Victor’s POV
I stared at the mirror, my hands holding onto the sink tightly.
The storm inside me was calming just a little bit, but hearing her screaming had snapped something I had kept hidden for years- my worst temper.
I had vowed never to allow that kind of rage to overwhelm me again, not after I witnessed my father’s accident right in front of me fifteen years ago.
I had almost killed someone back then.
But seeing that bastard straddling Miriam, seeing his hands on her body, seeing her fear- it snapped that temper right back to the surface with a vengeance.
I adjusted my tie carefully, trying to regain my composure.
This was not good.
My feelings for her were not taking me somewhere good, but right at that moment, throwing punch after punch into that bastard’s face felt like the only right thing to do.
I could feel it now, the realization that was both terrifying and liberating.
I don’t know if I can really stop unloving her and focus on what I really needed her existence for in the very first place.
I removed my phone from my pocket and scrolled down my contacts, dialing a number I knew by heart.
“I want you to find out why Williams was here. I want to know why he had to get an invite into this gala. I need that information by dusk,” I said coldly, my voice cutting through the air like a blade.
“And again, I want you to make sure no one visits that bastard at the hospital. We need to have a one-on-one talk about what he had the guts to touch. My wife.”
I ended the call and stared at my reflection in the mirror.
The man looking back at me was someone I recognized but also someone I didn’t want to be.
Someone capable of violence.
Someone driven by obsession.
Someone who could kill.
I walked out of the restroom and met some ladies at the entrance.
They gasped as soon as they saw a man coming out from a female restroom.
I smirked as I walked out to the bustling hall, completely unaffected by their judgmental stares.
Karen appeared beside me almost immediately, as if she’d been waiting for me.
“Sir, thank goodness I found you just as soon as I saw this message,” Karen said, appearing beside me with a tablet in her hands.
“When did you get here?” I asked, taking the tablet from her.
“Just two minutes into the auction, sir. The executives are here from Finland. They are about to meet you and Mrs. Miriam,” she said carefully.
“I will meet them myself. My wife is in a bit of a condition right now,” I said, my tone brooking no argument.
“Oh…” she started to say something, but I cut her off.
I returned the tablet to her as I did not bother checking what was in it.
“I will meet them right after this auction.”
“Yes, sir, but these executives are joint partners with Carley and Automobile,” she said hesitantly.
I stopped and turned at her, my entire body going rigid.
“What do you say?” I asked, my voice dangerously quiet.
“The Carley and Automobile, sir. Our Quarter B stock market analysis got to Finland, so they decided to come to make proposals,” Karen explained, clearly unaware of the storm brewing inside me.
“We are not meeting them,” I said bitterly, the words coming out like ice.
“They said they needed to discuss with the CEO of Ashford Industries, sir. Which is your wife, sir,” Karen said carefully.
“Are you questioning my order, Karen?” I asked, my tone making it clear that was not a wise move.
She fell silent and lowered her head.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
I stuffed my hands into my pockets, my mind racing.
Why was that group coming back after all these years?
Right after my father died, they cut partnership with my father’s stock portfolio.
Everything almost went down the drain because of them.
And that company- that bastard Williams worked there once.
This was suspicious.
The timing was too convenient.
Too perfect.
“I will attend to them myself. This would not concern my wife. No creepy executives should have unnecessary dealings with a new CEO,” I said firmly.
“And again, prepare an outline. She will be starting new by Monday. You know the norms- appoint the competent people who would work for her. People I trust.”
“Yes, sir. Understood,” Karen said, bowing slightly.
I walked up to the VIP seats where other guests were already seated.
I greeted the faces I knew, acknowledging the important people with nods and slight smiles.
But my eyes kept drifting toward the entrance, waiting for her to appear.
Waiting for Miriam. This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
Miriam’s POV
“Perfecto,” Ariel said as she finished the last step of my makeup.
I did not look like someone who had been through trauma just minutes ago, except for the red color creeping up my neck.
That red was from hearing that there is a high probability that Victor might like me.
This was crazy and overwhelming at the same time.
I don’t know, but I was excited hearing Ariel say that to me.
But on one hand, something was bothering me so bad.
This was still a pretend marriage.
What if this wasn’t real?
What if he was just acting toward me because of his obsession?
He had said he loved a girl all his life since he set his eyes on her.
That statement was still giving me something to bother about.
Maybe I was reading too much meaning into this.
But his earlier rage was telling otherwise.
The way he had beaten Williams.
The way his voice had cracked with worry.
That wasn’t an act.
That was real.
“The makeup looks good. Now you look yourself again,” Ariel said with satisfaction.
“Yes, it is. Thank you,” I said, managing a genuine smile.
“Nah,” Ariel shook her head as she adjusted herself, spraying a mild perfume.
Thankfully, it didn’t react badly to me this time.
