Ruined By My Brother's Best Friend (by Silverwriter) novel Chapter 198

Summary for Chapter 198: Ruined By My Brother's Best Friend (by Silverwriter)

Read Arabella and Alvise novel Chapter 198

10:58 Mon, Sep 14

Ruined By My Brother’s Best Friend

Vindicated

ARABELLA’S POV

My eyes widened, his grip on my waist feeling like hot metal pressed against my skin.

“What…” I rasped, “…are you talking about?”

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Lightly, until he was barely touching me, Alvise trailed his fingers around the waistband of my shorts and pulled at them slowly. “These fucking shorts.” He gritted the words out like he was angry at the piece of clothing itself. “You wore them intentionally, didn’t you?”

I shook my head so fast it hurt. “I… didn’t. I had no idea you were coming.

His eyes stayed on my lips for a second before he looked away.

His muscles flexed beneath my skin, a muscle in his jaw twitching. “Go change these shorts, Arabella.”

I blinked. “Why?”

Alvise leaned back in the chair and tapped his finger against my waist. “Go change them while you can.”

I shivered, my lips trembling.

I should listen to him. I should go change. But I found myself asking, “Or what?”

His eyes narrowed, a dark look crossing his face. Alvise’s finger twitched against my waist, as if he were holding himself back from doing something, and with a cold, commanding voice, he tapped me lightly on the thigh.

“Change it. Now.”

There was no trace of amusement in his eyes, so I decided to listen, not daring to bite off more than I could chew.

His eyes followed me all the way to the door, and when I turned around to tell him thank you again for all the help he’d rendered, our eyes clashed. I swallowed and opened my mouth to speak.

“I know you want to be a fucking tease, Arabella, but now is not the time.”

I frowned. “What?” I wasn’t a tease, and I wasn’t trying to be one. “I just wanted to say thanks again. For the cottage… bailing me out and…”

“You can say all that when you put some clothes on,” he snapped, his intense gaze still fixed on me.

I put a hand on my hip and glared at him. “I do have clothes on.”

“I beg to differ.”

“Fine,” I gritted out, turning around and storming out of his office.

I hadn’t worn that intentionally. I could swear it, but seeing how much he struggled to compose himself… it made me want to wear something like this again.

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Ruined By My Brother’s Best Friend

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A small part of my heart screamed, telling me he was someone’s fiancé and I needed to consider that

as already considering it, and that’s exactly why I was going to wear something similar again.

Tatiana had almost ruined my life, if she hadn’t already. There was nothing going on between Alvise and me, and there never would be, but if wearing something provocative around him was going to count as disrespecting her, I was more than ready to do it.

After all, we all had different definitions of revenge.

Some more than others.

I changed into a sundress, one that was ridiculously long just for the sake of proving I wasn’t trying to seduce him. In case that was what he thought when I wore the shorts.

Instead of going back to his study, I went to the living room.

It was raining now, and the weather was so pleasant that I thought it would be nice to watch some TV.

The sundress I wore might have been long, but it was also sleeveless and showed a lot of cleavage. My chest was almost spilling out, so I grabbed a duvet from the room to cover myself.

I sat on the couch and scrolled through the TV using the remote. I didn’t find anything that piqued my interest, so I kept scrolling, giving each channel only five seconds to impress me.

Something caught my eye, making me scroll back to the previous channel.

It was a gossip channel, but what made the air disappear from my lungs was the fact that my picture was plastered across the screen.

My stomach tightened and my lips trembled as I went against my better judgment to read the text on the

screen.

WOMAN ACCUSED OF BEING GOLD DIGGER WHO LURED HENRY ASHFORD AND HIS DRIVER TO DEATH HAS BEEN VINDICATED. IT WAS FAKE NEWS!!!

I blinked, keeping my eyes closed for several long seconds before opening them again and staring at the

screen.

It was still there. I wasn’t hallucinating.

It was real. I turned off the TV and slowly blew out my breath.

But how?

A tear slipped from my eye, my chest suddenly feeling lighter as all the weight I’d been carrying seemed to fall away. I hugged myself, my hands trembling as I cried, choking out a sob.

I was vindicated? I couldn’t believe it.

The tears… the depression… everything I had to go through… everything I was still going through.

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I finally felt free because it felt real and complete. I didn’t try to lure Henry to his death. I didn’t!

epeated that in my head as I rocked myself back and forth because, at some point, I’d started to believe the media.

I believed every single thing they wrote about me in that news broadcast.

Footsteps approaching made me freeze, but I didn’t stop crying. I couldn’t.

Alvise rounded the couch until he was standing in front of me, his hands slipping into his pockets. “You’re trembling,” he observed.

I looked up, a smile forming on my lips despite my tears. “Thanks for the observation.” Isniffed. “I really didn’t notice.”

Alvise didn’t share my humor.

In fact, his eyes narrowed. “Stop crying.”

I laughed lightly, more of an amused breath. “Sure,” I joked. “Since I have the control switch to my tears, I’ll just turn them off. Why didn’t I think about that?”

A dark look crossed his face, and he took a step closer. “What’s the reason for the tears?”

I sighed, smiling as I was unable to contain the gratitude and excitement bubbling inside me. “The story posted about me had been tagged as fake news.”

Alyise’s eyes searched my face, his gaze softening as my smile grew wider.

He took a step back. “It has?” There wasn’t a hint of surprise in his tone

I expected him to congratulate me or ask how I knew, but instead, he walked away, heading for the stairs.

That’s when it hit me.

