The Wife He Dumped, The Queen She Returned As novel Chapter 5

Chloe stared at his chillingly calm face, and a sudden, sharp ache seized her heart.

Did he really not care that she just slapped him?

No matter what she did, did nothing actually matter to him?

Preston reached out again. Chloe tried to swat him away, but his large hand effortlessly caught her wrist.

"You really put your back into that one."

With a gentle tug, he pulled her into his chest. His warm, slightly cool palm came to rest against her forehead.

"Tell me where it hurts."

His voice was low, rich, and infuriatingly soothing, like he was coaxing a child.

Chloe closed her eyes, involuntarily drawing a breath.

A cloying, overwhelmingly sweet designer perfume assaulted her senses. It was definitely a woman's fragrance.

The image of Preston carrying that woman in his arms flashed violently in her mind.

Her breath hitched. She shoved hard against his chest, breaking his hold.

"Don't touch me."

She put all her strength into it. Her voice was muffled but dead serious.

Preston completely missed the suppressed sob in her throat. He just smiled faintly.

"So ruthless."

He poured a glass of warm water and held it to her lips.

"The Synergy Summit hasn't wrapped up yet. I have a few more days of networking. I know you've been wanting to go on that island vacation. Once I'm done, I'll take you."

Chloe didn't take the glass. She just stared at him, unblinking.

"Preston, is there anything you want to tell me?"

The curtains were drawn tight, casting her trembling eyelashes in deep shadows, making her expression impossible to read.

Even Preston wasn't blind enough to miss how off she was acting.

Thinking back to the dozen missed calls, his smile faded. His tone turned deep, soft, and entirely earnest.

"The coolest boss in the world is calling! Pick up, pick up!"

The whiny, slightly off-key voice was unmistakably a personalized recording.

Chloe's expression turned frigid, her fists clenched tight enough to go numb.

Preston stiffened in surprise. He quickly swiped the screen to answer.

The woman on the other end was already sobbing. Even without speakerphone, her shrill, dramatic wailing drilled straight into Chloe's ringing ears.

"Preston! What do I do? The cops are harassing me again! They're bullying me!"

Preston instinctively turned away, shielding the phone from Chloe. His voice dropped into a register of pure, indulgent comfort. "Calm down. Did you pay the compensation like I told you?"

"I did! I listened to you! I went and apologized to everyone last night and gave them the money! But there's this one psycho bitch who refuses to let it go! She definitely thinks half a million isn't enough and wants to extort me! She's so evil!"

"Don't worry," Preston murmured, his tone steady and incredibly reassuring. "I'll handle this. Leave her to me."

Chloe stared at his broad back. Watching him coax and pamper another woman, listening to his effortless promise to handle her, sent violent, suffocating spasms of pain through her chest.

She suddenly had a morbid curiosity to see exactly how he planned to handle her.