Chapter 506 His Office
Delia’s POV
“And you are far more frightened than the confident wife you pretend to be.”
I wiped my mouth with my napkin before placing it on my plate. I had barely touched my salad, and I had no intention of staying to finish it. I stood without paying. The wine had already gone to my head, but it had done nothing to erase the image tormenting me.
“Tell him I said hello,” I told her. “That is, if he actually bothers speaking to you again.”
I walked out of the restaurant. By the time I reached my car, my hands were trembling. It was not because of Tessa or anything she had said. It was because I could not get one particular image out of my head.
Elliot’s mouth. Tessa’s red dress. The way she had confidently announced that she would become my mother-in-law. And Noah, waiting at home, still thinking of her as that lady and believing I had simply gone out for lunch.
Is he fucking her?
I did not have an answer. All I had was the taste of wine on my tongue, the soreness from the previous night, and the sickening realization that I was probably going to confront Elliot about it myself.
Noah was not home. That was the only reason I went.
I had spent most of the night thinking about Tessa in that red dress, and I was so upset that I could barely sleep. Elliot had fucked me. He had put his mouth on me. He had told me to come back when I was wet. Yet the very next day, that annoying racer had sat across from me at lunch, drinking my wine and telling me she was going to become my mother-in-law. I was supposed to be the woman Elliot wanted. Not his wife. I knew that. But his woman. The one he called. The one he used. If he was interested in someone else, did that mean I was no longer enough for him? Just one night in his bed, and the next day he was already entertaining another woman. The thought bothered me so much that I eventually got into my car and drove to his office.
Wasn’t I supposed to be his woman? Why would he ask Tessa out? What had happened between the night I spent in his bed and the lunch where she announced their relationship? Had I stopped being good enough the moment I left his house and went back to Noah? I hated having these questions in my head. Worse, I hated that I was driving to Vesper Group to ask Elliot for answers, like some desperate girl who needed a man to tell her whether she was still desirable.
The executive floor was quiet when I arrived. The receptionist started to rise from her chair, probably intending to stop me, but I walked straight past her. I entered Elliot’s office without knocking, behaving as though I had every right to be there.
Tessa was already there.
She wore a different dress, but her attitude was exactly the same. She sat comfortably in the chair opposite Elliot’s desk, her legs crossed and her handbag resting on the floor beside her. She looked as though she belonged there, while I was the unexpected visitor. When she saw me, she stood, looking almost pleased. That was what irritated me the most. She seemed delighted that I had caught her in his office.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded.
“I told you,” Tessa replied with a smile. “I was going to be your mother-in-law.”
I laughed bitterly, my voice sharp enough to echo through the office.
“You seriously believe my father-in-law would marry someone like you?” I asked. “Not long ago, you were claiming that some ridiculous kiss had sealed your fate with Julian Windsor. Now, suddenly, you’re interested in his uncle?”
“If you could marry Julian Windsor and then marry his cousin, why can’t I do the same?” Tessa challenged.
“Because Julian never wanted you,” I reminded her. “He barely acknowledged your existence whenever you were in the same room. You created an entire love story around a man who wouldn’t even look at you. And Elliot isn’t the type to marry a woman simply because she wants attention. Sit down before you embarrass yourself any further.”
“I’m not embarrassed, Delia. You are,” Tessa shot back. “You stormed into this office like a wife who just discovered she had been replaced.”
“I’m not his wife,” I corrected her.
“No, you’re his son’s wife,” Tessa replied with a mocking smile. “That must hurt even more.”
“Not nearly as much as losing a race and then trying to marry into the same family to get revenge,” I snapped. “Is that your plan? Julian wouldn’t look at you, so now you’re working your way through his relatives? You think dating his uncle will somehow make you important? How pathetic.”
Her lips tightened, and I felt a small sense of satisfaction. Good. I wanted to wipe that smug smile off her face completely.
“At least I’m not pretending,” Tessa retorted. “You sat across from me at lunch and laughed too loudly. That’s what women do when they’re frightened.”
“And you wore a red dress and asked whether Elliot was married,” I fired back. “That’s what desperate women do when they convince themselves a man’s attention means something serious. Did he actually kiss you, or did you mistake a friendly look for a marriage proposal?”
“He made his intentions very clear,” Tessa insisted.
“Men like Elliot make their intentions clear when they want something from a woman,” I told her. “Right now, you’re useful to him, but that doesn’t mean he wants to marry you. Don’t confuse his interest with a marriage proposal.”
“You’re jealous,” Tessa accused.