Chapter 31 Back Up
"Let her go."
Both the offense and resistance froze in that moment. When Regina heard the voice, she finally relaxed.
Philip turned around, his fist clenched, and saw the man standing behind him. His hand was in his pocket, and he stood there lazily, exuding a terrifying aura. The two men rarely interacted, but they both grew up in a vanity fair. Even if they didn't meet often, they knew each other's identities.
"Mr. Sterling, I heard your dad has been discussing your marriage to the Brook family's daughter. If such an incident were to be reported and make the news, he would be quite angry, wouldn't he?" Douglas sneered, his tone full of disdain.
Philip's tense body seemed to snap like a string at that moment. He didn't know why Douglas appeared here so timely, but it was near Century Group, so it wasn't surprising that he passed by here at any time.
Philip was silent for a few seconds. Finally, he gathered all his emotions and calmly said, "Mr. Semona, I'm sorry you had to see that. I was just dealing with unresolved relationships from the past. How could I start a new relationship if I didn't end the old one?"
Douglas sighed and thought, 'I don't have time to listen to his half-assed excuses.'
"Regina, come here." Douglas's gaze fell on Regina, his tone strong. Looking at Douglas standing in front of her, Regina finally got a chance to catch her breath. Subconsciously passing Philip, she walked towards Douglas without looking back.
"You should go back to the company first."
She obediently nodded. Philip watched as Regina quickly disappeared from his sight. Douglas slowly approached Philip. He no longer smiled as he did when he saw Regina. Instead, he looked ruthless and fierce. "Regina is my girl. Don't let me catch you with her again."
"Mr. Semona, Regina is just an ordinary employee. Is she worth your protection?" Philip felt that Douglas's concern was a bit excessive. However, on second thought, Douglas might be intentionally trying to make things difficult for him.
"Yeah, she is my employee, but she is not ordinary."
Douglas's ambiguous words made Philip uneasy. Seeing the struggle in Philip's eyes, Douglas, unusually interested, said, "Some things you will understand in time." With that, Douglas turned and walked away.
Philip stood quietly in the night breeze. A frustrating sense of loneliness welled up as if it was running on fumes.
After returning to the office, Regina had just calmed down when she received a message. Mr. Semona: [Do you want to go home, Mrs. Semona?] Regina still felt on edge. They were already married, but Regina was entangled with her ex-boyfriend, so it was normal for Douglas to be upset. Regina wanted to explain things to Douglas, so she quickly replied: [Yes, I wanna come back.] She turned off her computer, tidied up her desk, and went to the underground parking lot to find Douglas's exclusive parking spot. Seeing no one around, she opened the passenger door and got in.
The car started. Douglas drove out of the parking lot and merged into the bustling street. Regina glanced at Douglas beside her. Seeing Douglas focused on driving, Regina hesitated for a moment before saying, "I didn't expect him to come to the company after all this time."
Douglas tapped his fingers lightly on the steering wheel. "Why didn't you expect that?"
"I thought he wouldn't want to get back together," Regina carefully replied, "I'm sorry."
After a long silence, the car pulled over at a red light intersection. Douglas turned to see Regina looking somewhat uneasy. He gently said, "Mrs. Semona, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
"Did you really like him during the years you were together, right?"
Regina blinked and froze. After a few seconds of eye contact with Douglas, she looked away, gazing out the window. "Yes."
"How much did you like him?" Douglas's question felt like a knife slowly piercing her heart.
Regina chuckled self-deprecatingly. "When I loved him the most, I thought I might never love another man in my life."
Douglas suddenly felt very disappointed. It was abnormal how he kept asking questions that made him unhappy.
Of course, this was normal.
"Did you marry me hastily to retaliate against him?"
"No," Regina frowned, explaining, "When we first met, everything I told you was true. I got married because I wanted to make Tasha happy." Regina also knew there was no possibility between her and Philip anymore.
As they waited at the red light, Douglas asked one last question. "Did you consider me a backup option from the beginning?" After all, Regina had once liked Philip. And she thought she would never love another man again.
After a pause, it's not about hesitation or reluctance; Regina just wants to appear more resolute.
Regina said, "No."
"Okay, I got it."
Regina waited a while, but Douglas didn't say anything further. When they got home, Regina bent down to change her shoes. As she put down her things, her first thought was to take a shower. However, before she could take two steps, a hand gripped her wrist from behind. They were too close, Douglas's warm breath on her neck making her body tense and stiff.
"We've been living together for a while."
"What?" Regina couldn't guess what he meant, perhaps too nervous.
"Do you feel like you've gotten used to life here?"
She thought for a moment and said, "I feel pretty good."
"Pretty good?" Douglas slowly released her hand. "That's good then."
Regina sighed in relief.
"Sleep with me tonight."
"What?" Regina's mind was confused again.
He patiently explained, "I mean, after you shower, come to my room to sleep." They had been living together for a while, but they had never slept together. Regina suddenly understood why he asked that question out of the blue. She had adapted to living here. Next, she should adapt to his room, his bed, and him, right?
Regina hesitated and remained silent. She always thought Douglas was a very upright, considerate man, so he should understand her discomfort now. However, Regina was surprised that Douglas didn't say anything else. He just turned and walked back to the room, giving her his back.
He probably went into the bathroom.