I turned to watch him leave and blurted, “You…” I gasped, remembering the exact words he’d said to me when I’d told him my life was over because of the news. “You made it go away.”

TO:58 Mon, Sep 14

Ruined By My Brother’s Best Friend

Provocative

ABELLA’S POV

I couldn’t sleep.

I tossed on the bed, burying my head in the pillow and groaning into.it.

Nothing was working.

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Sitting up on the bed, I puffed out a breath that swept the loose strands of hair from my bun out of my face.

All I could think about was my interaction with Alvise a few hours ago. He’d made the story about me go away, just like he’d said he would.

“Made what go away?” Alvise had asked, his face stoic, but his eyes glinting with amusement.

Heat had crept up to my face, and all I could say was, “You know what I’m talking about… Thank you.”

He’d merely held my face for a second before turning back and continuing up the stairs.

I’d watched him retreat with my heart full and a small smile on my lips.

It was the second time he’d saved me from the media’s wrath when I’d thought there wasn’t a way out. He’d used his power to save me, and that made me feel… special.

I got up from the bed and walked past my vanity toward the door. A glimpse of my reflection had me stopping and walking back to the mirror to take a proper look at myself.

I was wearing lace silk sleepwear. The top was a dainty camisole made of very thin silk, and the shorts could hardly be considered shorts.

I had no idea where Alvise had gotten the clothes in the closet from, but whoever the woman they belonged to definitely had a fascinating interest in showing skin. And if they were new clothes, I was interested in meeting the diva who’d shopped for them.

My breaths turned uneven as I finally exited the room and walked past the locked doors.

I should go back to bed and try to sleep even if I didn’t want to, but I just couldn’t.

I wanted to see him.

It was a strange urge, one I’d probably regret in the morning, but for now, I just had to find him.

I walked past his study, and one room later, I spotted a larger door. Goosebumps erupted on my skin, and I sighed, taking that as a sign.

I grabbed the door handle and tried to open it.

It was locked.

I frowned. Why would Alvise need to lock the door when it was just the two of us in the house? He

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Ruined By My Brother’s Best Friend

probably locked it because of me.

NIT determined, I knocked on the door, waiting patiently for an answer.

There was none.

“Alvise?” I called, my voice almost breaking. “Can you open the door?”

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My breathing slowed as I counted each second I had to wait. Seconds turned into a minute, and then I stepped back.

It was probably not his room, or he just didn’t want to see me. I was fairly confident it was the latter.

I turned around and walked away, trying my best to ignore the pang in my heart.

Click. Click.

I stopped in my tracks and snapped my head back.

That had been the sound of a lock. Alvise had unlocked the door.

Was that a silent invitation?

Hesitant and a bit curious, I walked back to the door and, with trembling fingers, grabbed the doorknob again. If the door was still locked, I was going to die of embarrassment and never be able to face him again.

I turned the knob, and surprisingly, the door clicked open..

I stilled, frozen at the door and staring into the narrow opening. I’d wanted to get in badly, and now that I was so close to seeing him, I wanted to back out.

What was I going to do?

Refusing to cower, I pushed the door open wider and stepped inside, holding my breath.

The room was dark, as dark as his apartment had been four years ago when I’d gone looking for him.

The thought made me smile sadly.

It was like a replay of that night, how I’d sought him out and he’d been hesitant, wanting nothing to do

with me.

I looked around, trying to make out his form in the dark. “Alvise?”

The feeling of being watched hit me, sending small shivers down my body, so I immediately knew he was watching me.

But from where?

Not knowing made me feel naked and vulnerable, like he could see everything, but I had no idea where he

was.

Squinting my eyes, I let my gaze trail over every part of the room until it landed on a pair of intense eyes, so blue, it felt like I was watching the sky and ocean fight for dominance.

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Rumed By My Brother’s Best Friend

“There you are,” I breathed, not recognizing my own voice. It was raspy and nervous.

Why are you here?” Alvise asked, his tone lazy but inquisitive.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“I don’t read bedtime stories,” he said.

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My heart could barely beat normally, and my hands were so sweaty that event rubbing them against my shorts did nothing to help. “I want to see you.”

“Why?”

“I just want to,” I muttered.

His blue eyes remained fixed on me, and then he spoke.

“What are you wearing?”

Heat crept up to my cheeks, and I looked away, hoping he wouldn’t see it in the darkness.

“Clothes.”

There was no reply from him.

Only the kind of silence that unnerved me more than his words ever did.

“Is dressing like that your new hobby, Arabella?” Alvise inquired, a dangerous edge to his voice, one that seemed like a masked warning.

I took a step closer, using his eyes as my map. “Like what?”

His cool voice filled the air, making me shiver.

“Provocative.”

I raised a brow. “How would you know if I’m dressed provocatively when it’s so dark here?”

Alvise released an amused breath. “There are cameras in the cottage.”

My eyes widened. “What?” I choked on air.

Cameras… Did that mean he could see everything?

“There are no cameras in the bedroom,” Alvise corrected, as if he could hear my wandering thoughts, “and also the bathroom.”

I patted my chest and breathed a sigh of relief before asking, “So, through which camera did you see me?”

“The hallway.”

Embarrassed, I asked, “So, you knew I was coming?”

He didn’t respond, and I took that as my answer.

Mon, Sep 14

Ruined By My Brother’s Best Friend

Still confused, I asked a follow-up question. “How did you know to check?”

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There was a long pause, but several seconds later, with a confidence only he had, Alvise stated, “I wanted to see you.”

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TO:58 Mon, Sep 14