Avah’s POV
I took a slow, steady breath, trying to shake off the sinking feeling in my chest.
“I’m not here for his attention,” I tried again, keeping my voice even. “I’m his—”
"Oh, please." The brunette cut me off with an exaggerated eye roll. "I’ve heard it all before. ‘I’m his assistant, I’m his friend, I’m his fiancée.’ Blah, blah, blah."
The blonde smirked. "Don’t forget the ‘I’m carrying his child’ excuse."
They both giggled, their eyes shining with mockery.
I could feel my stomach twist into a tight knot, the heat of humiliation creeping up my neck.
Sally, who had been silently watching, gritted her teeth and pulled out her phone.
"Who are you texting?" The blonde snapped, leaning over the counter. "Calling for backup? Maybe one of your little gold-digging friends?"
Sally smirked, her fingers still typing. "Actually, yes."
The brunette let out a fake gasp. "Ooooh, I’m so scared. Who are you calling? The ‘Broke Girls Support Group’?"
The blonde laughed loudly. "Or maybe ‘Desperate Women Anonymous’?"
I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to stay calm. But Sally? She was done being calm.
She snapped her head up, eyes blazing. "Oh, you think you’re funny? You sit here all day, doing absolutely nothing but playing gatekeepers, acting like your job isn’t just to answer phones and press buttons."
The brunette’s face darkened. "Excuse me?"
Sally stepped closer, her lips curling into a mocking smile. "I said what I said."
The blonde scoffed, crossing her arms. "Honey, you really think you scare me?"
"No," Sally said sweetly. "But I do think you should be more worried about your job right now."
That seemed to strike a nerve, because the brunette hissed, "You little shi....." before suddenly picking up the phone.
"Security? Yeah, we have two nobodies causing a disturbance at the front desk. Can you get them out of here?"
I stiffened. "You’re calling security?"
The blonde smirked. "Obviously. We don’t let trash sit in the lobby."
I clenched my jaw, my hands curling into fists.
Before I could say anything, two bulky security guards appeared, their heavy boots thudding against the marble floor.
One of them, a bald man with a permanent scowl, looked at us with disgust. "These the ones?"
"Yep," the brunette said smugly, flipping her hair. "They have refused to leave."
The other guard; a tall man with a sneer etched onto his face, stepped closer. "Alright, ladies, time to go. You can throw your pity party somewhere else."
I took a step back, my heart pounding. "We’re not.."
"Move!" the bald guard snapped, reaching for my arm.
I jerked back instinctively, but his grip tightened painfully around my wrist. "I said move!"
Beside me, Sally yanked her arm away as the other guard grabbed her harshly. "Get your damn hands off me!" she hissed.
A crowd had gathered now, murmuring, whispering, and pulling out their phones.
I could feel eyes on me. Judging. Mocking. Enjoying the show.
This is humiliating.
A woman nearby snickered. "God, this is so embarrassing."
A man beside her chuckled. "I don’t know what’s worse...the fact that they thought they could get in or the fact that they’re fighting back."
A younger girl giggled as she recorded. "This is gold. Imagine thinking you could just walk into Rome international's building like you own the place."
Like you own the place.
That’s when something inside me snapped.
Because I did have a right to be here.
I was his wife.
But before I could say it, a sharp, commanding voice cut through the air.
"What the hell is going on here?"
The entire room went silent.
The guards froze, their grips instantly loosening.
I turned my head just as Roman and Derrick appeared, both moving quickly, their expressions furious.
The entire lobby fell into stunned silence.
Roman stood like a storm about to break, his sharp, lethal gaze sweeping over the crowd. The security guard who had grabbed me stumbled back, eyes wide with terror.
Sally, who had been mid-argument with the receptionists, looked smug as hell.
The two receptionists who had been laughing at me only moments ago were now frozen in horror, their faces paling.
Derrick arrived just a second after Roman, his eyes darting between me and the now-terrified staff. His usually playful expression was gone, replaced by something sharp and calculating.
“Sir—w-we didn’t....,” one of the receptionists stammered, her voice shaking.
Roman ignored her completely, his focus solely on me. His hands cupped my face, his touch gentle despite the fury in his eyes.
Then, slowly, his attention shifted to the people who had just humiliated me. His voice, when he spoke, was lethal.
“Who the hell did this?”
The receptionists scrambled to defend themselves.
“Sir, these two women claimed they knew you and started causing a disturbance,” one of them said quickly, her voice shaking but still trying to sound professional. “We were just doing our jobs, keeping the company secure.”
The other receptionist nodded vigorously, latching onto the excuse. “Yes! We see people like them all the time, trying to get your attention. We thought they were just looking for trouble..”
Roman cut her off with a single look, his cold stare making her shrink back.
The security guards, sensing the shift in power, scrambled to defend themselves as well.
“They were making a scene, Sir,” one of them said gruffly. “We were called to handle the situation, that’s all.”
Derrick scoffed, shaking his head. “Is that right?”
The security guards nodded, looking at each other for reassurance.
Roman exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening. Then, he took a step forward, his presence alone enough to make them all stiffen.
“You put your hands on her,” he said, his voice deceptively calm. “You insulted her. Humiliated her. And now you’re trying to justify it?”
The weight of his words sank into the air like a death sentence.
The color drained from the receptionists’ faces. The security guards tensed.
And everyone else in the lobby?
They were waiting, watching, knowing that things were about to get much, much worse.
One of the receptionists swallowed hard. “S-Sir, we didn’t know she was—”
Roman’s voice dropped even lower, almost a whisper, but it cut through the silence like a blade.
“My wife.”
Dead silence.
The receptionists froze.
The security guards stiffened.
Everyone in the lobby seemed to stop breathing.
The same woman who had been mocking me minutes ago now looked like she was about to faint. “W-Wife?” she echoed, voice barely above a whisper.
The other one gasped audibly, hands trembling at her sides.
Derrick let out a low, amused whistle. “Damn.”
Roman ignored them, turning back to me. His eyes softened just slightly as he cupped my face again, his fingers brushing against my cheek.
“I’m so sorry, little moon,” he murmured, his voice filled with quiet remorse. “This should have never happened.”