Chapter 38 I Came to Find My Fiancée
Selena's POV
I finished the last bite of my croissant and drained the black coffee.
Good.
Energy restored. Brain awake.
Now, I needed to get out of this place. No matter how luxurious this suite was, it was still Royce's territory.
Every second I stayed here made me feel like I was some woman he was keeping.
I was about to head back to the bedroom to change and call Anna to pick me up when the doorbell rang.
I frowned.
Hotel staff?
Or was that bastard Royce up to something again?
I walked to the door and looked through the peephole.
The moment I saw the face outside, I felt like the coffee I'd just drunk had turned to ice, churning in my stomach.
Myrdal.
How was he here?
How dare he come here?
He looked terrible. His suit was wrinkled, his jaw covered with dark stubble, and those eyes that used to be so confident were now bloodshot.
He looked like he'd flown overnight from the other side of the world.
I really wished he hadn't.
I really wished he was still in that idiot Taisia's bed.
I pulled open the door with no expression on my face.
"Selena."
When he saw me, his face absolutely lit up.
"Let's talk."
"We have nothing to talk about." I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, looking at him with the coldest stare I could manage. "If you're here to beg for the Kateson family, you've got the wrong person. I have nothing to do with them anymore."
"No, it's not about them!" He stepped forward urgently, as if afraid I'd slam the door any second. "It's about us! Selena, it's about us!"
"Us?" I almost laughed out loud. That word coming from his mouth was the height of irony.
"Taisia... she and I are over." He explained frantically, even pulling a velvet box from his pocket and opening it in front of me.
It was that ring.
The one he'd once put on my finger, then taken off with his own hands and given to another woman—his grandmother's ring.
"I got the ring back, Selena."
He held up the box, his eyes full of pleading. "I know I was wrong. I was such an idiot—completely blind. I didn't see the treasure I had right in front of me. Please, just one more chance? We can start over."
I looked at him, at that face written all over with "regret," at that ring glinting in the light.
I felt nothing in my heart.
No, that's not true.
I just felt disgusted.
What did he think this was?
A toy you could throw away and pick back up whenever you wanted?
What did he take me for?
"Myrdal, do you think the whole world revolves around you? You reach out when you want something and kick it away when you don't?"
"I..." His face went pale.
"Put away your pathetic act, and take that ring that reeks of someone else with you." I said coldly. "I'm not a trash recycling center. Now get out of my sight."
With that, I moved to close the door.
But he suddenly pressed his hand against the door, pushing his whole body inside.
"Selena! Just hear me out!"
"I told you to get lost!" I was furious, lifting my foot to kick his leg.
At that moment, a hand reached out from behind me, firmly catching my wrist and stopping my movement.
At the same time, a low, commanding voice spoke near my ear.
"Darling, what's going on?"
My whole body stiffened.
It was Royce Sterling.
When did he come in?
Or rather, had he never left?
I turned my head. He was standing right behind me, extremely close.
He wore only a white shirt, the top two buttons undone, sleeves casually rolled to his elbows, revealing strong forearms.
He looked like he'd just showered, his hair still slightly damp, carrying the fresh scent of body wash mixed with cedar.
Hadn't he left last night? Did this suite have another entrance? Or had he been sleeping in the next room all along?
Countless thoughts flashed through my mind, but now wasn't the time to think about them.
Myrdal saw Royce, and the pleading on his face instantly turned to shock and anger.
"Sterling? What are you doing here?!"
Royce ignored him. He just looked down at me, those deep eyes holding a smile I couldn't read.
His hand slid down from my wrist to wrap around my waist, pulling me closer to him.
It was a gesture full of possessiveness.
I instinctively tried to struggle, but he squeezed my waist lightly, as if warning me.
Then he raised his head to look at Myrdal, that handsome face wearing a condescending, formal smile.
"Why wouldn't I be here?" he asked back, his tone flat but forceful. "I'm here to see my fiancée. Is there a problem with that?"
Fiancée?
I felt my brain buzz.
Myrdal's face instantly went from angry to deathly pale. He looked at me in disbelief, then at Royce's hand around my waist.
"Fiancée? That's impossible! Selena is my..."
"Yours?" Royce cut him off, the smile at his lips growing colder. "Mr. Carter, I think you're mistaken. Selena Hart—she is now, and will only ever be, my fiancée."
As he spoke, his other hand reached over, gently lifting my chin and forcing me to look at him.
"Right, darling?"
This bastard.
He wasn't helping me out of a tight spot.
He was declaring war on Myrdal, announcing his ownership to the whole world.
And I was the flag he was planting on his territory.
I looked at him, then turned to look at Myrdal standing at the door, his face ashen and swaying.
One was a past I had nothing but contempt for.
One was a present I was trying every way to escape from.
Both of them treated me like a trophy to be fought over.
Royce's hand around my waist held me tightly against him.
I should push him away, slap him, and tell both these arrogant men to get out.
But looking at Myrdal at the door, at his pale and shocked face, I suddenly changed my mind.
Fine.
Since you both love to play games, I'll play along.
I looked at Royce, at those eyes so sure of victory, and suddenly smiled.