I tore my eyes away from Blake's face in an instant as I looked behind him to see Xavier standing by the door, seething with anger. His face was contorted into an angry expression as his jaws were clenched tightly. He didn't waste any more time as he marched towards our direction in a few large strides, closing the distance between us in no more than a couple of seconds.
Everything happened so quickly.
With wide eyes, I watched with a shocked expression as he put his hand on Blake, grabbing him by his shoulder to spin him around. In a split second, he clenched his fist tightly and threw a punch right at his jaw impulsively, without a second thought.
I swore I could have heard the sound of his jaw cracking on impact as a yelp escaped Blake's parted lips and he grimaced in pain. He stumbled a few steps back, only a few inches away from crashing into the wall behind us. He looked up and glared at Xavier with rage burning in the depths of his eyes as he balled his fists tightly beside him, his knuckles starting to turn white.
"Don't tell me what to do! She's my wife!" Blake yelled out loud, his voice reverberating in the office space. Not even these thick walls could contain the loudness of his voice, as the chaos that unfolded attracted attention from the staff outside of this room. Before I knew it, he had also landed a punch on Xavier's cheek which only enraged him further.
Xavier hands reached up to grab onto the collar of Blake's shirt, pulling him close so that their faces are now dangerously close to one another. Both men were breathing heavily, anger evident on their faces as they stared at each other with a look that could kill.
"She's not your wife anymore. Did you forget that? You practically cheated on her with another woman." He taunted. "She's my wife now," he said through gritted teeth, his deep voice shaking with anger that was pulsing through his body.
Blake let a loud scoff emerge from his lips.
"Your wife? Didn't you say that you didn't love her on live television?" He spat the words out like they were poison in his mouth. "And besides, I didn't cheat on Aurelia, so don't you dare fucking accuse me," he insisted with a disdainful scorn.
"Cut it out! That's enough!" I heard my own voice pierced through the air, slicing through the tension that was lingering in the air between us.
They whipped their heads around to look at me, a mixture of shock and surprise swirling in their eyes. Xavier had a tiny frown etched onto his face as he released his grip on Blake this time.
I stood up and stepped forward as I looked at the both of them, my eyes darting back and forth as my lips were pressed into a thin line. "What do you two think you are doing?" I questioned as I arched my perfectly groomed brow at them.
"Aurelia…" my name left Xavier's lips in a soft voice. "I was just –"
I didn't let him finish his sentence as I interrupted him.
"Don't do this in the office," I simply said with a stern and distant look that stretched across my face. My gaze flickered to the side and through the gaps of the blinds, I could see that the staff had already gathered outside to look in with curious eyes. "The office is not the place for your recklessness and impulsiveness," I stated firmly, my voice remained unwavering and I looked at both of them as I tried to get my point across.
Another scoff left Blake's lips as he kept his gaze on the ground with an incredulous look etched onto his face.
"Recklessness and impulsiveness?" He repeated, tossing the words right back at me. He jutted his finger out, pointing directly at Xavier. "He was the one who marched in here and punched me in the face," he snarled, his voice dripping with accusation as he eyed him with clear disdain on his face.
"This isn't the time to point fingers. But if you would like to, let me just remind you that you were the one who walked into my office, accusing me of sending an email to ruin your career and future," I commented, my voice carrying a sharp edge to it. "Need I say more?" I asked with a raised brow as I folded my arm across my chest and we locked eyes.
A cold chuckle erupted from his throat.
"This is not over, Aurelia Holt," he warned in his hoarse voice, his voice heavy with a threat as we continued to keep our gaze on each other. "You can't get rid of me," he sneered with a disdainful scorn.
The corners of my lips curved upwards into a slight smile as I looked into his cold blue eyes, unfazed by his threat and intimidating demeanour.
"What's not over?" I questioned with a raised brow. "I can and I will get rid of you if I wanted to."
There was a brief moment of silence before I spoke up once again with a cold expression that masked my features.
"You are fired, Blake Carson."
He stepped forward, his body looming above me as he glared down at me, trying to intimidate me but it wasn't working as I remained unfazed by how close he was standing to me.
Another humourless chuckle escaped from his lips as he snarled. "You can't fire me."
"Hey, back off," Xavier demanded as his face darkened and he grabbed Blake's shoulder to nudge him, but Blake quickly shoved his hand off his body looking visibly annoyed.
"Like I told you earlier. You have two choices. Leave the office or get arrested by the police. It's your pick."
"How would I know that you wouldn't still call the police on me? How can I trust you to not betray me?" He questioned, a hint of doubt laced his voice as our eyes met and his guards were still up.
My features softened intentionally in the next second as I reached up to wrap my fingers around his arm and looked up at him.
"Why would I betray you? You were once the man I loved and you are also the father of the child I'm carrying right now," I said softly, strategically placing my other hand on my tummy to remind him of our child. "I wouldn't do that to you," I assured with a small smile that graced my lips.
I wasn't the one who sent out the email, but I knew I had to seize this opportunity. Little did he know that this was all just a part of my plan to get him to leave.
From the corner of my eye, I saw the way Xavier's face fell in an instant as the words left my lips. It was almost as if he was hurt or jealous but I ignored that for now and kept my eyes on Blake. I needed my plan to work.
I could see the way Blake relaxed his posture a little as a slight smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He had fallen for my sweet words and seemingly innocent doe eyes this time. But I meant it, I wasn't going to report him to the police. That would be way too easy for him. I had something more in mind, I had bigger plans for him and Stella.
"You promise?" He asked, doubt still evident in his voice but he seemed to be swayed for now.
"I promise."
As soon as Blake left the room and it was just Xavier and I, he didn't waste any more time as he turned to me and grabbed my arm. I looked up at him and we locked eyes.
"What was that for?" He questioned with a tiny frown resting between his brows. "Why did you just let him off so easily? Didn't you want revenge?" Confusion and doubt evident in his voice.
A soft chuckle emerged from my parted lips and the corners of my lips curled upwards into a slight smirk as my eyes gleamed with a knowing look.
"I didn't let him off. I just have a bigger plan in store for him."
"I like the sound of that."
***
"So what do you think about this, Mrs Wilder?" The lady sitting opposite of me asked with a demure smile that was etched onto her face almost the entire time.
My eyes flickered down to briefly scan the document she had presented once again as my brows were furrowed together in concentration. I had just looked up and was about to open my mouth to say something when a knock on the door interrupted us.
Immediately, I snapped my head to look at the door, watching it swing open and there she was. A look of surprise and shock crossed my face in an instant when realisation dawned upon me. I would recognise that face anywhere.
It was Evelyn standing right in front of me with a smug look resting on her face, I could sense the smugness radiating off every inch of her body.
"Sorry, I'm late. Was caught up in the traffic."