Chapter 174

HENRY

So Shane's honeymoon is in four days.

He hasn't been to the office since his wedding… which has been the talk of the town since this week, by the way… and believe me when I say that all my coworkers love it. They wished he would never resume work.

The COO and I have been handling things in his absence, but it hasn't been easy without him here. Enough talk about office boring stuff. Back to Shane's honeymoon.

So, the twisted bastard plans on being absent for a whole month. He and Alicia will spend their first week in Spain, second week in Rome, then third and fourth, Italy and Switzerland, respectively. I've made all the travel plans that needed making.

But I'm not waiting for a whole month to murder that psychotic bastard. I'll do it in four days. No, two days. Three days max.

Starting tonight.

I already have a plan.

My eyes flicked to the clock on my desk; 06:17 PM. I pricked my ears and listened. There was no noise coming from the hall, meaning everyone had already gone home for the day.

I stretched like a cat and let out a loud yawn. I relaxed back and propped up my feet on my desk, then pulled out my phone and dialed a number. Don't bother guessing who I'm calling. It's Shane.

It went unanswered.

So, I decided to try again.

Still unanswered.

Again.

Unanswered.

I had all night.

It wasn't until the sixth ring that he finally picked up.

“What do you want?” His harsh voice came through the line, exasperated and impatient.

“Hi, Shane.” My voice came out sweet. “Are you alone right now?”

“Yes.” He answered coldly, “Why?”

“I wanted to talk to you in private…”

“Go on, then.” He cut me off, “Talk.”

“Okay.” I muttered, then ran my wet tongue through my dry lips, “Please know that I'm not calling to be clingy or whiny or…”

“For fuck’s sake, get on with it, Jones!” He rasped.

“Alright, sorry. Since you got married and entered a new beginning,” I began, voice smooth, “I was wondering if you'd be interested in going on a hunt tonight… you know, to celebrate your new beginnings. What do you say?”

A pause.

My heart pounded against my ribs.

Please, say yes.

Please, say yes.

Say yes, you bastard.

“Hmm.” He hummed under his breath, “You know, Jones, that's such a great idea. I'm really impressed by your thinking. I can't believe I never thought of it.”

“So… is that a yes, then?”

“Yes.”

I pressed my eyes shut and threw up my hand.

Yes!

“So, tonight, then?” I asked, keeping my voice casual.

“Yeah.” He replied, “I'll be there at the penthouse by ten when Alicia has fallen asleep.”

“Oh… okay. I'll be waiti…”

I wasn't done talking before he hung up on me.

Rude, condescending bastard.

It's all going to end soon.

Just you wait.

I packed my stuff and shoved them all into my satchel, then hung it around my shoulder and stood up.

I left the company building and arrived at the penthouse a little after 07:30 PM. I stripped and headed for the bathroom. There, I took a long, cold, refreshing bath in the tub. By the time I got out, it was a little after 08:18 PM.

I fixed myself a quick dinner, ate and savoured it, then forced myself to sit through some boring Gen Z sitcom just to pass the time.

Then, when the clock struck 09:50 PM, I stood up and walked into the bedroom and got dressed; black shirt tucked into black pants, black baseball cap and black shoes.

I walked over to the nightstand and picked up the necklace I bought recently, balancing it in my palms.

The chain was slim and had a small, smooth pendant resting at the center, polished to a dark, glass-like shine. It catches the light just enough to stand out without drawing too much attention.

A smile slipped my lips as I stared down at it, then I hung it around my neck and balanced it on my chest.

I returned to the living room and fixated my gaze on the screen, waiting for Shane to arrive. Seconds crawled by, then minutes and then an hour. It felt like ages, and my butt was starting to throb.

I began to lose hope about Shane making an appearance tonight and started to think that maybe he has done what he does best once more.

Lie and manipulate me into believing that he would show up when he wasn't.

I sat there, rigid, staring blankly at the TV screen, fists clenched tight by my sides, hatred and anger clouding every of my senses.

Then suddenly, my phone began to ring. I gave a little flinch, then let out a soft curse under my breath. I picked up my phone from the couch and stared at the screen.

It was Shane calling.

My heart pounded with excitement.

I didn't hesitate. I slid the bar to the green screen and placed the phone to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Come down.” He said coldly, “I'm at the parking lot.”

“Okay…”

The line disconnected before I could finish.

I stood up and left the penthouse, taking the elevator to the ground floor. I entered the parking lot and began my search for the Benz, but I couldn't find it. Then I pulled out my phone to call Shane.

Honk honk!

The horn made me start. I swung my head to the side and saw a car with its headlights on. It was a Rolls-Royce.

Shane's Rolls-Royce.

I clenched my teeth and made my way to the car, opened the door and slid into the passenger's seat.

“Hey,” I said to him.

“Hey,” He muttered in a flat tone, without so much as a glance.

He turned the key and started up the engine, then set the car in motion.

My eyes flicked down to his hand resting on the steering wheel.

Cute.

So, he's now wearing his ring in my presence.

“Who's going to be our victim tonight?” I asked.

“Someone.” He replied without interest, eyes focused on the road.

Then suddenly, he whipped his head to me, eyes flicking down to the necklace hanging around my neck.

My heart froze.

He stared at it for a little while, then shifted his eyes back up to me. “You bought a necklace?”

“Yeah.” I replied, keeping my voice casual, “There's no harm in owning one, is there?”

He made a nonchalant face and pulled his eyes back to the road.

Except it isn't just an ordinary necklace.

It has a hidden camera in it.

And it'll be filming everything you're about to do tonight.