Chapter 22: The Unexpected phone call.

Lilith’s POV

"What the hell was that?" Jayden snapped, slamming his fist against the seat.

I jumped at the sudden switch. “What—”

"I told you to let me lead if you didn't know! You started babbling like a frightened child. 'The thing about Paris'? You almost handed them our heads on a silver platter!"

I tried so hard to make things go smoothly and here he was trying to snap my head off?

"I didn't know about Paris!" I shouted back, my own adrenaline finally boiled over into rage. "You gave me ten minutes of facts, ignoring the most important things and calling them rumors, and then you expected me to know her entire social calendar for the last six months? I’m doing the best I can!"

"Your best isn't good enough!" He snapped as the driver began to drive. The glass was tinted so no matter what we did, the hundreds of reporters watching wouldn’t know the battle going on inside.

“Then how is any of this my fault?” I returned.

"This isn't a game, Lilith. If that woman had gotten the faintest hint you were lying, the headlines tomorrow would have ruined everything. You were supposed to be poise and perfection, and instead, you looked like a fraud."

"If you feel my best isn’t enough, then find the real Celine!" I cried, the name feeling like a curse. "If you hate my best so much, go find the woman who actually belongs in this dress,” I snapped, angered by the fact that he never really appreciated my effort. He always looked for ways to blame me. “Oh, wait, you can’t find her, can you?”

“Lilith, don’t you dare—”

“You're stuck with me, just like I'm stuck with an arrogant, cold-hearted bastard who thinks he can buy a human life and buy everything into perfection because he has money!"

Jayden moved closer to me immediately, making me back away at the sudden movement. He grabbed the headrest behind my head and leaned in even closer until I didn’t dare to say another word. He glared at me. "Don't you ever speak to me that way again, I have warned you severally," he hissed.

I should have backed down, seeing his anger was off the charts, but I didn’t care to stop. I refused to back down.

“Then you should learn to speak to me with some dignity! I am not your slave!” I snapped back, right in his face.

His face morphed into that of pure anger and as he leaned even closer to me, we were interrupted with a sharp ring that filled the car immediately.

“Whose phone is that?” Jayden asked, looking around.

“Not mine,” I said. The ringtone sounded unfamiliar.

“Is that your phone?” Jayden asked the driver as we continued looking around.

“No, sir,” he said.

Just then, the realization set in and my eyes trailed to my purse at the same time Jayden's did.

I opened my purse and pulled out the phone with a confused look.

“Didn’t I tell you to turn that phone off?” He asked, throwing a glance at the phone.

Yes, I thought I did as well.

“I did, I don’t know what happened,” I said, glancing at the caller ID. I stiffened at the name ‘DAD’ that was clearly displayed on the screen.

Jayden collected the phone from me and waited until the call ended on its own, before turning it off. Only then did I realize what I did wrong. When he had asked me to turn it off, I only long-pressed the power button, but Jayden pressed two more buttons alongside the power button that I hadn’t realized were there as well. As if sensing my confusion, Jayden spoke up.

“It’s a new model so it has a slightly different function,” he said and I nodded.

When the phone turned off, the car fell silent as the previous heated argument in the car was long forgotten. However, I couldn’t seem to find rest because I began to wonder why Celine’s dad was calling. He already got the documents, didn’t he?

When we pulled up in front of the house, we got out of the car and I was surprised when Jayden walked up to me and wrapped an arm around my waist, before leading me into the mansion. I threw a glance at the driver, who acted like nothing had happened back in the car.

If we were supposed to pretend even in front of his maids, why was that driver exempted?

We were welcomed as usual and then we headed to our room. When he closed the door after us, I finally let my questions out.

“That driver knows I am not Celine, right?”

“Yes, he knows,” Jayden said as he took off his tie. “He knows everything, he was the guy that informed me about Celine’s disappearance so we’re good.”

“Oh,” I said. I took off my heels and was about to walk into my closet when Jayden’s voice stopped me.

“Take this.” I turned to see him handing Celine’s phone back to me. “Turn it on and call Mr. Lark back. I need to know the reason for his call.”

No, I didn’t want to talk to that scary man! What if he had some bad news or some more warnings to fire at me?

“But—”

“I don’t want to hear what you think,” Jayden interrupted. “Call him back and put the call on speaker.”