The Billionaire's Two-Faced Escort Wife-Chapter 106: Another Trap

Adrian didn’t wait for dessert. He didn’t even wait for a goodbye. He pushed past Alexander, stepped through the kitchen without meeting anyone’s eyes, and marched out the front door. The click of the lock behind him felt like a reprieve, but the air in the hallway was still heavy with the scent of Alexander’s cologne.

​He burst into his own apartment, ignored Jacob’s confused call from the hallway, and slammed his bedroom door shut.

​He collapsed onto the bed, the room spinning. Slowly, almost against his will, his fingers rose to his mouth. His lips were swollen, still burning with the phantom pressure of Alexander’s kiss.

​He’s a nightmare, Adrian thought, squeezing his eyes shut. A beautiful, destructive nightmare.

​He had spent six months convincing himself he was over the man who had bought his life, but one touch had shattered that illusion. His heart was still thundering against his ribs, a traitorous drumbeat of yearning. He hated himself for it. He hated that Alexander could just appear and demand space in his head again.

​And Becky. Adrian frowned at the ceiling. Alexander claimed she was a cousin’s widow, but Adrian knew how Alexander operated. There was likely another twisted contract, another role being played for a "greater purpose." He wasn’t going to be fooled twice. He wasn’t going to give up the peace he’d clawed out of the dirt just to become a secret in Alexander’s shadow again. Alexander Devereux was trouble—pure, unadulterated trouble.

​But sleep was an impossible luxury.

​Every time he drifted close to unconsciousness, the memories flooded back with a vividness that felt like drowning. He remembered the weight of Alexander over him in the staff lounge at the Gala, the smell of the midnight blue silk, the way Alexander’s voice had broken when he whispered his name.

​Suddenly, he was painfully, throbbingly hard.

​"No," he hissed, the word a ragged sob.

​He groaned and stumbled into the bathroom, leaning his forehead against the cold tile. The thin walls of the apartment building were a curse now; he knew Alexander was just on the other side of that brick, perhaps lying in his own bed, thinking the same thoughts.

​He covered his mouth with one hand to stifle his moans and gripped himself with the other. He worked himself with a frantic, desperate energy, his mind filled with the image of Alexander’s burning blue eyes. When he finally came, it was with a shuddering, violent intensity that left him leaning over the sink, gasping for air.

​"Shit..." he whispered, watching his reflection in the dim light.

​His eyes were glazed, his face flushed. It dawned on him then, with a terrifying clarity: Alexander still had control over his body. Perhaps even more than before. The distance hadn’t cured him; it had only made the hunger sharper.

​The Morning After

​The sun rose with an aggressive brightness that Adrian wasn’t ready for. He had managed maybe two hours of fitful sleep. He avoided Jacob in the kitchen, grabbed his bag, and headed for the clothing store where he worked his morning shift.

​He was pinning a display when the bell over the door chimed. He didn’t look up. "Welcome, I’ll be with you in a second—"

​"I need something for a cold morning, Mr. Cole."

​Adrian froze. He slowly turned to find Alexander standing by a rack of sweaters. He looked effortlessly perfect, as if he hadn’t spent the night haunting someone’s dreams.

​"The store isn’t open to the public for another ten minutes," Adrian said, his voice cold and professional.

​Alexander stepped closer, plucking a cashmere scarf from a shelf. "I’m not the public, Adrian. I’m the new owner of the building. I believe that gives me early access."

​Adrian felt his blood run cold. "You bought the building? The store? Are you serious?"

​"I told you," Alexander murmured, leaning over the counter until they were eye-to-eye. "I won’t stop. I’m going to be everywhere you look, Adrian. Until you realize that running is a waste of energy."

The heavy silence in the store was shattered by the rhythmic clicking of heels as the former owner, Mrs. Higgins, stepped out from the back office. She didn’t look Adrian in the eye; instead, she looked at the floor, clutching a stack of legal documents.

​"It’s true, Adrian," she whispered, her voice laced with guilt. "Mr. Devereux purchased the entire block this morning. The deeds, the leases... everything. He’s your new employer."

​Adrian felt the air leave his lungs. He turned his gaze toward Alexander, who stood there with an expression of cool, terrifying patience.

