CHAPTER 5: CHAPTER 5: ARE YOU SUSPECTING ME?

Zion Pence was getting a bit impatient waiting outside.

He went to the balcony to smoke a cigarette, the crimson tip already burned to the end.

The night breeze stirred slightly, and his eyes were full of irritation.

The phone notification sounded, and he clicked open the chat box, seeing a photo sent by Mia Chapelle—a pair of long legs wrapped in black stockings.

"Tsk." He irritably stubbed out the cigarette butt.

For some reason, he was finding Mia increasingly appealing.

The elusive red mole on Holly Crowe’s waist at the bridal store this afternoon kept lingering in his mind.

Perhaps this is what they call the eternal agitation of what you can’t have?

But Mia was waiting for him...

After a moment of silence, his fingers quickly typed a reply: [Wait for me, I’ll be a bit late.]

After placating Mia for the time being, he quickly switched back to the main system.

Thinking of being able to have Holly as well tonight, he was inexplicably delighted.

Zion glanced at the time—nearly ten minutes had passed, and Holly was still in the bathroom. He frowned slightly, walked to the bathroom, and raised his hand to knock on the door.

"Sweetheart, are you done yet? Don’t leave me waiting too long..."

The silence inside was unnerving.

But Zion felt a sudden chill creeping up his spine.

Just as he was about to knock again, the doorknob made a slight sound, and Holly stepped out, closing the door behind her.

Zion immediately put on a gentle smile, took her hand, and said, "Why so long? I was worried."

Holly resisted the urge to pull her hand back in disgust, letting him lead her to the bedroom without any response, and Zion didn’t notice her cold, icy palm.

"Do you want to have some wine? Or watch a movie? We haven’t..." His voice was husky, fingers brushing against her wrist with a deliberate flirtation.

Holly watched him enter the bedroom and close the door, her eyes scanning the house she poured all her efforts into, feeling unprecedentedly cold and disgusted.

Zion noticed her distraction and was a bit displeased, but held back his temper, pulling her other hand over.

Feeling something strange against his thumb, he looked down and found a band-aid on Holly’s left index finger.

"When did you get hurt? Does it hurt?" He frowned, carefully holding her hand, eyes full of concern, as if the little wound was a big deal.

Holly: "Oh, I accidentally cut it at work during the day."

Zion feigned anger, "Holly, let others do those dangerous things in the future. I’ve told you several times, you’re here to enjoy life, and I’ll be heartbroken if you get hurt."

As he spoke, he reached to touch her face.

Holly subtly lowered her head to avoid his touch, her mouth curling into a sneer where he couldn’t see.

Enjoy life?

This so-called fortune, whoever wants it can have it!

Zion Pence, if you’d just paid attention, if you’d just spent a bit of the effort you use lying, you’d have realized that this wound wasn’t here before she went to the bathroom.

But, you don’t even have a heart.

Zion was evidently a bit impatient, and after his hand touched air, he lowered his head to come down for a kiss.

Holly listened to his heavy breathing, holding back the urge to push him away, "Not in the bridal room..."

"There’s some in the cabinet, besides, hasn’t mom always wanted a grandson?"

Seeing his lips closing in.

Holly couldn’t hold back any longer, pushing him away suddenly, "I want to have some red wine first."

Zion’s Adam’s apple bobbed twice forcefully, suppressing his desire, pulling out a smile: "Alright, I’ll get it, wait for me."

After he left, Holly rubbed the skin he had touched with her sleeve hard, stopping only when she saw red.

Zion Pence, the so-called "there’s some in the cabinet," who were you preparing it for, or who have you used it with?

If it were usually, with Zion’s sharpness, he would have noticed her probing and the flaws in her words, but his eyes were clouded with passion.

Holly bit her lower lip hard, letting the metallic taste spread on her tongue.

How ironic...

At that moment, Zion’s phone screen on the bed lit up, and a message popped up in the WeChat chat box.

Compelled by some unseen force, Holly walked over, picked up the phone, and unlocked it.

It was a work message from Mia Chapelle: [President Pence, the information you needed has been collected, waiting for your inspection.]

Holly stared at the seemingly ordinary, yet utterly nonsensical work message, thought of something, and tapped the hidden icon, switching to another system.

Almost at the same time, Mia’s message popped up: [President Pence, waiting for your inspection～]

She clicked on the small red dot marked with a one, revealing the explicit messages and photos in the chat box.

There were Mia’s sexy selfies, the hotel location sharing, and Zion’s flirtatious reply from ten minutes ago.

Turns out, those "work messages" she used to help Zion reply to, those conversations she thought were normal, were their way of flirting.

This is how they, right under her nose, in the most secretive, blatant, and thrilling way, betrayed her!

Footsteps grew clearer.

Holly quickly swiped the chat box to mark the messages as unread, switching back to the original system.

Zion walked in with a decanter and two wine glasses, his eyes flickering slightly when he saw Holly holding the phone.

"Why are you checking my phone?" He tried to sound casual, but Holly detected a hint of nervousness.

"A few messages came through just now, I took a look for you," Holly said, handing the phone to him.

Zion poured two glasses of red wine, stepped forward, and took the phone from her.

After unlocking the screen, he glanced at the messages and let out an almost imperceptible breath.

Holly didn’t miss this slight action.

"Assistant Mia is very dedicated, no wonder you transferred her to the general office."

Zion closed the phone and put it in his pocket as he sat down, "Asked her to look up some materials yesterday, and the job transfer was arranged by the HR department. I don’t even know what she looks like."

He spoke lightly, as if talking about an irrelevant stranger.

Holly replied indifferently, "Is that so."

Zion’s voice inexplicably rose, as if trying to cover up his own guilt, "Are you suspecting me?"

Holly couldn’t bring herself to say ’no’ against her conscience.

She looked at Zion, eyes cold as if watching a clown.

Zion was stung by her gaze, loosened his tie, his voice getting sharper, the veins on his forehead even popping out.

"Holly, can you not always be so suspicious? Your attitude makes me uncomfortable, makes me feel untrusted, makes me feel tired!"

Holly continued to watch him jump, silent, then finally spoke: "Trust?"

Her voice was soft, yet inexplicably made Zion tense up.

He reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, suddenly jumping up, "What do you mean?"

The voice suddenly got loud, as if trying to hide his own guilt, but in the blink of an eye, he seemed to change, with a sarcastic smile on his face.

He slowly approached Holly, every word he said like a knife stabbing into her heart.

"Holly, have you never cared about all the good I’ve done for you over the years? Back then when you said you wanted to get married, I immediately proposed to you, bought the bridal house exactly to your liking, the wedding dress and ring were all up to you. I catered to you in everything, did whatever you asked me to do. You’re always controlling me, what more are you unsatisfied with? Or do you want me to give you the company too?"