The envious Soul

The envious Soul

Alina stood still, her expression calm, even though her mind was ablaze with fury. She watched the scene unfolding before her with clenched fists, her heart twisting painfully.

That woman. whoever she was, had her hands all over Aaron like she belonged there. Like it was routine. And what infuriated Alina the most… was that Aaron didn’t seem to mind at all. He stood there, unbothered, his face unreadable.

“Aaron. What are you doing here?”

Her mother-in-law’s voice cut through the thick air of tension. Alina quickly schooled her expression and stepped behind Merlin, hiding her burning gaze.

Aaron abruptly pulled Jennifer’s hand off his shirt, making her yelp in pain. She opened her mouth to complain, but immediately quieted when she noticed Merlin.

“Oh my God, Aunty Merlin! It’s been so long.”

Jennifer approached with a warm smile, arms outstretched. Merlin, surprised, returned the gesture with the kind of polite, distant hug reserved for rich socialites. careful not to smudge makeup or wrinkle clothes.

Alina nearly rolled her eyes. Perfect. So her mother-in-law knew her. That meant she wasn’t just some random woman. She was someone familiar. Someone close.

She forced a polite smile when Merlin introduced her to Jennifer. And of course, the inevitable followed.

“There’s a party this Sunday. My birthday celebration,” Merlin said with a delighted smile. “You must come, dear. I’d love for you to attend.”

Aaron’s expression darkened. He stared daggers at his mother for dragging things out with her usual theatrics. He glanced at Alina, hoping she’d meet his gaze, but she was deliberately ignoring him.

“Of course, Aunty. I wouldn’t miss it,” Jennifer chirped.

Just then, her assistant called. She excused herself and left with a graceful wave. Aaron immediately moved toward Alina, but Merlin interrupted.

“Aaron, are you free? I was just heading to the salon. Can you drop Alina at the event organizer’s office for me?”

Alina opened her mouth. “It’s okay, Mother. I can take a cab—”

“I’ll take her,” Aaron cut in quickly, not giving Alina a chance to decline. Merlin beamed, thinking he was being thoughtful.

If only she knew.

Once Merlin left, Aaron gently grabbed Alina’s hand and led her to his SUV. To his relief, she didn’t resist.
…

The silence inside the car was suffocating. For five whole minutes, neither spoke. The tension was thick, charged. Aaron kept stealing glances at her, his grip tight on the steering wheel.

Her face was unreadable. Cold. Distant.

He finally broke.

“She’s just someone I’ve met a few times. That’s all,” he said, voice low. “Nothing serious. Nothing... meaningful.”

Alina didn’t respond immediately. She just nodded, still looking out the window.

“I swear, she’s the past. There’s nothing between us. She means nothing.”

He meant every word. He wasn’t someone who wasted breath justifying himself to others. But for her. he cared. Deeply.

“It’s fine, Aaron,” she said with a calm, detached tone. But the underlying sharpness in her voice didn’t go unnoticed. She wasn’t fine at all.

“I only bumped into her by coincidence. I came to see you. That’s the truth.”

“It’s fine,” she said again, this time turning to him with a faint smile. “You don’t have to explain. After all, you’re just my brother-in-law. Remember?”

That word—brother-in-law—stabbed him straight through.

Aaron’s jaw clenched, his hands tightening around the wheel. “Brother-in-law, huh? Is that what I am to you?”

“Yes. We had sex once. Kissed maybe twice. You’ve been helping me through a hard time, and I appreciate that. But I’m not your girlfriend or your wife, Aaron. I don’t have any right to be upset over your ex. Especially someone like her. elegant, confident, probably more your type.”

She spoke the words coolly, but inside, her heart was a storm of jealousy and pain. Her nails dug into her clutch as the ugly truth clawed at her. So Jennifer had once had his attention. She could have it again. Easily.

Aaron was silent, but his knuckles had turned white. Every word from her lips made his blood boil. She couldn’t see it, but the look in his eyes was murderous.