“Can we go now? The auction would have started,” I said, eager to get back out there, eager to see Victor again.
I nodded, and we walked out.
The auction had indeed started in full force.
The host was auctioning different jewels, clothes, shoes, with bidding prices that seemed absolutely astronomical to someone like me.
Different pieces from Charlotte’s exclusive collection were being presented one after another, each more stunning than the last.
We made our way to the VIP seats.
I sighted Victor in a deep discussion with a man.
He looked so handsome doing that- focused, powerful, in complete control.
“This La O Moet silver jewelry, the special stones obtained from the limited pearls of Laville. It would be going for 2.5 million dollars,” the host announced enthusiastically.
A woman raised her paper tag, bidding on the piece.
I turned to look at her.
These people definitely had nothing to do with the concept of money.
To them, millions were like pocket change.
“3.5 million,” the host said again with that enthusiastic voice, as another bidder raised their tag.
“Another person is bidding for this limited jewelry for 3.5 million. We have another offer for 5.5 million,” the host continued.
No one was raising their tag anymore.
The bidding seemed to have stalled at 5.5 million.
Until Victor did.
“Jesus, that asshole,” Ariel gasped beside me, her eyes going wide with shock.
I was just as surprised as her.
I watched in fascination as Victor raised his bidding number.
“Ohhhh, Mr. Victor is going for La O Moet jewelry for 5.5 million. Who else would be going to bid for this limited piece? Do I hear 20 million?” the host called out, his voice dripping with excitement at the prospect of such a prestigious bidder entering the game.
There were murmurs through the crowd, but no one was raising their tags to match his bid.
I chuckled.
It seemed there was no one willing to bid against Victor Ashford.
“Alright, the final bid for this jewelry would be going for 5.5 million to Number 25, Mr. Victor Ashford,” the host announced, ringing the bell with a ceremonial flourish.
Two ladies in the same uniforms came forward and carried the jewelry to the collection of items that had been sold, placing it carefully with the other pieces.
My phone pinged.
A message from him.
I did not know when I smiled, unable to stop myself.
The words felt so tender, so personal.
“Yes, it’s nice.
I replied, my heart doing that stupid flutter thing again.
“Good. I think I am getting to know your choices,” he replied back with a smiling emoji.
“You think so?” I replied, playing along, enjoying this strange new dynamic between us.
The auction continued as different limited items from his mother’s brand were auctioned off.
Speaking of which, I did not see her on the seat- Mrs. Charlotte.
She must have a lot she was attending to elsewhere in the venue.
Just then, I felt a presence staring at me.
It was intense, like a physical weight pressing against my back.
I turned my head, but there was actually no suspicious person staring directly at me.
I shook my head and turned back to the ongoing event.
I’m probably hallucinating, I thought.
The trauma from earlier must still be affecting me.
But the fixated stare continued.
I turned again, this time more quickly.
My eyes caught with a weird looking pair of eyes- siren eyes, they were called.
The person wearing them was dressed all in black, including a black mask covering their face.
I tried to get the shape of the person, to understand who they were, but they were too far away, too obscured.
The person raised a phone to their ear, their eyes never leaving mine.
They slowly nodded as they turned to leave, disappearing into the crowd as quickly as they had appeared.
Who the hell was that?
My heart was suddenly racing.
I immediately tapped Ariel beside me.
“Do you know that person walking through that narrow space?” I asked urgently, pointing in the direction the mysterious figure had gone.
Ariel turned her head to where I was pointing, but by then, the person had mostly disappeared from view.
Only their back was retreating away.
“I don’t think I know. Judging by that backview, it looks sturdy,” Ariel said.
“What is wrong? Do you know the person?”
I shook my head.
“No, I just felt that someone was staring at me. I had to turn and find the eyes. As soon as our eyes made contact, they raised their phone , turned and left immediately. They had siren eyes.”
“Siren eyes?” Ariel asked, tilting her head sideways.
“You have any idea?” I asked curiously, trying to place why this feeling was so unsettling.
“Yes, a little. Most people who have siren eyes, we call them the PUJAABS in this business world,” Ariel said carefully.
“I mean, it has been so long since we heard of them after Victor’s dad died. They worked with him back then.”
The name sounds familiar.
I wondered where I had heard it before.
The name was triggering something in my memory, something from my past.
“The PUJAABS would do it. I trust them. You do not have to worry,”
That faint voice of my mother talking to my father one morning in their room rushed back to my memory.
It was so vivid, so clear, as if I were hearing it again for the first time.
Now I understood where I had heard it from.
The PUJAABS.
They were connected to my parents somehow.
They were connected to my past.
“I have also heard about the PUJAABS also,” I said to Ariel, my voice barely above a whisper.
Something is brewing already.
Who are thede PUJAABS??
Will Miriam investigate them ??
Find out in the next chapter
See you in the next chapter.