double doors.
A huge living room, velvet sofas, incomprehensible modern art paintings on the walls.
Luxurious, empty, without a trace of warmth.
Just like him.
I kicked off my heels, walked barefoot on the soft carpet, and threw myself onto the sofa.
I was so tired.
The physical exhaustion was manageable, but the mental strain was about to crush me.
Since the summit began, every nerve in my body had been tense.
Just then, my phone rang.
An unknown number.
I frowned, with a bad feeling.
I didn't want to answer, but the ringing persisted.
I finally swiped to accept the call.
"Hello?"
"Selena! You bitch!"
Taisia's shrill, piercing roar came through the phone, almost bursting my eardrum.
I held the phone away from my ear and rubbed my aching ear.
"What did you do to Myrdal?! Why won't he see me?! Did you say something to him?!"
I almost laughed at her ridiculousness.
This idiot—even now, she still thought all the problems were someone else's fault.
"Taisia," I was too lazy to waste words with her, "are you brain-dead? Don't you know why Myrdal won't see you? Your father's company is about to go bankrupt, you've been kicked out of the Hart family, you're now a worthless stray dog—why would he want to see you?"
"You're lying! You're lying to me!" she screamed hysterically. "Myrdal loves me! He's just been deceived by you! If I beg him, he'll definitely help us!"
"What does he love about you? Love you acting like a clown?"
My voice turned cold.
"Taisia, you and those so-called parents of yours—your whole damn family is absolutely pathetic! They used me as a bargaining chip, sold me to Myrdal, and now they want to pull the same trick again, trading you for the Cater family's help?"
"Let me tell you, dream on! Your whole family can just wait to be liquidated by the bank and end up on the streets!"
"You called me—did you actually think I'd soften up and help you? Let me tell you, impossible!"
Just as I was about to hang up, I suddenly felt something off about the atmosphere in the room.
I jerked my head up.
Royce Sterling.
He was standing at the suite entrance. I didn't know when he came in or how long he'd been listening.
He wore that dark blue suit, standing tall and straight, his face expressionless.
Those deep eyes just looked at me, as if looking at a stranger.
He heard everything?
I gripped my phone, frozen in place, my mind completely blank.
What would he say?
Would he use that mocking tone to say, "Looks like your family life is even more exciting than I imagined"?
Or would he look at me with contempt, laugh, and then turn and leave?
But he didn't.
He said nothing.
He just took long strides and walked toward me, step by step.
I watched him nervously, my heart pounding wildly in my chest.
He walked up to me, then reached out and took my phone from my stiff fingers.
His fingertips inadvertently brushed across my palm, carrying a hint of cool temperature.
Then, without even glancing at the screen, he pressed the hang-up button.
Taisia's sharp cursing stopped abruptly.
The whole world instantly fell silent.
He gently placed my phone on the coffee table beside me.
Throughout the entire process, his face showed no emotion, as if what he'd just heard wasn't a woman's out-of-control ranting, but some irrelevant background noise.
I stared at him blankly, completely unable to figure out what he was doing.
He didn't look at me but surveyed the empty room and frowned.
He took out his own phone and dialed a number.
"Send dinner to the presidential suite." His voice was low and steady, revealing no emotion. "Something light—vegetable soup, grilled halibut, and a glass of hot milk."
He hung up, then turned and walked straight into the bathroom.
I heard the sound of running water inside.
What was he doing?
A few minutes later, he came out of the bathroom.
"The bathtub is ready, water temperature 104°F. I added tuberose and lavender bath salts—the tuberose helps relieve fatigue and anxiety."
I was completely dumbfounded.
Tuberose—he did this to help ease my emotions? I had misunderstood him before! I thought he was giving me some kind of aphrodisiac.
I looked at him, feeling like I was looking at an alien.
He had heard me lose control, but he didn't question me, didn't mock me, didn't plan to use this as leverage to threaten me, didn't even show the slightest bit of curiosity.
He just... ordered me dinner and ran me a bath?
What was this?
Just then, the doorbell rang.
A hotel attendant arrived with a food cart.
Royce signed for it, then wheeled the cart inside.
He arranged the vegetable soup and grilled fish on the table, then placed the glass of hot milk beside me.
"Eat, then take a bath and sleep." He looked at me and finally spoke.
His voice held no sympathy, no comfort, and certainly no probing questions.
"I..." I opened my mouth but found I couldn't say a word.
Why was he doing this?
Why was this man suddenly so patient?
"You need rest. Since you're Sterling Group's partner, I need you in top condition."
Top condition?