The dinner was quiet, but the heavy, suffocating tension from the past seven days was gone It was r eplaced by a thick magnetic pull that made Anissa hyperaware of every lime Harding's knee brushed against hers under the table.
After dessert, Hardingstood up. He checked his watch, his jaw tightening slightly.
“I have to review the London acquisition files,” Harding said, his voice canyinga trace of reluctance. "Il be inthe study for an hour" Anissanodded. Tm goingto take a shower.”
Harding walked down the hall and closed the heavy oak door of his study.
Anissa walked to the master bedroom. She stripped off her white suit and slipped into a pair of loose, emerald-green silk pajamas and soft- soled slippers.
She walked back out to the foyer, The apartment was quiet. She opened the dark wood cabinet and pulled out the tom black paper bag she had hidden earlier. The paper was barely holdingtogether.
She cradled the bag carefully against her chest. She needed to get this radioactive garbage up to her bedroom closet and bury it in the trash before anyone saw it.
She walked toward the grand spiral staircase that connected the main floor to the upper bedrooms. The stairs were made of polished hardwood, covered by a thick expensivewool runner.
Anissa started climbing She was halfway up the stairs, her mind completely focused on balancing the torn bag.
Click.
The heavy oak door of the study swung open. Harding st epped out into the hallway, holdinga file folder, looking directly at the staircase Anissa froze, her heart leaping into her throat, She instinctively tried to shove the incriminatingbag behind her back before he could get a clear look at it. Just as she turned, Harding's voice cut through the silence, 00% 171487
S Copies, #% +120 Points at most "Anissa?"
The unexpected sound made her flinch her grip faltering for a fraction of a second It was enough The black bag slipped from her grasp.
Gravity took over. The tor paper completely disintegrated in mid-air “The contents spilled out ina horific, slow-motion cascade. A brightpink siicone vibrator hít the wooden st ep with a loud thwack and bounced downward. A glass bottle of strawberry lube rolled end-over-end, thumpingheavily down the stairs
The battle hit the marble floor at the bottom of the stairs and rolled to a dead stop right against the toe of Harding's black leather shoe.
A second later, the scrap of burgundylace underwear floated down like a parachute and fanded directly on top of his shoe
The penthousefell into a silence so absolute it felt like a vacuum, Anissa clungto the banister, Her knuckleswere white. The blood drained entirely from her face, only to rush back a second later in a wave of buming catastrophic humiliation She couldn't breathe. Her lungs refused to work She wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Atthe bottom of the stairs, Harding stood perfectly still
He looked down at his shoe. He looked at the burgundylace. He looked at the bottle of lube. He looked at the pink silicone toy resting on the third st ep.
His face went completely blank. The warmth that had been in his eyes duringdinnervanished, r eplaced by a dark, terrifying storm.
Harding slowly bent down, He pinched the burgundylace between his indexfinger and thumb and lifted ít into the air.
He tilted his head back, his piercing eyes locking onto Anissa, who was. trembling on the stairs.
“Harding.." Anissa stammered, her voice cracking “Listen to me... that's not... Clara gave me that as a joke."
The panicin her voice made ít sound exactly like a desperate lie.
Anissa watched his face closely, her heart hammering against her ribs. She saw the exact moment his expression shifted from shock to a dark, agonizing realization. His jaw clenched so hard the muscle feathered under his taut skin. It wasn't just anger in his eyes; it was a profound, twisted pain. She could almost see the chaotic gears turningbehindhis dark gaze-his de ep-seated insecurities amplified by three days of sexual 21% 1720 mm
ahi #8 +120 Points at most frustration and hisown perceived failure to be there for her, colliding into the most logical, agonizingconclusion He looked at the items as if they were a physical manifestation of his own inadequacy. She realized with a sickeningjolt that he thoughtshe had gone out and boughtthese things because she was desperate for physical release, and he was too broken to giveit to her.
A violent surge of pure, irrational jealousy and wounded male pride exploded in his chest.
His gripon the lace tightened until his knucklesturned white.
“You need these so badly?" Harding asked. His voice wasn't loud, but it was laced with a cold, vicious anger that made Anissa flinch.
Anissa shook her head frantically, tears welling up in her eyes. "No! | didn't buy them! | swear!”
Harding didn't listen. He looked at the silicone toy on the stairs. It felt like a physical mockery of his masculinity.
He threw the lace underwear onto the stairs.
“If you find plastic more satisfying than your husband’ Harding said, his. voice drippingwith cruel, freezing contempt, ‘then you can sle ep with them tonight”
He turned on his heel, walked straight to the guest bedroom down the hall, and slammed the door shut behind him The sound echoed like a gunshot.
Anissa collapsed onto the stairs. She pulled her knees to her chest, buryingher face in her hands. The tears finally spilled over, hot and bitter against her skin She had completely ruinedeverything.
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