He Wants An Open Marriage? Done!

Chapter 26: I Forgive You

Roxanne looked at the faces of the crowd staring back at her, the bright camera flashes stinging her eyes. She turned her head slightly to look at Richard. His brow was deeply furrowed, his body tense with a quiet fury.

Then she shifted her gaze back down to Christian, who was still on his knees, holding the heavy bouquet upward like a desperate prayer request.

She reached out and took the flowers from his grip, forcing a tight, hollow smile onto her face. "Get up, husband," she said. The words tasted like ash, forced through her tightly clenched teeth. She grabbed his arm, pulling him upward with a sharp yank. "Why don’t we go and talk privately?"

Christian looked at her and shook his head. He gently but firmly pulled his arm out of her hold, turning his face toward the reporters. "I want you to answer me right here," he said, his voice loud and performative. "Right here where the world can see us."

Roxanne felt the blood in her veins boil. A wave of suffocating heat rushed up her neck as she gritted her teeth. "Are you really sure you want your answer here, Christian?"

Christian faltered for a fraction of a second, the confidence slipping from his eyes. But he quickly recovered and nodded firmly. "Yes, darling."

Roxanne’s jaw twitched. Her grip on the flower stems tightened until the plastic wrapping crinkled loudly. Damn you, Christian. He was manipulating the media, trapping her in a corner just like he always did.

She flicked her eyes to the side. She couldn’t look fully at Richard, but seeing the dark silhouette of his massive shoulder was enough to keep her grounded.

"I’ve had enough of this drama," Richard’s voice sliced through the noise. His deep baritone was firm. He turned his gaze toward his assistant. "Libby, call security. I want everyone out of here and out of this building immediately." His tone was calm, but it was laced with absolute fire.

Roxanne nearly let out a visible sigh of relief. Thank goodness. He was forcing Christian to stop the madness.

As Libby hurried away, Christian glared at Richard, his eyes narrowing into an accusatory squint.

"I thought you were interested in promoting family values, Mr. Vance," Christian said, his voice dripping with venom. "After all, a man can only become CEO of a major company if the board sees him as settled and responsible. So—"

"Yes, I support family," Richard shot back, the constant shutter of the cameras flashing directly in his face. He didn’t blink. "But I do not support a public scandal in my lobby. And I sure as hell do not condone a nuisance in my workspace."

"Do you think a husband asking his wife for forgiveness is being a nuisance?" a female reporter’s voice sliced through the air. She aggressively pushed a phone toward Richard’s face.

The muscles in Richard’s jaw ticked violently, but he kept his composure. "If a man has to make such a loud, desperate gesture in public," he replied smoothly, his words laced with a dark warning, "then we need to ask what exactly he is apologizing for and more importantly, what he is doing to his woman behind closed doors."

Before the reporter could push further, the elevator doors chimed and opened. Four armed security guards rushed into the lobby.

Richard shifted his gaze to the men, his face carved from stone. "Clear this space," he commanded, before turning on his heel to walk away.

Roxanne turned to follow him, desperate to escape Christian’s suffocating presence, but Christian lunged forward and grabbed her wrist. "Where do you think you’re going?" he hissed.

Suddenly, another voice shouted over the commotion. "Is it a yes, Roxanne? Do you accept his forgiveness?"

Roxanne froze in her tracks, her eyes drifting toward the camera lens pointed at her face. Even Richard stopped dead in his tracks a few feet away, his back rigid. She kept her gaze fixed on the glass lens, feeling the intense, burning weight of Richard’s eyes on her from across the room.

"If Christian really cared about me," Roxanne shot back, her voice ringing clear and sharp over the noise, "he would make this gesture behind closed doors, not in front of a crowd to save his own reputation." She violently yanked her wrist out of his grip and began walking toward the corridor.

"I love you, Roxy!" Christian yelled after her, his voice cracking dramatically. "I can’t let you go!"

Then, the sudden, pathetic sound of loud sobs filled the executive lobby.

Roxanne stopped cold. She curled her hands into tight fists, her nails digging into her palms until her knuckles turned completely white.

"I’m so sorry, my love! I love you with all my heart!" Christian cried, his shoulders shaking as his heavy sobs echoed off the high ceilings.

The sound of his fake weeping was like metal being dragged across a stone floor in her ears. Bloody pretender. How could all these reporters not see through this pathetic act? The sheer embarrassment of the spectacle made her stomach turn.

If she walked away now, the media would paint her as the heartless, cruel wife, and it would ruin everything she was trying to build.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath to center herself, and turned around. Forcing a bright, affectionate smile onto her face, she walked back to him and touched his arm. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

"It’s alright. I forgive you," she said softly, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness. "Why don’t we tell these good people to leave us alone so we can go talk?"

Christian blinked. For a moment, confusion flickered across his face. That had been too easy. Then greed overwhelmed caution. His tears stopped instantly, his eyes lighting up with sudden enthusiasm.

Across the lobby, Richard went completely still. His expression revealed nothing, but something dark flashed through his eyes before it vanished. freeweɓnovel.cøm

Christian turned to the crowd of reporters, a massive, victorious grin spreading across his face. "Thank you, everyone!" he cheered, waving his hands. "I will go to my office with my wife now. We need to talk in private, and you know, kiss and make up," he said, winking.

Roxanne said absolutely nothing. Her expression remained an unreadable, icy mask as she stood by his side, avoiding Richard’s gaze entirely as Christian led her away.

Moments later, the heavy doors of Christian’s office clicked shut behind them. The second they were alone, the smile vanished from Roxanne’s face. She stormed toward his mahogany desk and violently threw the bouquet across the smooth wood, sending petals scattering everywhere. Her chest heaved with anger.

She whirled around to look at him, her eyes blazing with absolute fire. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" she demanded, her voice shaking the quiet room.