Billionaire's Pregnant Ex-wife

Chapter 17

I was hurrying up the grand imperial staircase when the sharp cry of the emergency alarm blared furiously from the ceiling speakers, shattering the peaceful stillness of the mansion. Shock jolted me from my deep, racing thoughts and abruptly whirled me back to reality.

I pulled to a stop in the middle of the staircase, my fingers tightly gripping the handrail for support. Reeling from shock, I took a deep breath to calm my jumpy nerves, then released it with a deep sigh. I repeated the inhale-and-exhale process until my pulse returned to normal.

Did a burglar enter the house? That was the first question popping into my mind as I pulled myself together. Alerted, my eyes sharpened at the thought as they surveyed the expanse of the house in search of a man I imagined wearing a black overall, his face covered with a cloth to shield his identity.

There was no one in sight. That’s what I thought at first, then I saw a woman fleeing down the left staircase. Her scarlet silk gown looked utterly familiar even at a distance. Without the slightest hesitation, I recognized her instantly.

“Natalia,” I mumbled under my breath.

I swallowed deeply as the pang of indescribable jealousy hit me hard in the chest.

Then I noticed her walking barefoot on the stairs. When her right hand moved, I found her high-heeled stiletto swinging in her grasp. The jealousy I felt vanished, replaced with a nagging curiosity.

Natalia was so deep in her thoughts that she didn’t notice my presence on the opposite side of the stairs.

I continued to watch her until she reached the last step and dashed across the foyer to the upscale door as though ghosts were chasing her.

Natalia would sink to the ground once she learned what had happened. I saw her fleeing like Cinderella down the stairs, except she wasn’t a princess, but an evil witch. But then, I had no plans of ever talking to her again, so I filed the memory away for my own entertainment.

The screaming alarm stopped. I let out a sigh of relief as the stillness returned and continued on my way up.

Quietly, I traversed the arched hallway. On my way to Grey’s office, I met Blake halfway. He was followed by his men—twelve of them in total. Their numbers raised my awareness, and a wave of worry coiled inside me as I caught sight of Blake’s grim expression.

“What happened?” I blurted out loud, looking at Blake in particular.

“There’s nothing to worry about, Ma’am,” he tried to assure me, but I wasn’t convinced. Why would I be, if he wasn’t that convincing at all?

“The emergency alarm?” I gazed at him intensely with questioning eyes.

“Mr. Bradford accidentally pressed the alarm,” he explained.

“That’s unlikely to happen, especially not with Grey,” I mumbled under my breath with a frown. Moreover, that didn’t explain why Natalia was literally running out of the house as though some kind of morphed monster was chasing her. I thought to myself, growing more intrigued to know exactly what had happened.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Blake was faster. He had spoken first before a sound could even emerge from my lips. “My apologies, Ma’am. I have duties to attend to. Please excuse me.” He was polite. With a quick, long stride, he walked past me, and so did his men. Then he was gone.

I heaved a disgruntled sigh as I fought the urge to pout like a child.

Grey’s office was quite still when I entered. There was no sign of him, except for a bottle of half-finished wine and a wine glass with the scarlet liquid still inside.

“Grey?” My voice was loud enough for him to hear, just in case he was inside. No one answered. My gaze shifted to the bottle of wine on top of the glass table, and I frowned.

My husband—I mean soon-to-be ex-husband—didn’t leave his things unattended, especially not his expensive wine. I had never seen him, over the span of our five-year marriage, leave a glass of wine unconsumed. Though he could afford any wine as exorbitant as a king’s ransom, he would never waste a drop. That was one of the things I admired about him.

The sound of my footsteps echoed inside the closed room as I made my way to Grey's table. Aside from a document neatly placed in the center of the table with a pen on top to hold it in place, there was nothing unusual.

Returning to the glass table, I grabbed the bottle of wine and the wine glass to return them to where they belonged, but I nearly dropped them when I spotted a piece of cloth carelessly tossed on the floor. Deeply intrigued, I lowered what I was holding back onto the glass table. With a few quick steps, I picked up the red cloth.

Realizing what it was, instant regret hit me as a wave of heat flooded my cheeks.

“Underwear!” I blurted out loud. My eyes were so wide that an apple could fit inside. A silk, sexy thong, to be specific, I thought to myself, throwing it away in shock.

Jealousy hit me like a sharp bolt of lightning. My knees buckled, and I reeled to the couch, still in disbelief at what I had seen.

Did Natalia and Grey have sex in his office? The thought tightened the knots in my stomach and drained the color from my cheeks.

I chewed on my bottom lip while my eyes watered with tears.

“Damn you, Grey Bradford!” I clenched my hands into tight balls as I choked back a sob.

Though I told myself I didn’t care what my husband did with Natalia, it didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt inside. He was a selfish, insensitive jerk. But dear God, I still loved him.

My throat had gone as dry as a desert. I found myself looking at the glass of unfinished wine on the table.

Drink. Drink. Drink.

A siren’s enticing voice chanted in my ears. I found myself unable to resist the urge. As though my hand had a mind of its own, I picked up the glass and drained it straight away.