Chapter 15 - Micah Warns Jeremy
Third Person POV.
Jeremy slips away from the lavish banquet hall, the clinking of glasses and chatter fading behind him as he seeks solace in the quiet of the corridors. His hand trembles as he fumbles for his cigarette pack and lighter, his mind still reeling from the events of the evening.
Slumping against the cool stone wall, Jeremy tries to steady his nerves. The memory of the confrontation at the hall keeps playing in his head.
Just as he manages to light his cigarette, a silhouette catches his eye further down the corridor. A figure, casually leaning against the wall, the dim light casting an air of mystery around him. Jeremy's heart skips a beat as he recognizes the familiar stance.
"Micah?" Jeremy's voice is barely a whisper, disbelief mingling with dread.
Micah pushes himself off the wall, revealing a small jewelry box in his hand. He tosses it up and catches it effortlessly, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Know about this, brother?" Micah's voice is light.
Jeremy's gaze locks onto the box, an unsettling feeling blossoms in the pit of his stomach.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about," Jeremy stammers, his eyes darting from Micah's face to the box.
Micah's smile widens, an unnerving glint in his eyes. "Oh, but you do, don't you?"
He takes a step closer, the jewelry box dangling from his fingers.
“Imagine my surprise when I found out my brother was trying to give obviously romantic gifts to my wife. Too bad she didn’t want them.”
Jeremy swallows hard, feeling defensive and humiliated.
"Well, serve you right for trying to marry my sloppy seconds. Don’t worry though, I don't want her anymore so you can have her."
He rushes out shakily, forcing out the words without thinking. A thought in the back of his mind chastises him at his thoughtlessness. He shouldn’t have let Micah know about his past with Fiona. He shouldn’t have let anyone know! It was supposed to be a secret!
Still, he felt too flustered to remember that fact as he was confronted by Micah.
Micah remains relaxed, shrugging casually.
"If you didn't care for her at all, why were you trying to secretly give her this jewelry, then?" He raises an eyebrow, watching Jeremy's composure falter.
He watches the way Micah raises an eyebrow, seemingly unbothered by the secret Jeremy had just let slip. He doesn’t seem surprised that Fiona has dated Jeremy in the past. With a sinking feeling, Jeremy realizes that Fiona must have already told him.
It was no longer a secret between the two of them and despite himself, Jeremy feels jealous rage overcome him.
“I just felt bad for her," Jeremy blurts out. "I knew she was trying to get my attention by being with you—”
Micah doesn’t let him finish.
“Tsk tsk, that’s no way for a man to act, Jeremy. I'm sure she was naive and fooled by you once, but now she clearly knows better. She brought this bracelet to me the moment she got it. Clearly, she wants nothing to do with you.”
Micah knows that little bit isn’t true. Jeremy’s gift never reached Fiona. Instead, it was unlucky enough to land in his hands. As far as Fiona was concerned, Jeremy never sent her anything and Micah didn’t care to change that.
After all, this stupidity wasn’t his wife’s fault, it was all due to his half-brother’s lingering one-sided obsession.
Micah's smile vanishes, his eyes hardening. He tosses the box to Jeremy, who fumbles to catch it, almost tripping in the process.
"Stay away from her, brother, and we won't have any issues," Micah says quietly, his posture relaxed but his eyes delivering a clear warning that sends insecurity and fear blooming in Jeremy's stomach.
Before Jeremy can stammer out a response, Micah gives him a casual two-finger salute and walks away, leaving Jeremy standing there, shaken and unsettled by the encounter.
Meanwhile, Leah, hidden in the shadows of the banquet hall, tightens her grip on her wine glass as she overhears Jeremy's conversation with Micah. She had followed Jeremy discreetly, her presence masked by the multitude of smells and distractions in the banquet hall.
She had spent the last few days waiting for Jeremy to give her the bracelet but it never happened. She had been careful in monitoring it and her heart had soared when it had finally disappeared. She had been so sure then that any moment now, he would give it to her but it never happened.
Hearing his half-hearted excuse at the banquet felt untrue to her. So, she had no choice but to follow him out. She had thought she'd just ask him about it outright only to find him engaged with Micah.
Now, after listening to the conversation between the two men, her heart feels splintered and a slow bitter rage starts to form deep in her belly.
She reels with shock as she realizes that Jeremy’s ex-girlfriend was Fiona all along.
He never meant to give her that bracelet, after all.
None of this would be happening if it wasn’t for Fiona.
With that last thought, she whirls back into the banquet hall, hoping that nobody saw her.
____________________
Queen Alara stands in the corner of the banquet hall, her eyes narrowed in contemplation.
She had been wrong, she realized sourly.
She had miscalculated Jeremy’s feelings for Fiona. The bracelet he bought was never intended for his fiancée, Leah—it was meant for Fiona all along.
"This is going to be a problem," Alara thinks, annoyed.
She knows she must find a way to rid themselves of Fiona for good. She couldn’t afford to have a ticking time bomb like Fiona next to her son. If Fiona stays, she could disrupt their plans and jeopardize Jeremy's inheritance of the throne.
Amidst her thoughts, Alara's eyes snag on Nathan, a leering noble infamous for his womanizing ways. She watches the way his eyes are fixated on Fiona as she stands with Micah. Alara recalls how stupefied Nathan seemed by Fiona’s beauty when she first entered the hall. Immediately, an idea strikes her.
However, her eyes narrow as she studies Micah and the way he stands next to her. His body is angled protectively, almost like he wants to shield her from whoever comes her way.
But workaholic Micah who is known to come home late every single night, won’t always be next to her, now would he?
A slow, wicked smile spreads across Queen Alara’s face as an insidious new plan forms in her mind.
"This time," she vows to herself gleefully, "I will surely get rid of this girl."
____________________
A couple of days later, Colin, Micah’s assistant, stands outside his office door, a stack of papers clutched in his hands. He's prepared to report to Micah, expecting him to be entrenched in work like he always is recently, possibly even working late into the night. To his surprise, when Colin pushes open the door, he finds Micah picking up his coat and preparing to leave.
“Good timing. I was just going to tell you I am calling it a day.” He says to Colin without looking up.
“Well, well, look at that. Workaholic Micah leaving early? Has the world come to a standstill?” Colin drawls, part amused and part shocked at his friend and boss’s unusual behavior.
Micah looks up and gives him an unimpressed look.
“Yes, my wife is waiting for me at dinner. She requested that I come home early tonight and I won’t be denying her. Single folk like you wouldn’t understand.” He says flatly.
Colin’s eyebrows skyrocket to his hairline.
Since when did the ruthless CEO of Lycan Corporation become so domesticated?
Colin knew he would find this even more amusing if it wasn’t so shocking.
Without thinking, his hand reaches out to a cup of tea on Micah’s table. He is just about to lift it to drink and calm his shock when Micah clears his throat.
“I wouldn’t touch that if I were you.” He says lightly.
Colin raises an eyebrow, clearly wondering why.
Micah doesn’t meet his eye, instead he busies himself with picking up his briefcase.
Just when he is about to leave the room, he turns to face Colin dead in the eye and says.
“My wife made that specifically for me. If you are thirsty, go drink some water outside.”
With that, he turns on his heels leaving an even more shocked Colin bursting with laughter and shaking his head at the way his boss has changed ever since marrying Fiona.