From His Invisible Wife to the World's Icon novel Chapter 139

In the past, all of his corporate retreats had been flawlessly organized by her charity foundation, and she was always the one entertaining the board members. Frankly, these crusty executives despised activities like this; they vastly preferred golfing, luxury yachts, and black-tie galas. She couldn't imagine which idiot had pitched a tactical base for their retreat...

"Frederick... Did you wait long?"

Her train of thought was derailed by Sierra, who jogged over in a ridiculously tiny miniskirt, dragging along a gaggle of her equally scantily clad, innocent but sexy socialite friends.

So that was it.

A bitter, self-deprecating smile pulled at Lydia's lips. She turned around and headed straight for the paintball arena with Harrison.

"Mr. Zane, you've got a pretty small crew. A five-on-five match won't be that intense. Want to merge with another group for a massive cross-team battle? It's way more fun," the referee suggested.

Right on cue, Frederick strolled up with Sierra hanging off his arm.

Spotting Lydia, Sierra instantly let go of Frederick's arm, a flash of pure panic crossing her eyes. It seemed last night's brutal warning had actually stuck.

"What do you think, Mr. Foster?"

"Frederick, let's play against them! We'll completely wipe the floor with them!" Sierra practically squealed.

Frederick turned and extended a hand to Harrison. "Mr. Zane. May the best team win."

Lydia wanted absolutely nothing to do with them, but the nerdy researchers on her team were buzzing with adrenaline, desperate to play.

Harrison seemed equally eager. He grabbed Frederick's hand firmly. "Looking forward to it, Mr. Foster."

The unspoken, lethal tension between the two men crackled in the air.

Harrison's entire ten-man roster hit the field.

To make it fair, Frederick's side swapped out some of the executives for a few highly athletic younger guys to play alongside Sierra's crew.

The second the buzzer sounded, Sierra locked onto Lydia, hunting her down with a barrage of paintballs.

Annoyed, Lydia ducked behind a barricade. Playing on Sierra's reckless arrogance, she lured the girl into rushing forward, flanked her, and unloaded three rounds straight into Sierra's back, instantly zeroing out her health. The sensor on Sierra's helmet immediately began smoking.

"You're dead!" Lydia smirked coldly.

Whining pitifully, Sierra ran straight to Frederick to complain, and Frederick immediately set his sights on Lydia.

She stood frozen in place, watching his imposing figure stalk toward her, a bitter laugh dying in her throat.

No matter the time or place, he would always be her knight in shining armor. He couldn't bear to let Sierra suffer even the slightest indignity.

Harrison suddenly broke from cover, grabbing her arm and pulling her into a dead sprint.

The firefight devolved into pure chaos.

Half an hour later, both sides were utterly decimated.

Suddenly, a massive, powerful arm locked around her waist. The man yanked her effortlessly behind cover.

She stared up at him. The tactical helmet obscured his face, but his razor-sharp jawline was tight with lethal aggression. He flipped his paintball gun with terrifying, practiced efficiency and opened fire. His shots were brutally precise, nailing Frederick in the knee, the wrist, the collarbone—every unprotected spot guaranteed to sting.

Frederick tried to return fire, only for the man to unleash a ruthless, punishing volley straight into his chest. Pop-pop-pop! He didn't stop firing until his hopper was completely empty.

The paintballs themselves weren't loud, but the sheer, deafening aggression of the assault left her stunned.

White smoke hissed from the sensor on the man's helmet. He was technically 'dead.'

In a flash, his massive hand grabbed her wrist and forced her arm up.

Wide-eyed, she didn't hesitate. She pulled the trigger.

Bang. In her peripheral vision, thick white smoke erupted from Frederick's helmet.

"Game over. Blue team wins," the referee announced over the speakers.

The man ripped off his helmet, revealing his breathtakingly handsome face. A dark, terrifying inferno blazed in his eyes, radiating an overwhelming, dominant power.

Sinking into the mesmerizing depths of his gaze, the entire world around her faded to black.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her wrist, tearing her back to reality. She whipped around, crashing straight into Frederick's murderous glare.