He wanted to shout. To kiss her. To shake sense into her. Badly want to punish that little mouth for spitting nonsense. But most of all he wanted to claim her. Right there. Right then. And he knew that if he opened his mouth now, he might do something reckless. Something both of them might regret.

The moment they reached the destination, Alina stepped out without a word. She didn’t look back.

Aaron sat there, eyes glued to her retreating figure, rage and hunger battling in his chest. when she disappeared from sight, he blink.

“need to work on that sharp little mouth of yours,” he muttered darkly, gripping the wheel as if it might help anchor his fury. Then he drove off, mind spinning with a hundred ways to cool the fire she’d lit inside him. without burning everything to the ground.

….

Later at night.

“You were looking for a marketing expert?”

Emma asked Aaron with growing curiosity. The dining table had been filled with casual chatter about her big brother’s new project
until now.

Aaron gave her a nod, surprisingly present for a family dinner for the first time in weeks. But the real meal he’d come for sat silently across from him, picking at her food with an expression that screamed distance.

“It’s a crucial role,” he said, his voice steady. “I need someone trustworthy, someone who can manage people well and truly understands the game of marketing.”

Though he spoke to Emma, his eyes remained fixed on Alina. Her silence was loud, her cold demeanor even louder. He was already crafting a plan to break it.

“Alina, didn’t you work as a sales manager at our department store?” Emma suddenly asked, turning the spotlight without warning.

The fork in Alina’s hand froze midway. She stared at Emma, a flicker of unease flashing in her eyes.

“Yeah...” she replied weakly, clearly nervous about where this was going.

“Perfect! Big B, don’t you think Alina would be an amazing fit? She's got experience, and the store she managed always led in sales. You can trust her!”

The entire table paused. forks mid-air, chewing halted, conversations cut, except Aaron, who leaned back with a smirk, pretending to be surprised.

“You think so?” he asked Emma, though his eyes were fixed on Alina.

Alina sat stunned, her mind reeling.

“Yes! She’s a walking marketing manual. And this is your company, right? We’re family! It’s not like she’s working outside,”

Emma pressed, looking to her mother for support. “Right, Mama?”

Merlin, who had been quietly listening, finally responded. her tone was sharp and disapproving.

“No, dear. That’s all in the past. She’s married now. Her priority is the house. Working is not something we do.”

Her words echoed an earlier condition she'd laid down before the wedding.

Emma’s smile faltered. She turned to her mother with pleading eyes.

“But Mama, she’d be working in our company. And she’s family. Why waste her potential? Plus, it'll make Big B’s work easier. Don’t disappoint him.”

She added the last line pointedly. because just days ago, Emma had overheard Merlin expressing joy that Aaron was finally spending more time with the family again. Rejecting the idea now would mean pushing him away once more.

After a pause, Merlin sighed and reluctantly nodded.

Aaron hid his victorious smirk behind his wine glass. His plan had worked flawlessly. They were both avoiding each other lately, but now fate or rather, his sister had handed him the perfect excuse to see Alina every day.

He glanced at Alina with a spark of mischief in his eyes.

She looked back, stunned, overwhelmed, and very aware of the smirk curving his lips.

So this was it.

She was going to work with him. Every single day. Half of her day would now belong to him.

She gave him a strained look. He was clearly enjoying her discomfort. But in the midst of their silent exchange, they didn’t notice another pair of eyes watching them.

Lucas.

His grip on the spoon tightened. His skin paled.

He saw it now. clear as day. The stolen glances. The shared electricity.

His brother wasn’t just helping Alina. He wanted her. He has changed because of her. All this was happening because of her.

So this was the reason behind everything. the distance, the shift, the silence between him and Alina. The way she no longer flinched at his words. The calm on her face. The absence of fear. Less worried about Cassandra.

She had moved on. With his brother. His jaw clenched, rage boiling in his chest.