​"I quit," Adrian snapped, his voice trembling with a cocktail of rage and betrayal. "I don’t care about the pay, the benefits, or the building. I’m done. I’m leaving right now."

​Alexander didn’t move. He simply tilted his head toward Mrs. Higgins. "Mrs. Higgins, perhaps you should inform Mr. Cole about the updated employee handbook and the local labor clauses I’ve integrated into the new contracts."

​Mrs. Higgins swallowed hard. "Adrian... the new contract states that any employee who resigns without a one-year written notice is liable for a breach of contract fine. Given the high-profile nature of the new management... the fine is one million dollars."

​Adrian’s world tilted. "One million? Are you insane? That’s illegal!"

​"In this district, with these specific high-end retail clauses? It’s perfectly enforceable," Alexander murmured, stepping closer as Mrs. Higgins scurried back to her office, desperate to escape the fallout.

​Adrian was livid, his hands curling into tight fists at his sides. He glared at Alexander with a hatred so pure it felt like a physical heat between them. "You’re a monster. You’re a sick, twisted monster who can’t handle the fact that someone doesn’t want to be in your orbit."

​Alexander sighed, a sound of genuine weariness. He almost reached out to touch Adrian’s arm, but Adrian recoiled as if the man were made of fire.

​"I hate it when you look at me that way," Alexander whispered, his voice cracking with a sudden, raw vulnerability. He took a step into Adrian’s space, his blue eyes searching Adrian’s hardened grey ones. "Please, Adrian. Look at me like you used to. Like I was your whole world. Like I was the only person who mattered."

​Adrian let out a harsh, jagged scoff. "I buried my whole world six months ago in a cemetery in New York, Alexander. That version of me—the one who looked at you with hope? He died with his mother. I would never love a man who only knows how to use money to buy people’s freedom."

​Alexander looked helpless, the powerful CEO stripped down to a man who realized that all his billions couldn’t buy a single ounce of genuine affection. "If it hadn’t been for the fine... if I hadn’t rigged the contract... would you stay? Even for a minute?"

​"No," Adrian said, the word a final, brutal execution.

​Alexander’s jaw tightened, his teeth grinding as he locked eyes with Adrian. The vulnerability vanished, replaced by the cold, calculating iron that had built an empire. "Then you leave me no choice but to use tried and true methods, Adrian. If you won’t stay for love, you’ll stay for the debt."

​"You’re a devil," Adrian whispered.

​Alexander leaned in, his breath fanning Adrian’s ear, a ghost of a touch that made Adrian’s skin crawl with a traitorous spark. "I love you," Alexander whispered back.

​The weight of the confession hung in the air for a heartbeat, a heavy, suffocating thing. Adrian paused, his breath hitching, the world around them momentarily freezing. But the spell was broken as the front doors chimed and the rest of the staff trooped in for the morning shift.

​Adrian didn’t give Alexander another second. He spun around, his heart a frantic mess of pain and masturbatory guilt from the night before. He saw Sage, a handsome, golden-haired coworker who had been flirting with him for weeks, hanging up his coat.

​"Sage!" Adrian called out, his voice a little too bright, a little too desperate.

​He walked straight to the younger man, immediately engaging him in a conversation about the new window display, laughing at a joke Sage hadn’t even finished.

​Behind him, he could feel Alexander’s gaze. It wasn’t the gaze of a neighbor or a boss. It was the gaze of a hunter who had just seen someone else touch his prize. Alexander’s blue eyes locked onto Sage with a lethal, silent intensity, the war for Adrian Cole entering a new, much more dangerous phase.

Alexander didn’t realise it, but he could feel himself moving toward Adrian and Sage, just a few feet to disaster, Becky waltz throught the door, cheerful as always.

"Honey, I found you," She went up to Alexander and kissed his cheek, giggling, "I’ve been driving in circles looking for our new clothing store... oh, hi!" She paused when she saw Adrian staring at her at the corner.

"Adrian, I never knew you worked here, too. This is so great, we get to be bestie for real," She clapped, running over to drag Adrian away from Sage.

"Come on, show me the most beautiful pieces you have here," She giggled.

Alexander was relieved, at least Adrian was no longer with the dumb Sage.

He locked eyes with Sage and the poor guy bowed his head and slowly left to carry on his duty.

Alexander smiled, "Good, he knows whose boss." He smirked.