Divorce Failed My Wife's Secret Identities Shock the World novel Chapter 61

When he spoke, the air between them filled with the heavy bite of whiskey, and even his gaze had gone a little unfocused—soft around the edges in that dangerous, half-drunken way.

Maeve had no interest in picking a fight with a man who'd been drinking.

he tried to reason with him, keeping her voice steady. "You came at me like you wanted to tear me apart. What was I supposed to do, just stand there and let you devour me?"

She didn't realize how that one word—devour—would light up Andres's imagination.

Especially given where she'd landed when she'd scrambled onto him—right where it made him go still and swear under his breath.

Fresh from the shower, Maeve smelled like soap and warmth—clean, close, and sweet enough to make a man hungry.

The moment she saw the raw want flare in his eyes, she tried to wrench free. Andres only tightened his hold, locking her in like he had every right.

Maeve glared up at him. "What do you want?"

Her challenge sobered him a fraction. He loosened, putting a sliver of distance between them, and his voice turned sharp. "What are you to Quinn?"

"Friends," Maeve said.

Andres clearly didn't buy it. "What kind of 'friends' risk their life for each other?"

"He runs his mouth. And you believed him?"

Still, Andres pushed. "How do you know him?"

"Online."

"How long?"

"Six years."

Six years. The thought hit him hard, souring in his throat in a way he didn't want to examine.

No wonder she and Quinn moved like they'd rehearsed each other's thoughts.

Andres's eyes didn't leave her. "When you left the Imperial, whose meeting were you going to?"

Maeve's brows drew together. "Are you seriously interrogating me?"

Andres's smile was all arrogance. "As your legal husband, I have the right to know where you go."

Andres's eyes narrowed, cold returning in a hard snap. "Falling in love with you is a ridiculous thing that will never happen to me."

It had to be the alcohol. That was the only explanation for why he felt this off-balance, this… not himself.

Love was the most extravagant, most foolish luxury in the world. What gave Maeve the confidence to reach for that conclusion so easily?

Most women would've been cut by an answer like that.

Maeve didn't even blink.

She shoved him aside and stood, looking down at him from the edge of the bed like a queen delivering a sentence.

"If loving me is 'ridiculous,' then start practicing self-control right now. And stop interfering in my life like you own it."

"You have your circle. I have mine. The moment I step off this bed, we're strangers."

"And one day, when you decide you want to marry some other woman, I'll find a way to make room for you two. As long as…"

Maeve leaned down, her lips close to his ear, her voice turning into a quiet warning. "What happened today doesn't happen again."