The hell you were moving on.

He would not let that happen. He couldn’t.

…

Alina pushed the bedroom door, expecting silence. But her steps faltered upon seeing the scene in front of her.

Lucas was sitting on the recliner, half-dressed. His shirt hung loosely off one shoulder, exposing his broad, sculpted chest. He wore nothing but sweatpants, his posture relaxed. but his gaze wasn’t.

It was fixed on her. Fully focused for the first time.

She swallowed her nervously difficult seeing the unemployment transition.

This wasn’t the Lucas she was used to. the cold, sharp-tongued husband who barely looked at her unless it was to hurt her. No, this version was unnervingly quiet, and far too calm.

What happened to him suddenly? As she thought to herself, she heard him talk.

“You’re late,” he said, voice low, eyes darkening as he slowly stood up.

Alina's grip on her dress tightened. “I was in the garden. With Emma.”

He nodded, taking a step closer. She instinctively stepped back.

“You know, I was thinking…” he began, his voice taking on a sultry tone, “maybe we should start acting like a real couple.”

Her stomach dropped. She felt a uneasy pain inside her chest.

He kept coming closer, eyes roaming her body in a way that made her skin crawl.

“We should think about having a baby,” he said, brushing his fingers along her arm.

Alina stiffened. Her entire body screamed no.

“Don’t.” Her voice trembled. She backed away again, but the bed caught her behind the knees.

Lucas didn’t stop.

“Come on, Alina. It’s time we start behaving like husband and wife. You know it’s expected of us,” he whispered, now just inches away, his hand grazing her waist.

She flinched violently. “I said don’t touch me!”

But he ignored her, cupping her face roughly. His breath fanned against her skin.

“Stop it, Lucas,” she said, voice rising. Her eyes welled with tears. “You’re scaring me. ”

“Scaring you?” he scoffed, his grip tightening. “I’m your husband. This is normal. You owe me this.”

She tried to wriggle free, panic bursting in her chest. No. No. She can't accept this. She felt like her skin was burning due to his touch. The sense of disgust evident on her face.

And then. he leaned in. His mouth brushed against hers.

She gagged, twisted, her hand pushing against his chest as hard as she could.

“Don’t—”

Just as she opened her mouth to scream,

RIIINNGGG.

Lucas’s phone blared from the nightstand.

He cursed, stepping away quickly.

“Shit. It’s a board member. I have to take this.”

Without a second glance, he snatched up the phone and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Alina stood frozen. Her legs trembled. Tears brimmed in her eyes.

Her chest heaved in sharp, panicked breaths as she backed away from the bed. She was on the edge of breaking. when she felt it.

A deep stare from behind. She spun around, and gasped seeing the least expected person behind.

Aaron.

He stood in the shadowed hallway outside the open bedroom door.

Eyes burning. Jaw clenched. Hands fisted at his sides.

His entire frame radiated silent rage, like a volcano seconds before eruption.

Alina's voice caught in her throat.

For a moment, neither of them said anything.

Then, without a single word, he walked toward her, grabbed her trembling hand gently but firmly, and pulled her with him silently.

The lift took them upstairs, away from everything. Away from the horror that room caused her.

Nobody saw them. Nobody stopped them.

His grip was steady, protective. Possessive.

She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think until they stopped at a locked door.

Aaron unlocked it, pushed it open, and pulled her inside.

And as he shut the door behind them, Alina realized something terrifyingly comforting, yet raging fury from his breath. His bloodshot eyes were the evidence to show how angered he was right now. She felt her heartbeat rising faster as she felt his eyes write burning inside her soul.
….

(Pre cap)

"Did he touch you?" Aaron asked, his deep, growling tone making her shiver.

"It doesn't matter. You can't question—"

"Did. He. Fucking. Touched. You?" He asked, his voice more dangerous now, making her feel the full impact of his rising anger.
…

Don't missed out the sexists scene on next episode.