Chapter 21: Come To Me
“Yes. It’s your husband. Or did you forget you were married?” Sebastian sneered.
“I… I” Kourtney was rendered speechless, and panic welled up inside her.
She struggled to find the right words to say. Instead, she felt a lump in her throat. It wasn’t that she had forgotten her marriage, but the emotional stress and torture she’d been through these past few days were quite overwhelming. So much so that she hadn’t had a chance to think about anything else, and that’s why his words caught her off guard.
“And why the hell were you cutting off my calls? I did say I was going to give you a call after we got married, didn’t I?” Sebastian’s deep voice resounding through the phone line held a trace of anger and malice.
Kourtney took a deep breath, trying to steady herself.
“I… I didn’t realize it was you. Okay?” she managed to respond.
‘And even if I did, it’s not bad to ignore you, as well,’ she wanted to add but dared not to.
How was she supposed to know he had been the caller all this time? She’d already assumed it was one of the Smith’s trying to bother her with questions concerning her failed engagement with Brandon.
“Kourt?? Is everything okay?” Liam asked with genuine concern after noticing her panicked facial expressions.
Sebastian heard it clearly the sweet, gentle, and caring voice of another man just as he was about to respond to her whining. His face stiffened and turned cold in an instant. Anyone who saw him now would probably perceive the fury radiating off him.
That male voice in the background was like a jab to his ego his wife was busy spending time with some other guy. His grip on the phone tightened, and his knuckles turned white. His jaw clenched as he struggled to control the boiling emotions within him.
“Who is that with you?” Sebastian demanded, his tone icier than ever before.
Kourtney’s pupils dilated in alarm, realizing he must have heard Liam. She quickly stood up from her seat with the phone still pressed to her ears.
“Uhmm… Liam… Excuse me for a second.” She ran off hurriedly to a quiet corner.
Liam’s expression turned slightly disappointed. He leaned back, folding his arms casually as he watched Kourtney disappear.
“Husband?” he muttered to himself in confusion. There was also a profound look in his eyes.
He had been secretly rejoicing since he heard the news about Kourtney’s fiance dumping her for her sister. Her wedding was canceled just like he prayed it would. And today, he decided to reveal his feelings for her.
Liam had harbored a deep, unrequited love for Kourtney for a long time, and now he saw a glimmer of hope. But hearing her talk on the phone, saying the word, “Husband,” and seeing how she looked so flustered somehow made his mind race.
Meanwhile, Sebastian’s tone sharpened, “Who’s Liam?”
Jealousy, anger, insecurity, and spite were flooding through his veins. It was a mix of emotions he hadn’t expected to feel so strongly.
“Why did you call, Mr. Woods?” Kourtney asked, ignoring his question.
“What?? I can’t even call my own wife?”
Kourtney rolled back her eyes.
“Of course, my ‘Darling’ Husband can call me anytime,” she replied in a tone dripping with sarcasm.
“You haven’t answered my damn question. Who’s the guy you’re with?”
Kourtney hesitated, her mind racing for a plausible explanation. “His name is Liam Campbell. He’s a friend and a colleague. My coworker.”
There was a moment of silence on the line, a tense pause that hung heavily between them. Sebastian’s silence was deafening, and Kourtney almost assumed the call had disconnected.
Finally, Sebastian’s voice returned, this time with a colder tone that seemed to intimidate her. His skepticism was evident, and he was torn between his jealousy and a sense of rationality.
“Your co-worker, Uh? So why is he so concerned about you?”
“Mr. Woods, you’re exaggerating too much! I’m at work, and that’s just my colleague.”
Kourtney felt a pang of guilt. But she couldn’t possibly tell him Liam was a co-worker who also had a crush on her and practically just confessed his feelings now, could she?
Meanwhile, Sebastian couldn’t shake off the fact that the person spoke so intimately to her. He wasn’t born yesterday, after all, and his instincts were screaming at him that there was more to this story.
As the seconds ticked by, he thought about how he would instruct his guards to check who she was with at the moment. He wanted to be sure she was telling the truth. But right now, he called her for something else.
“Go down to your company’s parking lot. I have a vehicle and my driver, waiting there for you. He would send you to my location,” he said with an air of authority.
“I beg your pardon?”
“You heard me, Wife!”
“Mr. Woods, you’re asking for too much, Okay? I can’t just leave work like that. I have a lot to do here,” Kourtney replied firmly.
“I don’t care if you have a trailer load of work to do. I’m not even asking. This is an order from your husband!”
Kourtney’s eyebrows furrowed in disbelief. But then, she should be used to his rude and nasty attitude by now, right?
She thought back to her work desk piled with various tasks that needed her attention ahead of the Silverstone Gala, and she felt her stubbornness rise within her. There’s no way she’d be leaving work this early when it’s just lunch break. This man was being unreasonable with his demands yet again. And she felt anger bubbling within her.
“With all due respect, Mr Woods. I’m not going anywhere. Do you realize how ridiculous this sounds? You’re calling me up in the middle of my working hours, asking me to come to you? What’s the meaning of this? I’m not some sort of object you could just bend to your will anytime you please. I have a life and a job I take seriously.”
Sebastian pinched the bridge of his nose, his annoyance detectable even through the phone. He couldn’t believe the audacity of the woman he had married. How many women would dream of being in her place, to be married to someone like him?
He was a powerful billionaire who could control the world like the palm of his hands, and give her all her heart desires. How many women would kill for this opportunity? Yet she treated him like dust, prioritizing her job instead.
‘Why does she always have to frustrate me so much?’
His last thread of patience finally snapped, and he barked. “I’ve had enough of your bullheadedness, Woman. I want you to come to me right now, this hour!”
“Excuse me? You can’t just call to order me around whenever you want to. I already told you, didn’t I? I’m at work! And I’ll not be leaving till I’m done here.”
Kourtney was practically screaming into the phone at this point. She peeped around and saw a few eyes in the cafeteria staring intently at her. That was enough to confirm her fears about being too loud, and she quickly ran towards the bathroom area. This man was driving her Nuts with his insane demands along with an entitled and arrogant attitude.Content is property © NôvelDrama.Org.
Sebastian clenched his teeth in anger. “Why are you always going against me? I can’t believe you’re being so stubborn about this.”
“And I can’t believe you’re acting like you own me!”
“Yes! I do own you. You belong to me!”
Kourtney sucked in a deep breath. ‘The nerve of this man. He’s so misogynistic.’
“I’m not a possession or property to be owned, Mr Woods.”
“Ah! But you’re my wife, and you are meant to do as I say,” his voice was calm, yet the scariest she ever heard.
But Kourtney refused to back down. Being his wife doesn’t mean he gets to be so possessive and control her like some puppet. She had her own thoughts, feelings, and responsibilities.
“Mr Woods! If you have nothing else important to say, I would like to head back to work now.”
“Hmmm. Very well, then. If you don’t come to me willingly, I have other ways of ensuring your compliance, Wifey,” Sebastian snickered with dark amusement.
Kourtney’s heart raced. His threat hung in the air, a chilling reminder of his power and influence.
“WWhat do you mean?”