Chapter 004: Hailey is more delicate

Amelia pushed the door open and stepped out to check what she had hit.

She hissed when she saw a cat lying lifeless on the asphalt.

She got back into the car, grabbed a can of water from the center console, and chugged it down.

Still tensed, Amelia massaged her temples.

“Would confronting Orton change anything, Amelia?” a voice crept into her head.

“Still, I deserve an explanation for the way he treated me…” Amelia mumbled as she restarted the engine and raced off.

Before long, Amelia repeatedly slammed her hand against the horn outside Orton's villa. Without waiting for the security guard to inform Orton, she forced her way through the gates, causing the security guard to stumble backward.

“Where is Orton? I'm talking to you!” Amelia snapped at the security guard.

Without waiting for the guard's reply, she stormed into the villa.

“Orton…” The words died in Amelia's throat as she saw Orton sitting in the living room, his eyes glued to the smart TV as he watched the recap of the Sinclair Group's exclusive summit.

“You really are so consumed by anything that has to do with her and her family?” Amelia clicked off the smart TV and stood akimbo in front of Orton.

“What do you mean?” Orton asked, his brows furrowing.

“Hailey Sinclair! My own elder sister!” Amelia barked.

A flicker of emotion flashed across Orton's eyes for a split second, but he quickly masked it. “What was the nonsense you pulled outside my gate?” Orton asked coldly, changing the subject.

“Is Hailey the reason you've been turning me down all these years? Is she the reason you've treated me as less than a woman all this time?” Amelia asked, nearly choking on her breath.

She kept staring at Orton as tears smeared the foundation on her face. Her heart tightened with every beat as she waited for his reply.

“Yes. Have you got any other questions? If not, turn on the TV and get out of my way!” Orton said, settling back into the supple leather chair.

“Then you should have asked her to retrieve your criminal dossier and the slush fund since she is his wife and is in a better position to get it than I would be!” Amelia thundered, anger surging through her veins at Orton's attitude.

“She's too pure and delicate for such a risky task,” Orton replied, adjusting his sleeve without sparing Amelia a glance.

Amelia staggered backward, nearly crashing into the crystal coffee table.

“I beg your pardon?” Amelia whispered, her voice breaking with muffled sobs.

“You heard me the first time,” Orton replied, visibly irritated.

The living room fell deathly silent, punctuated only by the low hum of the air conditioner. Amelia felt her back drenched in sweat as her lips parted, but no words came out.

She waited for Orton to burst into a humorous laughter and tell her he was pulling her leg, but instead, he reached for the remote and turned on the TV.

Finally finding her voice, Amelia asked. “Do you mean my life is inferior and worthless compared to Hailey's? Am I only a pawn—a disposable pawn to you despite all the years we've known each other and been through thick and thin together?” Amelia bit her lip hard in a desperate attempt to ease the pain crushing her heart.

“I won't endanger the life of the woman I've deeply longed for since the very moment I first laid eyes on her,” Orton replied calmly.

Amelia felt her restraint snap. “I'm the one whose life is worth risking for your selfish gains while she rules your heart?” Amelia roared.

“Why are you being so wicked, jealous, and inconsiderate? Hailey is as fragile as an egg. Do you want her dead so you can have everything she has?” Orton growled as he sprang to his feet.

Orton glared at Amelia, utter disgust etched across his face.

Amelia wiped away her tears with the back of her palm.

“I learnt and trained tirelessly to become an undercover spy just to please you and become useful to you. But Hailey… She literally just has to exist, and you would give her the world,” Amelia said, her emotions failing her again as her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

Amelia slapped her own left cheek fiercely.

“You really are a fool, Amelia. You became a criminal just to please a man, yet you're still the one tagged as an unclean tool! The disposal pawn! The unfeminine one!” Amelia erupted into painful laughter.

Orton rolled his eyes as he strolled toward the wine cellar. Unbothered by whatever Amelia was feeling, he popped open a wine bottle and poured some into a wine glass.

“Even after tying the knot with another man, she's still the one you choose?” Amelia asked, desperately clinging to one last shred of hope.

“Yes! And I finally got her after all these years. Khalifa is just a placeholder,” Orton said, a smug smile playing at the corners of his lips as he sipped his wine.

Orton slowly turned to Amelia. “You’ll always lose to Hailey when it comes to my heart, so you'd better get your shit together and get moving with your mission at Khalifa's penthouse.”

Amelia nodded as reality finally began to set in.

Without saying another word, she walked to the wine cellar, brushed past Orton, and tucked one bottle under her arm while carrying two more in her hands. Without turning to look at Orton, she walked out of the living room.

The second the door shut behind her, the tears she had been bottling up began streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks.

Amelia's engine purred to life, and she sped out of Orton's villa. She drowned her pain with several gulps of liquor as she drove.

Heavy bass blasted through the car's speakers, slamming against her eardrums as she sped through the electric-lit streets of Ardenton City.

The wind blew her hair across her face, something that had always made her feel elated, but not anymore.

Amelia shivered from the cold as she quickly rolled up the car window and tried to cover her exposed cleavage with a scarf. She took another gulp of liquor. The stinging taste of the alcohol in her throat made her squeeze her eyes shut, but it did nothing to warm her.

Driving into Khalifa's private estate, Amelia hurled the empty liquor bottles onto the passenger seat and staggered out of her sports car toward the penthouse's floor-to-ceiling glass doors.

The moment Amelia stumbled into the penthouse grand foyer, she collided with a hard chest.

A familiar cologne mixed with the smell of alcohol drifted into her nostrils. Her knees weakened as an overwhelming urge to embrace the source of that warmth surged through her.

Raising her head, Amelia's eyes fell on his lips, and without a second thought, she stood on her toes. Their lips slammed together.

He pushed the door shut with his leg, his hands cupping her backside.

Amelia let out a soft, breathless moan as the kiss deepened. She gasped as her legs left the ground, locking tightly around his waist.