18. William

Iwanted to go after her but I couldn't. Instead, I watched as Jane stormed out of my office. I had a meeting with an important investor in less than ten minutes so I couldn't leave. I was trying to tell my ex-girlfriend Layla that when Jane walked in.

Layla had shown up unannounced as she always did. She loved barging into my life at the worst time possible. When she stepped into my office earlier, I was glad I'd given Jane the day off. I'd done it because I wanted her to rest but maybe a part of me knew it would be better if she hadn't shown up to work today. She wasn't happy about Layla"s visit.

Honestly, neither was I. Layla and I had dated on and off for the last three years. She loved being with me because she knew it gave her access to places her modeling career couldn't. She was Layla De Luca but in some rooms, she was still regarded as an upcoming model.

When we first met, five years ago, her career was just starting and so was mine. We were friends. We understood the pressure that came with chasing one's dreams and that brought us together. Dating was something that came naturally but we could never manage to stay together. We'd break up and Layla would take a trip to some remote part of the world or throw herself into her career.

Then she'd show up again and act like nothing had happened. I got tired of the whole thing which was why I permanently ended our relationship eight months ago. Layla didn't accept that. She told me we would get back together when she returned from Milan. Expensive vacations were how Layla De Luca blew off steam.

She came back five months ago and I told her I still had no interest in being with her. She disappeared after that only to reappear again when my engagement hit the news. She'd sent me a few messages but I'd ignored them.

I guess she was tired of being ignored which was why she showed up here today. I reiterated my lack of interest but Layla didn't care. She complained about my choice of a wife and I did my best to keep my cool.

No one was allowed to disrespect Jane. I let it slide with Layla because I wanted her out of my office as soon as possible. I was seconds from throwing her out when Jane walked in.

I looked down at the package she'd shoved in my hand. I couldn't believe she'd gone out of her way to buy lunch and bring it here. It was the most thoughtful thing anyone had done for me in a while. I set it on my table and tried to prepare for my meeting.

No matter how hard I tried to focus, images of Jane's hurt face plagued my mind. I knew it would take a lot of effort to make her understand that Layla meant nothing to me. I was ready to put in that effort even though I didn't understand why.

Why did I care so much?

Why did it matter that she was hurt?

Why did seeing that look on her face make my heart ache?

My phone chimed. It was time for my meeting. I signed and stepped out of my office. At that moment, I needed to focus on work. Once I was done with this meeting, I would go after Jane.

***

The meeting took a lot longer than I expected, mostly because they were asking for the impossible. Noble Bank had been a top investor in my family's company for generations. I did not want to be the Aldaine that ruined that relationship but I was about to be.

The bank was demanding a greater percentage of our shares which was outrageous. It was a baseless demand, backed only by their claim of ‘making Aldaine Group what it was today'.

I scoffed as I stepped out of my car. I'd spent the entire drive home thinking about that meeting. Those paper-pushing newbies knew nothing about what it took to build Aldaine Group, yet they dared to come into my office and claim that my family company wouldn't be where it was today without them. Their ancestors may have contributed to the growth of the company but that didn't make them entitled to what they were asking for.

Noble Bank already possessed a good amount of our shares. Those vultures were trying to swallow us whole. Anger reverberated through me as my feet slammed against the tiled floors of my penthouse. It followed me into the kitchen but it poured away when I saw her.

Jane sat by the kitchen counter with back to me. I felt an unusual need to hug her. A need to sink into the warmth of her embrace. I wanted to hold her and kiss her and—

"William!" Jane said when she turned around and saw me.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

She nodded but she didn't say anything else. With one quick movement, she got down from the stool. She walked away before I could even speak.

I sighed. Clearly, she was still upset about Layla"s visit. Today has been a roller coaster of unpleasant events. I tugged at the collar of my shirt. I needed to get out of this thing.

After taking a shower and changing into something that didn't remind me of Noble Bank, I looked for Jane. I found her in the lounge. For a moment I just stared at her without moving. The lighting in the lounge was a lot warmer than those in the rest of the house. It lit up Jane's exquisite features, making her appear ethereal. She was beautiful.

I walked in and took a seat beside her. Jane moved to stand up but I held her hand.

"It's your house. You shouldn't have to share your space if you don't want to," she said.

I placed a hand on her cheek and stroked it softly. Her eyes looked so beautiful with the warm light shining in them. It was like flames dancing in pools of blue. It was mesmerizing.

"I want to share my space with you."

"What about—

"Layla doesn't mean anything to me," I said.

"Is that her name? Layla?"

"Yes."

She nodded. "She's a stunning woman. I can see why you love her."

"I do not love her."

"You don't have to lie to me, William." Jane slowly pulled my hand from her face. "This marriage is fake, right? You can do whatever you want with whoever you want."

Jane stood up and walked out of the lounge. It was the second time I was watching her leave today. But this time she seemed more resigned. She was angry or jealous. It was like she didn't even care.

Why did her impassive mess always bother me more than her anger?

I massaged my temples as I leaned against the chair. Everything in my life was so complicated. I found myself wondering if there was any point in trying to fix things with Jane.

In a year, our marriage would be over. Did it really matter that she was upset with me?

I stayed in the lounge for several more minutes before I walked to my home office. I'd failed to fix things with Jane but maybe I could still fix things at work. I needed to know what it would mean for Aldaine Group. If Noble Bank chose to pull out.

I knew they would never take things so far but it was best to be prepared. After all, the best defense was a good offense.

When I woke up the next day, Jane had already left. It was the first time she was getting up before me. I couldn't believe seeing Layla in my office was enough to make her act like this.

She was sitting at her desk when I got to the office. She greeted me by bowing her head slightly. No one would believe we'd spent the night under the same roof.

"Jane, I—

She cut me off before u could finish. "Mr. Bolton is waiting for you in your office."

That mole chose the worst time to stick his head out of the dirt. I knew why he was here. He'd probably heard about what happened with Noble Bank. I had enough to deal with already. I didn't need his unsolicited opinion.

I walked into my office and met Bolton sitting at my desk, in my chair. The old man probably still hung onto the hope of taking my position from me.

"William, welcome. I've been waiting for quite some time."

"Why are you here?" I asked, skipping the false pleasantries.

"I heard you had a meeting with the guys from Noble Bank."

My jaw twitched when he lifted my paperweight and tossed it around. "And?"

"I also heard you turned down a request made by the CEO." His calm voice only served to anger me further.

"Would you mind getting to the point, Bolton? Some of us have actual work to do."

That was enough to rile him up. Bolton stood up so quickly I thought the man would topple over. That would certainly make my day.

"What do you think you're doing, William? We've been in business with Noble since before you were even born."

"That doesn't mean they can just come in here and make demands," I said. I was doing my best to stay calm but Bolton was pushing all my buttons.

"You didn't even try to negotiate with them! You stormed out of the meeting room like a scared little child!"

"Don't you dare insult my ability to run this company."

Bolton scoffed. "What ability? If you weren't an Aldaine—

"You will not like the side of me you see when you finish that sentence."

"You think I'm scared of you? You're nothing but a privileged child!"

Our voices bounced off the walls as we shouted back and forth. I'd never lost my cool like this with anyone but I was at my wits end. Jane was upset with me. Noble Bank was trying to pull a fast one on me and now this geezer was here insinuating that I didn't know how to run my company.

I was tired of holding back, tired of letting insignificant people create problems in my life. People like Layla, the men from Noble Bank, and this balding deadbeat. It was time I let everything out.