Betrayed By Husband, Stolen By Brother In Law-Chapter 128: What a Joke

"So, what exactly did she do to shatter your poor, fragile heart?"

Adam turned his head slowly, eyes narrowing slightly as her question caught him mid-thought. He studied her, trying to figure out whether it was just idle curiosity driving her question... or something more layered beneath that teasing tone. But then he shrugged. It was better to have her ask questions directly than just cause misunderstandings later.

He wanted to ask what Saira had told her outside, in that brief, whispered conversation. But Melanie had danced around the question earlier with the kind of ease that only made him more suspicious. And now, with Robert Collins looming over every thought in his head, his attention had been pulled in too many directions to chase down the truth so it was better to concentrate on this.

He sighed—one of those tired, reluctant sighs that made it clear he'd already said more than he wanted to. He honestly regretted that moment when he'd just blurted out that Saira was his ex girlfriend.Now, that moment of weakness was coming to bite his a**!

And since he didn't want to discuss this topic or lie to her he countered her question with a dry deflection. "Are you seriously going to keep asking me that?"

Melanie leaned back in her seat and gave him a knowing smile with a glint in her eyes.

"Well, what else am I supposed to do. I am curious! I mean, I was absolutely convinced you were the kind of man who always had a different woman on his arm—charming, carefree, flitting from one to another like some overly confident butterfly... or maybe a honeybee. Whatever fits. But now"—she tilted her head—"now that I've uncovered this little secret of yours—that you're actually pining after a woman, and one who's clearly two-faced, no less—I can't help but be intrigued. Come on. Tell me your tragic little love-hate story."

"There is no story," he began, the words half-hearted. But before he could even attempt a more convincing lie, Melanie cut him off with a grin. "Liar, liar, pants on fire."

That childish tone suddenly made him laugh, and without thinking, he reached out, catching her hand in one quick movement as he pulled it towards his crotch...

"Alright then, just check my pants if they are on fire."

Melanie let out a shocked squeal and yanked her hand back as if burned. She glared at him, cheeks flushed, even as a smile tugged at her lips. "Shameless! First you tell me it's a long story, and then you say there's no story! Adam Collins, I can now confidently say you are, in fact, a liar—without needing to check for fire in your pants!"

Adam chuckled, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Fine. It is a long story. Because Saira came into my life back when I was first brought into the Collins mansion at eight years. It's the classic, lost boy meets kind girl type of thing. Let me put it this way- You know how... 'kind' Madam Collins is."

Melanie winced at that. She did know. Anyone Madam Collins disapproved of might as well forget about living a peaceful life—let alone a happy one. Even as she thought this, she felt a tug at her for the poor child that was Adam. Madam Collins had made her life a living hell and she had been older and more stable, but Adam had been a kid.

Adam clenched his hands at the pity in her eyes and continued," Anyway... since grandma had left me with the family, even in that enormous house, I felt lonelier than I'd ever been before. I didn't fit in. Not with the staff. Not with the family. I was just this... strange addition no one knew what to do with."

"The only person who seemed to notice how miserable I was... was the nanny my grandmother had hired. She must've felt sorry for me, because one day, she told her daughter to come play with me. That was Saira."

He paused for a moment, his gaze going distant.

"And just like that, I wasn't invisible anymore. I had a playmate. Someone who didn't look at me like I was some charity case or burden. I was happy... for the first time in a long while."

"We'd sit under the big oak tree in the backyard—talking nonsense, playing silly games, trading stories. She made me feel seen. And that—when you're a kid who feels unwanted—is everything."

"So what happened?" she asked gently.

Adam's smile faded. He leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling as if the words were written there.

"What happened is... we grew up. And sometimes growing up ruins the things you loved as a child. People change. Or maybe they just show you who they really are."

He didn't elaborate. He didn't need to.

"But you still care for her?" Melanie asked.

In this, she was not sure. Even though Adam

"I don't know," he muttered. "Maybe I cared about who she used to be. Or who I thought she was. There's no difference really. Care is care."

Melanie shook her head slowly, her eyes still trained on him, searching, unblinking. "No," she said softly. "I don't think you still care about her. I think it's something else."

That landed like a slap. Adam blinked, stunned by how sure she sounded. Could she know how much... But he had hidden things so carefully.

"What's that supposed to mean?" But before she could explain herself, Adam decided to distract more thoroghly this time,"Why do you think that is, huh? You think I don't care for her anymore because... what did you say earlier?" He turned his head and narrowed his eyes at her, something playfully dangerous in his tone now. "Because I'm like a honeybee? Flitting from flower to flower?"

"Well then, tell me, sweet little Melon, should I have taken some vow of monkhood? But then, I would not have had the chance to seduce you..."

With that, he parked the car slowly and leaned over, catching her lips in a searing kiss.

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