Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 1287

Emmy was still reeling. She stared at the man gently blowing on her hand, and the jealous spark she’d felt just seconds ago suddenly seemed silly. Her heart fluttered, as if brushed by the lightest touch.

Standing at the door, Mercedes looked completely shattered. Tears clung stubbornly to her lashes, her mouth hung open, and her mind was wiped blank.

What did Nico just say? He felt bad? He wasn’t worried about her swollen face at all. Instead, he cared about the hand Emmy used to hit her? The absurdity of it all crashed into Mercedes at once. Mixed with her sense of injustice, it broke through her last defenses and the tears started falling harder, each one rolling down her cheeks without end.

But Emmy recovered first. She didn't want to drag this out any longer. Gently, she pulled her hand away. “It’s fine. It really doesn’t hurt anymore,” she said quietly, keeping her voice calm. “Come on, you need to pull yourself together and change. The guests are all waiting for you. I’ll be right outside.”

With that, Emmy turned and slipped out of the lounge, closing the door behind her.

Mercedes glared daggers at Emmy’s back as she left, her eyes brimming with bitter resentment.

Suddenly, Emmy doubled back and walked right up to her, reaching out a hand. Mercedes shrank away in a panic, arms flying up to shield her face.

“What do you want? You’re not going to hit me again, are you?” she blurted out.

But Emmy just grabbed her chin and tilted her head up, forcing her to meet Emmy’s eyes. Her gaze swept over Mercedes’s swollen cheeks, and her voice was like ice.

“Mercedes, you have no idea how lucky you are. If you’d started those engines when you shouldn’t have…” Emmy’s eyes turned dangerous, so cold they could freeze someone in place. “Slapping you would’ve been the least of it. I would have ended your life myself.”

A chill ran down Mercedes’s spine. She was horrified at how much that threat rattled her. She smacked Emmy’s hand away, swallowing her fear and yelling back, “Don’t scare me like that! You lost track of time, not me! We were late for the big moment. I was only trying to help you fix your own mess. Why are you blaming me?”

Emmy just shrugged off the blow, taking her time to rub her wrist. After a moment, a sharp, almost mocking smile played at her lips.

Then another thought hit her hard. Her eyes went dark with anger. Abis had never been on her side. He was just using her from the start. Mercedes spun around, ready to find him and demand an answer. What right did he have to toy with her like this?

It only took a second for Emmy to guess her next move. She stepped forward, grabbing Mercedes by the arm.

“Really? You want to go out there like this and let everyone see you fall apart?”

But Mercedes yanked her arm free and screamed back, her voice shaking with rage. “This has nothing to do with you! Get away from me!”

All she could feel now was the sting of betrayal. No matter what Emmy said, she couldn’t hear it through the fury pounding in her head. Emmy just watched her, cool and collected, as Mercedes tore off toward the gangway, desperate to find answers of her own.