The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 140 - One Hundred and Forty

Chapter One Hundred and Forty

Malachi’s POV

The meeting with Cecilia’s lawyers took two hours. Her uncles sat across the conference table looking like they’d aged ten years in the past month, their expensive suits doing nothing to hide the defeat in their postures. The judge had ruled in Cecilia’s favor. The will was valid, the marriage requirement had been met, and every challenge her uncles had mounted had crumbled under scrutiny.

Cecilia got everything. The company, the assets, the properties, all of it exactly as her father had intended.

I watched Richard and Marcus sign the final documents with shaking hands, their faces red with humiliation and rage they couldn’t express. They’d lost. Completely. And there was nothing they could do about it.

"Gentlemen," the lead lawyer said with barely concealed satisfaction, "you’re dismissed."

They left without a word, probably already calling their own lawyers to see if there was any possible appeal. There wasn’t. This was over.

Cecilia sat beside me, perfectly composed, watching them go with an expression I couldn’t quite read. When the door closed behind them, she let out a long breath.

"It’s done," she said quietly. "It’s actually done."

"Congratulations. Your father would be proud."

She turned to look at me. "I couldn’t have done this without you. You know that, right? If you hadn’t agreed to help me, if you hadn’t protected me, I’d have lost everything."

"You would have found another way."

"Maybe. But you made it possible." She stood, gathered her papers. "Which means our arrangement is complete. The deal is over."

I knew this was coming. We’d both known from the beginning that this was temporary, that once she secured her inheritance we’d go our separate ways.

"We’re no longer dating then," I said.

"No. We’re not."

There was something in her voice. Sadness that she was trying to hide behind professionalism. I’d heard it before in people who were losing something they wanted to keep.

"My mother likes you," I said, not sure why I was saying it. "She’ll be disappointed."

Cecilia smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. "Your mother is probably the only person who does."

"That’s not true."

"Isn’t it? Malachi, I’m not blind. I know this was never real for you. I know you were fulfilling a promise to my father and nothing more. Your mother liked me because she thought I was good for you, but we both know I was just a convenient fiction."

I should have argued. Should have told her she mattered, that I cared, that this hadn’t been entirely mercenary.

But lying seemed cruel. She deserved honesty even if it hurt.

"You’re a good person, Cecilia. You’ll find someone who loves you the way you deserve."

"Just not you."

"Just not me."

She nodded, accepting it with more grace than I probably deserved. "Thank you for everything. Truly. I’ll always be grateful."

Then she left, taking her papers and her dignity and whatever feelings she’d been harboring for me that I’d pretended not to notice.

I sat in that conference room for a few minutes after she was gone, processing what had just happened. The arrangement was over. I was free. No more pretending, no more maintaining a relationship that felt wrong, no more guilt about wanting someone else while technically being with Cecilia.

I was free to be with Alicia. Really be with her. No more sneaking around, no more stolen moments, no more lies.

The thought made something light and dangerous unfurl in my chest. I could have her now. Could claim her openly. Could make everyone understand that she was mine and had always been mine.

I went straight to the office, anticipation building with every passing minute. Alicia would be there. She was always there, organizing my chaos, making everything run smoothly, being the one constant in a life that felt increasingly unstable.

When I walked onto my floor, her desk outside my office was empty. But the door to my private office was open, and I could see her inside, bent over one of the filing cabinets, searching for something.

She had two workspaces. One outside my office where she stayed when I wasn’t around, professional and visible to everyone. And one inside, a smaller desk near the window that she used when we were working together on projects that required privacy.

Right now she was at neither. She was at the filing cabinet, muttering to herself about missing contracts, completely absorbed in her search.

I closed the door behind me quietly. Locked it. Moved toward her with purpose.

She didn’t hear me approach. Didn’t notice until my arms wrapped around her waist from behind, pulling her back against my chest.

She gasped. "Malachi, what are you—"

I kissed her neck, that spot just below her ear that I’d discovered made her breath hitch. "Looking for something?"

"The Henderson contract. I can’t find it anywhere and I need it for the meeting this afternoon."

"Forget the contract."

