Once the Forgotten Wife, Now His Biggest Regret

Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Rumours are spreading like wildfire

When I left the office to get myself a new dress, the thought of my ex standing in the same dressing room as me did not once cross my mind.

Yet, here we were. freewebnoveℓ.com

His broad body and towering height took up so much space in this already tiny room. I was certain that if I had just taken a single step back, my back would be pressed up against his chest. I squeezed my eyes, shaking my head as I pushed that imagery aside.

"The...the zipper," I muttered under my breath, my voice came out slightly shaky, and I swore I could hear a low chuckle leave his parted lips. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

I felt him step closer towards me, as if we weren’t already standing super close together. The tip of his warm finger lightly grazed my bare skin as he leaned in to reach for the zipper.

I sucked in a breath through my teeth, my body going still as my heart thundered against my chest.

"Do I still make you nervous, Evelyn?" He murmured next to my ear, his hot breath fanning the nape of my neck, sending an involuntary shiver right down my spine.

I chewed on the inside of my mouth. "You...don’t," I lied, and I think he knew it because I could hear it in his voice when he continued to speak.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked, his voice low as his finger brushed against my bare back this time, sending flutters going wild in my tummy.

"Rhys..." My voice was barely above a whisper. He knew exactly what he was doing.

"The fabric is stuck in the zipper," he explained casually before he tugged at it again. This time, the dress successfully unzipped, the smooth fabric falling off my shoulders.

I heard him mutter something incoherent under his breath. "I think the sales assistant will be back with the new piece soon." He cleared his throat. "I’ll be waiting for you outside," he informed before stepping out within the next second.

I could finally relax now that I was all alone. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and shimmied out of the dress, patiently waiting for the sales assistant to be back so that I didn’t have to continue standing here naked.

There was a knock on the door. "Hi, Miss, so sorry it took me a while to find it, but I’m back with the new piece. I understand you would like to wear it immediately, right?"

I pushed the door open slightly to grab the dress from her. "That’s right, thank you."

"No problem," I heard her say before she turned to leave, and I quickly changed into the new dress.

When the door reopened, Rhys was nowhere to be found. Instead, Sara was standing in front of me with displeasure written all over her face when we locked eyes. It was clear she was unhappy with me, and she didn’t even bother hiding it.

"Oh, it’s you."

"Is there something you need?" I asked, as though I had missed the hostility in her tone.

A wry smile formed on her lips. "Nothing," she paused for less than a second before she continued, as expected. "I saw that Mr. Carson left the office with you. He’s here with you, isn’t he?"

"He—" The word barely left the tip of my tongue when she cut me off.

"Just a word of advice, it’s not wise to act all chummy and close with your direct boss, especially the new CEO. It looks bad on you."

"Thank you for your advice, but I know how to act professionally. You don’t have to worry."

Her eyes swept over my dress. "Mhmm..." she muttered softly before turning to leave.

I watched her disappear down the aisles of clothes, and Rhys was back with a satisfied smile plastered across his face. Still, I shifted uncomfortably, feeling like someone was still staring at me from somewhere.

"You ready?" His voice jolted me back.

"Yeah. I’m just going to go make a payment, then we can—"

"No need. It had been settled."

So that was probably why he disappeared earlier.

"I told you I’m paying for it myself."

"I’m putting it on the company’s tab, but don’t tell anyone," he explained as if it made it better.

Though I had a feeling he was lying, I didn’t call him out on it. I rolled my lips together for a while. "Thank you then."

"It’s not a big deal," he waved me off. His eyes found me again, and heat crept to my cheeks once again as I shifted beneath his gaze. "You look...nice."

Nice.

"You look...nice too."

A low chuckle rumbled in his throat. "Glad to know I look nice."

***

Back in the office, rumours started spreading like wildfire. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out when and how it happened. I ignored them, but Sara was right, I needed to maintain my distance from Rhys if I was going to keep my job and his. I wouldn’t want to be the reason why he loses his job.

The rest of the workday flew by rather uneventfully. Rhys had handed me more documents to sift through, more reports to look at, and the rest of the time was spent arranging his appointments and meetings.

Before I knew it, Rhys and I were already seated at a table while we waited for the clients to arrive.

It was an Italian restaurant located in downtown Brooklyn, not too far away from our office. A bar was at the back of the place, surrounded by tables and chairs scattered across the wooden floor. Lush greenery decorated the empty corners as the glow of the setting sun poured in through the huge windows.

We had a quiet corner to ourselves. Low chatters and the clinking of utensils against ceramic plates and bowls echoed in the fancy space, a sharp contrast to the silence that wrapped around us.

I wiped my clammy palms on my new dress, my heart pounding harder at the thought of meeting the clients. I didn’t want to screw this up for him. But just when I opened my mouth to speak, my words died on my tongue when we locked eyes.

"They aren’t coming anymore."