Chapter 32 Remarkable
JAMES’ POV
“I just have to say, Mr. Reed, your relationship with your wife, Mrs. Reed is remarkable. It’s the type of relationship I’ve never seen before. It looks so perfect that if someone told me you two even argue in your marriage, I could stand up for you and say that’s a big lie,” one of the guys from the group of investors I had found my way to said.
I let out a small laugh while slowly spinning the champagne glass in my hand, letting the sparkling bubbles swirl around the rim in a calm circle. Moments like this were supposed to feel good people praising what they thought was my perfect life, my perfect marriage, my perfect everything. And I was glad that they saw my marriage with Melissa that way. They saw the picture-perfect relationship we always portrayed in public, like it was something right out of a magazine cover.
If only they knew the truth.
If only they knew I got married to a witch in disguise.
These people around me — rich men with their expensive suits, half-polished smiles, and all the confidence in the world. They only saw what they wanted to see. They saw the filtered version of my life, the one Melissa and I were forced to maintain to keep up appearances. From the outside, everything looked spotless. But inside that marriage? God, if they spent one week with her, they would know she wasn’t even half of what she pretended to be.
Throughout the entire time I had been at this event, not a single investor mentioned anything about what was happening with my drug currently. That was a very good thing. It meant some people still hadn’t seen the reports or the early warnings. It meant the news hadn’t fully spread yet.
And that meant I still had time.
Time to take advantage of their ignorance.
Time to get them to drop as much funding as possible before anyone finally found out what was really going on.
“My wife, on the other hand, is a monster in the house,” another man from the group said with a dramatic groan, lifting his glass. “She barely gives me time to rest. But I’m sure you don’t know how that feels like, right, James?”
I forced a polite smile and gave a small shake of my head.
“Well, right now all I can say is I’m grateful to God for giving me such a calm and loving wife,” I replied, making sure the words rolled off my tongue smoothly. I said it expecting her to be not too far from me, expecting her to be doing her job as my wife, standing close, smiling, keeping up appearances like she was supposed to.
But when I turned my head left, then right, then scanned the area again, I didn’t see even the smallest sign of her.
Perfect timing, Melissa.
This would have been the perfect moment for her to show up, right when I was talking to this group of investors, right when they were praising our marriage. This was literally the easiest job she had: stand beside me and act like a decent human being.
I bit down on my lower lip, irritation rising like heat under my skin. I told her not to wander off. I told her not to go drink herself into stupidity. How would it look if, at the exact moment she was supposed to be beside me impressing investors, her mouth smelled like she just bathed in alcohol?
That would only show how much manners she lacked. How careless she was. And what would that say about me? I’m her husband — I’m the one who’s supposed to keep her in check, to make sure she doesn’t embarrass me or herself in public. Instead, she always found a way to prove just how childish she could be.
I let out a small sigh, trying hard not to let the people around me see how frustrated I was getting. Losing my composure here would be a bigger problem than anything Melissa could do.
I needed to find her.
And drag her to a corner.
And knock some sense into her head, because clearly she needed constant correction like a child who didn’t know any better.
“You’ll have to excuse me for a moment, gentlemen. I need to attend to something important,” I said, placing my glass down on the nearest table. They all gave me small nods, each of them assuming I had business-related matters to take care of, and I quickly left their circle.
My eyes scanned the entire hall as I looked for Melissa. The place was crowded, people in expensive gowns and suits, glittering jewelry everywhere, loud chatter, laughter echoing from every direction.
Thankfully, it didn’t take long before I spotted her.
Talking to someone.
Is she serious right now? I need her by my side getting deals, helping me secure investors, and she prefers standing here chatting with her friends? The audacity. I stormed over to where she stood, my steps quick and irritated. I was already preparing myself to grab her arm and drag her away from whoever she was wasting time with.
But then—
My eyes finally landed on the person she was talking to.
I froze for a moment.
Hold on…
Is that who I think it is?
Anna?
Was my vision playing tricks on me?
No. No, it had to be her. I would recognize that face anywhere. It was burned into my memory from all the times I had looked down on her, mocked her, dismissed her.
But what the hell was she doing here?
And dressed like… that?
If I wasn’t mistaken, I would actually say she looked good. She had gotten thicker than the last time I saw her, back when she was barely able to feed herself. Back when she looked like life had drained her dry. But now? Now her body filled out her dress in a way that made her look completely different.
And her makeup, I had never seen her wearing makeup before. She looked almost unrecognizable. Beautiful, even.
But what shocked me the most wasn’t the makeup or the dress or how confident she looked.
It was how elegant and rich she looked.
She blended in perfectly with every other wealthy person here. The confidence, the posture, the expression — she didn’t even look like the same girl I used to call useless. For someone like her to blend into this environment so flawlessly, she must have practiced. A lot.
But why was Melissa talking to her?
What could they possibly be discussing?
I needed to know. So I walked up to them, determined to find out what this sudden, unexpected scene was all about.
“Well, look who we have here,” I said as I stopped in front of them. Both Anna and Melissa turned their heads to look at me.
“Oh baby, I’m glad you could make it,” Melissa said with a smug smile, flipping her hair back. “I was about to get a glass of champagne and found this dirty rag here.”
She said it while looking directly at Anna.