"I can’t forget the contract. It’s important and—" She broke off when I kissed her neck again, my hands spreading across her stomach, holding her against me.

"Malachi, stop. Someone could come in."

"I locked the door."

"You shouldn’t have locked the door. That’s suspicious."

"I don’t care." I turned her around to face me, pressing her back against the table. Her eyes were wide, her breathing already uneven. "Were you jealous?"

"What?"

"Of me and Cecilia. Were you jealous?"

She smiled then, and it was infuriating because it wasn’t the reaction I expected. "No."

I stared at her. "No?"

"No, I wasn’t jealous."

"Liar. I saw the way you looked at us. The way you—"

"I wasn’t jealous because I knew it was fake." She said it simply, like it was obvious.

Everything stopped. "What?"

"I knew you and Cecilia were fake dating. I’ve known for a while."

The pieces clicked into place. Her lack of jealousy lately. The way she’d stopped flinching when I mentioned Cecilia. The confidence in her eyes that hadn’t been there before.

"How long have you known?"

She hesitated. Started to say something, probably a lie to make this easier.

I could sense it. Could see the calculation in her eyes as she tried to decide what to tell me.

My hands moved to her hips, fingers pressing into soft flesh through her skirt. "Don’t lie to me, Alicia. How long?"

"I overheard Cecilia on the phone. A while ago. She was talking to a friend about the arrangement."

"And you didn’t say anything."

"What was I supposed to say? It wasn’t my business."

"It absolutely was your business." My hands slid higher, tracing her sides, feeling her shiver under my touch. "Especially since we were doing this."

"Malachi, we can’t. Not here. Not now."

"Why not? You’re not worried about Cecilia anymore. You know there was never anything real there."

"That’s not the point. We’re at work. Your door is locked. People will notice."

"Let them notice." I leaned in, my mouth close to her ear. "Tell me the truth. When did you figure it out?"

"A few weeks ago. Maybe a month."

My hands moved again, one sliding up her back, the other gripping her hip harder. "A month. You’ve known for a month and you didn’t tell me."

"I didn’t think you’d want me to know. It seemed like a secret you were keeping for a reason."

"The reason was to protect her. To help her get what her father wanted her to have." My fingers found the zipper at the back of her dress. Started to pull it down slowly. "But now that’s done. The arrangement is over. Cecilia has her inheritance and I’m free."

"Free to what?"

"To have you. Properly. Without guilt or pretense or any of the complications that were holding me back."

She was shaking now, her hands gripping my shoulders like she needed the support. "Malachi, we still can’t. I’m still married to Travis. That hasn’t changed."

"Details."

"Important details."

I pulled the zipper down another inch. "You don’t love him." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"That doesn’t matter. I’m still his wife."

"Not for long." I kissed her jaw, her cheek, the corner of her mouth. "Tell me you don’t want this. Tell me you don’t want me and I’ll stop."

She opened her mouth. Nothing came out.

"That’s what I thought." My hand slid under her dress, finding bare skin. She gasped, her body arching into my touch. "No wonder you weren’t jealous. You knew it was fake the whole time."

"I tried not to care either way. I tried to just focus on work and ignore all of this."

"Did it work?"

"No."

"Good. Because I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Every moment I was with Cecilia, I was thinking about you. Wishing it was you. Hating that I had to pretend otherwise."

Her resolve was crumbling. I could see it in her eyes, feel it in the way her body responded to every touch. She wanted this as much as I did, wanted to stop fighting and just give in.

"Malachi," she whispered. "This is insane."

"I know."

"We’re going to get caught."

"I don’t care."

"You should care. Your family, my marriage, all of it—"

I kissed her. Cut off whatever reasonable objection she was about to make with my mouth on hers, my hands pulling her closer, my entire being focused on making her forget why this was a bad idea.

She melted into it. Kissed me back with the same desperation I felt, her hands fisting in my shirt, her body pressing against mine like she couldn’t get close enough.

When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard.

"No more pretending," I said against her lips. "No more Cecilia, no more excuses. Just us."

"Just us," she repeated, and it sounded like a promise.