Chapter 189: Are you trying to break my marriage?
Edith’s expression faltered. She hadn’t anticipated the question. "What are you trying to say? He is my boss..." Edith stammered, her cheeks heating with embarrassment. A restless tension seemed to stir in her chest, betraying the calm front she tried to maintain.
Riya noticed the crack in her composure, and it only strengthened her doubt. She leaned forward and pressed with quiet insistence. "So what? It’s not a crime to fall for your boss. Honestly, it’s rare for someone in his position to share credit so freely, let alone dedicate his success to his assistant. I think he likes you."
Edith’s expression hardened into stone, her lips pressing into a firm line. "Miss Riya, please don’t say such things," she said coldly, though the faint tremor in her voice betrayed her unease. "I respect my boss. I don’t want any nonsense or rumors to trouble my bond with him. Please don’t ever bring this up again."
The firmness in her words caught Riya off guard. This wasn’t the reaction she had expected. She had noticed how Edith’s eyes had glowed when she had talked about Shay. Riya could clearly tell that Edith was smitten with her boss, whether she admitted it or not.
So why the denial? Why the hesitation?
’Whatever...’ Riya muttered inwardly, irritated. But she was satisfied with the fact that she had gotten something that could be useful for her. ’What I saw is enough. Now, I can take the next step against Zara.’
A cunning idea started forming in her mind. With the whispers of Shay’s closeness to Zara, she now had the perfect thread to weave into Nathaniel’s ear.
Pushing back her chair, she rose with grace, grabbing her bag. "Well, my work is done here. I’ll leave then."
Edith’s expression softened as if nothing had happened, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "Sure. I’ll send the details of the next schedule."
Riya plastered on a fake smile, offering Edith a curt nod before sweeping out of the studio. The moment the door closed behind her, the mask slipped. Her lips twisted into a sneer.
"Shay Walsh, you arrogant man," she hissed under her breath. "Too busy to meet your own brand ambassador, but plenty of time to eat with a nobody like Zara? Hah. Don’t you know she is married, with a child?"
She let out a sharp, disdainful snort contemptuously. Slipping on her oversized sunglasses with a dramatic flick, she lifted her chin and strutted toward her car. The sleek vehicle purred to life as she gripped the wheel.
Several minutes later, she had reached her destination, Nathaniel’s office tower. She didn’t pause in the lobby, didn’t acknowledge the startled look of the receptionist. She went straight to the top floor as if she had owned the place.
At the reception desk outside Nathaniel’s office, the secretary rose nervously from her chair. "Madam, please—wait here," she pleaded. "Let me inform him first."
Riya’s sharp gaze cut into her like a blade. "Who do you think you are to stop me?" she snapped with scorn. "I am a Grant. No one dares to keep me from meeting Nathaniel."
With a dismissive toss of her hair, she twisted the doorknob and threw it open, striding into the room.
The secretary’s heart sank. She had been warned explicitly never to let this woman in without permission. Panic clawed at her chest as she hurried after Riya, only to freeze at the icy sight that greeted her inside.
Nathaniel sat behind his desk, posture regal and unmoving, his dark eyes fixed on them with a glare that could chill stone.
"Sir, I’m sorry," the secretary blurted, her words tumbling out in desperation. "I tried—"
Nathaniel silenced her, holding up his hand. "It’s okay," he said with a flick of his fingers. "You can leave."
The secretary’s throat tightened at his cold tone. She knew he wasn’t happy. She nodded quickly and backed out of the office, her stomach knotting with dread.
Nathaniel leaned back in his chair, his sharp gaze fixating on her. He had been planning to visit the mansion later, to drag the truth out of her on his own terms, but she had barged into his office on her own.
"I told you not to come to my office," he said with an edge of warning in his tone. "But it seems you have chosen not to take me seriously."
Riya flinched faintly but quickly masked it with a look of feigned worry. She stepped closer. "Nathaniel, please don’t be angry. I didn’t want to disturb you, truly. But this matter is too important. I had no choice but to come. Just... hear me out."
Nathaniel studied her with piercing suspicion. What game was she playing this time? Was she here to poison his ears about Zara again? Or was she finally ready to tell him something about Zachary?
"I’m listening," he said flatly, his expression guarded.
Riya’s heart skipped with anticipation. A glimmer of excitement flickered in her eyes. ’So what if my plan to ruin Zara failed before?’ she thought darkly. ’This time, I’ll succeed. I’ll make Nathaniel doubt her.’
Sliding into the chair opposite him, she quickly unlocked her phone. "You won’t believe what I saw today. Just look." She scrolled through her gallery until she found the photo her manager had sent, then angled the screen toward him.
"Zara was spotted with a man in a café. The way she smiled at him, the way she leaned in—it was as if they had known each other for years. I was stunned when I saw her. And you know who that man was?" She paused dramatically. "Shay Walsh."
Nathaniel lowered his gaze briefly to the phone, not paying attention to the photograph. He returned his focus to Riya, his eyes colder now.
A wave of bitter frustration churned inside him. He had hoped faintly that she would confide in him about Zachary. But no—Riya hadn’t changed. Not at all.
’Still the same,’ he muttered inwardly. ’Still spewing venom about Zara.’
"Shay Walsh is so busy he doesn’t even have time to meet me," she pressed her point bitterly. "But somehow, he found time for Zara. I don’t remember when she became so close to him. Nathaniel, you need to be careful. I... I have a strong feeling she has been cheating on you."
Nathaniel’s fist curled on the surface of his desk. "Just because you saw her with Shay," he seethed, his eyes burning into her, "you jumped to assumptions and came here to plant doubts in my mind? Tell me, Riya—are you trying to break my marriage?"