Ficorpio
Chapter 1
Adrian Sterling came to pick me up.
The man who was always so cold and self-controlled had allowed his new assistant to sit in the front passenger seat.
I knew then that our marriage was doomed.
That day, Adrian drove over to get me. When he opened the passenger-side door, I froze for a moment.
A beautiful young woman was sitting in the seat, smiling sweetly at me.
“Hi, Chloe.”
She greeted me with impeccable manners, but made no move to get out and give me her seat.
My eyes narrowed as I turned to Adrian.
He was looking down while taking a phone call, completely unaware of the tension building beside him.
We had planned to attend a private luxury auction together that evening. I had been looking forward to our date and had dressed with particular care. I never expected to find someone else occupying the front passenger seat of his car.
“Hi, Chloe. I’m Natalie Parker, Mr. Sterling’s new assistant.”
The girl’s smile grew warmer. Two shallow dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth, making her look even sweeter.
“I heard you two were going to a private auction tonight, so I asked Mr. Sterling to bring me along and broaden my horizons. Don’t worry. I promise I won’t disturb you.”
My heart sank to the bottom of my chest.
I knew this seemingly aloof and perfect man better than anyone.
Adrian had always kept people at a distance. He never let anyone cross his boundaries easily.
Our relationship had begun as a dynastic business marriage. After weighing every consideration, we had chosen each other.
Outsiders used to joke that I was destined to become a lonely wife in name only.
But once our relationship was confirmed, Adrian would hold me with warmth in his eyes. Whenever emotion overcame him, the corners of his eyes would grow faintly red.
“You’re my wife,” he had told me. “A married couple is one. You’re naturally different from everyone else.”
But today, something had changed.
But I was never the kind of woman who swallowed her anger and depended on someone else’s mercy.
When I was angry, I never cared whose feelings I hurt. I was Chloe Bennett, and I had no reason to watch my step around anyone.
“Get out.”
I sent the girl away with a cold expression, showing her no mercy.
She froze for several seconds, clearly stunned that we’d barely met and I had already humiliated her so openly.
Maybe my tone had been too harsh. Natalie Parker suddenly seemed at a loss for what to do.
“I… I’m sorry, sis-in-law.”
Her voice trembled with tears as she climbed into the back seat, looking thoroughly miserable.
Adrian had just finished his call and turned to look at us.
He realized I was angry.
Chapter 2
A helpless, indulgent expression spread across his face. The man leaned over and fastened my seat belt for me.
When I noticed that someone had moved the seat, my patience vanished. I adjusted it back with obvious irritation.
The whole ordeal sent my temper flaring.
“I’m so sick of this. How dare anyone touch my front passenger seat?”
The atmosphere inside the car turned icy. Natalie was so frightened that she didn’t dare say another word.
Adrian’s brows drew together slightly, but his voice remained calm as he suggested, “If you’re in a bad mood today, we can just go home.”
The woman in the rearview mirror was silently crying.
I felt even more irritated.
“Natalie Parker, right? I don’t feel like going anymore. Take a cab home yourself. Mr. Sterling and I are going home.”
Natalie’s face went deathly pale. She looked helplessly toward Adrian.
He showed no intention of speaking up for her.
Looking utterly lost, she got out of the car.
Adrian Sterling would never embarrass me in front of outsiders.
He had always known how to keep his emotions in check. That was why he suggested, “Let’s go home.”
Whatever needed to be said, we would say it at home.
That had been our unspoken understanding for years.
“She’s just a college student who’s barely entered the workforce. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?”
Adrian pulled me into his arms.
“The first time.”
He looked at me, clearly confused. “What is?”
“In all these years, this is the first time you’ve let another woman sit in the front passenger seat of your car.”
He hadn’t expected that to be what bothered me.
Everyone in our circle knew how exceptional Adrian was. Countless women were drawn to him.
Yet he had always kept himself above temptation. Surrounded by beauty, he had never once let himself get involved.
A faint smile touched Adrian’s lips as he ruffled my tousled hair.
“I can’t believe I actually made you jealous for once.”
He bent down and kissed me, the tip of his nose brushing my cheek.
“She’s my subordinate. That’s all.”
His hands cradled my face as he held my gaze.
“There will never be anything else between us.”
His voice dropped, solemn as he made me that promise.
A woman’s intuition is rarely wrong.
Even though Natalie Parker and I had met only once, my instincts told me that she wanted something more from Adrian Sterling.
I had thought the warning I gave her at our first meeting would be enough.
I hadn’t expected the necklace that was supposed to be mine—the one from the private luxury auction—to appear around the girl’s neck the very next day.
Claire Morgan, Adrian’s chief assistant, sent me a photograph and a screenshot from Natalie’s social media feed.
In the photograph, the crescent diamond necklace rested against Natalie’s pale throat, making her look even more delicate and charming.
Chapter 3
Her eyes were swollen and red, but a smile curved her lips.
Apparently, she had gone home and cried her heart out the night before.
Then she’d received a certain someone’s gift.
The screenshot showed a post Natalie had uploaded:
“Mr. Sterling says that even when a girl has been hurt, she has to stay strong!”
“Wiping away my tears. As you command, my president!”
Several adorable fist-pumping emojis followed, along with a picture of the necklace sitting inside its box.
For a moment, my blood seemed to freeze.
As difficult as it was to admit, I had to acknowledge the truth.
She had provoked me so badly that I had nearly lost control.
It was a horrible feeling—like discovering a splash of mosquito blood on the white handkerchief I treasured.
The reaction was strange even to me.
I had wanted to ignore the facts and drive my yellow Ferrari at a hundred and eighty miles an hour straight to her, then slap her across the face twice.
But when I looked at my own hands, I felt ridiculous. The fact that I had allowed a cheap, fake innocent like her to get under my skin was beneath me.
I called Wendy Parker at Hermès.
The delight in Wendy’s voice was impossible to suppress. Over the phone, she promised me, “Mrs. Sterling, don’t worry. Even if I have to clear out all of New York today, I’ll gather everything for you. I’ll make sure it all gets delivered!”
And so, that very day—before the workday had even ended—every female assistant to a senior executive and every woman in the executive administration office at Sterling Holdings Headquarters, except Natalie, received a lavish gift from the president’s wife.
Forty-six Hermès necklaces, each worth one hundred and twenty thousand dollars.
The price of each necklace was nowhere near the two-million-dollar auction piece, but there was strength in numbers. At least, I had treated everyone equally.
Claire knew how to handle things smoothly.
She made sure every recipient posted the gift on her social media feed with the caption:
“The president’s wife says every girl deserves something better!”
“Clenching my fist. As you command, my president’s wife!”
Naturally, the women who received the gifts were delighted to cooperate.
As assistants and members of the executive office, they were practically the company’s gossip headquarters. Once they received presents from the president’s wife, who wouldn’t happily post a photo with an enthusiastic caption?
A few of the more ambitious ones even added their own line beneath the required message:
“The president’s wife really knows how to play!”
The assistants themselves might not have held much influence within the company, but their ability to spread information through every department was formidable.