MR BILLIONAIRE'S REGRET: CHASING HIS IRRESISTIBLE WIFE

(JARED'S

POV)

mockery that couldn't be missed.

As much as I hated Dwayne's guts, I knew thanking him was the right thing to do. But his lips curled into a cold smile that never got to his eyes. "What, are you thanking me as her ex-husband? Or as the guy trying to win her back?" He said the words with a note of My jaw clenched, and I felt my face heat up with anger. What was funny about what I just said? "You're something else, you know that?" I muttered under my breath, trying so hard not to lose my cool. But it was hard to ignore Dwayne, not when he was deliberately being annoying.

But he didn't seem to want to back down anytime soon. He let out a mirthless laugh, one that triggered me further. "And you're an idiot, little brother. You're so focused on juggling the mess with all those women around you that you miss what's right in front of you." I felt a surge of anger at his words, but I still forced myself to stay calm. I can't keep letting him get under my skin. Seeing that I was unfazed by his words, his expression hardened.noveldrama

"I'm not like you," he said, condescending. "Among all the things and people I care about in this world, Arielle tops the list. I never for once second-guessed the depth of my feelings for her."

Against my wish, those particular words got to me. They felt like arrows targeted at my gut, but I fought hard to brush them off. I didn't want to give Dwayne the slightest inkling that he had struck a chord.

Realizing that I had no intention to indulge him, he glared at me once more, before turning around and leaving. In his absence, I was left to wallow in my thoughts. I stood rooted to the spot, the gravity of his words sinking in.

I know I should write them off as merely provocative words, but something in my head refused to let them go and they lingered. Fighting to regain control of my emotions and spiraling thoughts, I looked around the room, the silence of being alone, as there was no single soul around now, pressing on me.

But then, something struck me-Mrs Meyers. All through the incident, she was not present. Knowing how the three women-Arielle, Ashley, and Mrs Meyers stuck together, it was unusual not to see her during the commotion. Not especially when she was always looking out for Arielle like a mother hen.

Something seemed off, where was Mrs Meyers? Searching my memory now, I realized that I hadn't seen her leave the dining hall earlier. Something was certainly not adding up. I thought about asking Arielle, but she was probably still upset about the whole drama with Sofia, and I didn't want to add to her stress.

Ashley, on the other hand, was another story altogether; she was unlikely to tell me anything, given her loyalty to Arielle and her distrust of me. That left me with one option; Dwayne.

I scrunched up my face in distaste; the last thing I wanted to do was ask him for help or about anything at all. He'd been a thorn in my side since the moment I have known him, like all he lived for was to see me provoked always. But I knew if I wanted to get answers, then I had to push my animosity aside and ask for help. So I did just that, pulling out my phone and typing out a quick message.

"Hey, have you seen Mrs Meyers around? I haven't seen her since after dinner..." I hesitated for a moment, rethinking my decision, and quickly hit send before I changed my mind. I wasn't sure if Dwayne was going to respond anyway.

I waited for what felt like eternity, pacing, while my eyes were fixed on the screen as I willed him in my heart to respond. Finally, my phone dinged, and I exhaled in relief when I saw his name show up. His message was straightforward, yet confusing. "Check the yacht's security room..."

I frowned, reading the message

again. What did he mean? Was Mrs

Meyers in some kind of trouble? I felt a wave of nausea and anxiety bit me, at the thought, and I quickly shoved my phone in my pocket as I made my way to the security room. Along the way, I asked a few crew members for directions, my heart pounding in my chest.

Finally, I arrived at the security room and was greeted by a dimly lit room filled with monitors and computers. I felt a sense of growing unease as I scanned the room, my eyes searching for Mrs. Meyers. But she was nowhere to be found.

My Jaws tightened, and tried so hard not to bite the flesh in my inner jaw. Can Dwayne ever stop playing games with me? Lying about Mrs Meyer's whereabouts and stringing me all the way here was anything but funny. He could have just stated that he didn't want to help other than put me through the stress of coming here.

Sighing in exasperation, I turned around to leave, but the CCTV footage playing on one of the monitors at the corner of the room caught my attention. The rest were blank, save for that one, and my curiosity instantly got the better of me.

Carefully, I walked over to the screen to investigate. As I watched, a storm rose in my chest. Sofia was on the screen swapping the nameplates on the doorposts of Dwayne and Arielle's rooms.

"So this is it?" I growled to myself. This was how she perpetrated the act; she never lost anything and was just trying to put Arielle in trouble. Even though I already figured all of these out, it was more infuriating to watch how she carried the act out. At this point, I wished Dwayne had given her more slaps than he did.

Willing myself, I leaned away from

the monitor as was only getting more riled up with each passing minute by watching Sofia. Turning to leave again, something caught my attention again. The video of Sofia playing had stopped and was now replaced with another one, à live footage, meaning the incident was going on at the moment.

My eyes widened when Mrs Meyers appeared on the screen. I was relieved to see her in good shape, ruling out my thoughts that something bad had happened to her. But then, I grew curious as I took in the room she was in. It was not an actual room, it was smaller, more like a store.

Instantly, my nerves grew alert and I

couldn't shake off the feeling that something was amiss. And I was

right because right then, a man stepped into view. I squinted my eyes as I tried to make out who he was, but from the position he stood, it was impossible. The

monochromatic color of the monitor didn't help matters as his form was blurry and had to be recognized.

Mrs Meyers spoke up first, and her words got me hooked the instant they seeped through the monitor.

"Why didn't you keep your promise and stay away from me and my daughter...?"