Darling, You Lose

“Do you think she knows?” Vivienne’s voice broke the silence, dripping with false innocence as she trailed her manicured fingers across Alexander Hartley’s bare chest.

Alexander smirked, letting the corners of his mouth curl up in that arrogant way that made people simultaneously admire and despise him. He reached for the cigar resting on the nightstand and lit it with deliberate precision, his movements slow, as if he had all the time in the world.

“Knows what?” he asked, exhaling a cloud of smoke that drifted lazily toward the chandelier above them.

Vivienne leaned in closer, her lips brushing his ear. “Knows that you’re here with me. In her bed.”

Alexander chuckled, the sound deep and cold. “Don’t worry about her?” He turned to meet Vivienne’s gaze, his icy blue eyes gleaming with a dangerous mix of confidence and indifference. “She wouldn’t dare do anything. Elena needs me.”

Vivienne laughed softly, her green eyes sparkling with amusement. She shifted on the bed, letting the silk sheets pool around her hips. “You’re bold, Alexander. Most men would be terrified if their wives caught them like this.”

“Most men aren’t me,” Alexander said simply, flicking ash from his cigar into a crystal tray. He leaned back against the headboard, utterly relaxed, as if his wife walking in on them would be nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

Vivienne tilted her head, studying him with a sly smile. “You’re so sure of yourself. What if she surprises you?”

Alexander raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable. “Elena doesn’t have it in her. She’s too predictable. Too dependent. She wouldn’t dare rock the boat.”

But outside the closed door of the bedroom, Elena Hartley stood frozen, her trembling hand hovering just inches from the doorknob. Her breathing was shallow, and her chest ached with the weight of betrayal. She had rushed home from a late dinner meeting, excited to surprise her husband. She hadn’t even called ahead, imagining how his face might light up when he saw her.

Instead, she had walked into a nightmare.

The muffled laughter and intimate voices coming from their bedroom stopped her in her tracks. At first, she thought she was imagining it. Her Alexander—the man she had loved so fiercely for a decade—would never betray her. Would he?

But when she pressed her ear to the door, she heard everything.

“Let her. She wouldn’t dare to do anything. She needs me.”

The words stabbed into her chest like shards of glass. Her throat tightened as tears stung her eyes, blurring her vision. She bit her lip so hard it nearly bled, desperate to keep quiet.

Inside the room, Alexander and Vivienne continued their careless conversation.

“You think she’ll just take it?” Vivienne teased, running her fingers along the edge of his jaw.

“She always has,” Alexander replied, his voice devoid of any remorse. “Elena knows her place. She knows what I’ve built, and she knows she’s nothing without me.”