She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 531

In the dead of night, Philip sat motionless in the driver's seat of the white BMW 5 Series. He hadn't left.

Preston's direct orders were to stay behind and secretly protect Melanie.

Yet, he had just watched Everett escort Melanie into the estate, walking shoulder to shoulder, deep in conversation for an uncomfortably long time.

Finally, Everett had walked her all the way to the lobby of her building.

Logically speaking, no matter how close two friends were, dropping her off at the lobby was the polite stopping point for a man and a woman.

But Everett hadn't stopped. He had followed Melanie upstairs.

When Philip saw that, he realized he was suddenly holding a massive, highly explosive hot potato.

The dilemma of whether to immediately report this to Preston was tearing him apart.

After agonizing over it, Philip decided to keep his mouth shut for now.

He figured it was safer to wait until Preston finished his business in Darsenia and returned to Averin.

Philip knew Everett was the best friend of Melanie's ex-husband, which naturally made him Melanie's friend, too.

Inviting a friend upstairs for a drink wasn't inherently a crime.

But...

If Preston found out about this, there would undoubtedly be hell to pay.

Philip rubbed his temples, staring up at the building, and continued to wait.

Before he knew it, the clock struck 2:00 AM.

Finally, the lobby doors slid open, and Everett walked out of the building.

Doing the math, Everett had been alone in Melanie's apartment for nearly three solid hours.

If it was just a casual visit between friends, wasn't three hours pushing the boundaries of decency?

After all, it was the middle of the night.

If Everett had nowhere to stay and she was offering him the guest room, he wouldn't be leaving at 2:00 AM.

A knot of anxiety twisted in Philip's gut.

He didn't know Melanie all that well; they had only interacted a handful of times.

But he knew, with absolute certainty, that his boss was madly, obsessively in love with her.

Or had he been dispatched on a sudden business trip?

Several times, Melanie had picked up her phone, tempted to text him and ask.

But afraid of interrupting his work, she ultimately restrained herself.

Rubbing her exhausted eyes to hide the dark circles, Melanie stepped into her private office, and less than a second later, Aria barged in right behind her.

"Do you have an appointment with my assistant, or do you always just trespass into my office?"

Melanie sat down in her leather executive chair, her gaze slicing into Aria like a razor.

Aria offered a sickly sweet, entirely fabricated smile.

"I am still the second daughter of the Royce family. I don't need an appointment to walk around my own company."

Seeing Aria's insufferable, arrogant posture, Melanie's eyes flashed with pure contempt.

"You have already separated and launched your own independent studio. Inside this building, you are an outsider. And outsiders who don't book an appointment have absolutely no right to see the Chief Operating Officer of the Royce Group..."

With that, Melanie slammed her finger down on the intercom button.