He Wants An Open Marriage? Done!

Pamela looked across the table at Roxanne, her throat tightening as she swallowed hard. Then, her eyes darted back to her parents, wide with a desperate plea.

"I did not hand that video to Christian. I swear it."

"You didn’t hand it to him. Fine," Richard said, his tone calm and measured, but it somehow felt more dangerous than a shout. "Did you record it?"

Pamela shook her head frantically, her hands trembling violently against the dark wood of the table. "I had absolutely nothing to do with the footage, Richard. I promise you, on my life, I didn’t," she pleaded, her voice ringing with a terrifying certainty.

"Then why were you on the phone with him, Pamela?" Roxanne asked, her brow furrowing deeply as she tried to bridge the massive gap between Pamela’s panic and her persistent denials.

Pamela looked at her, then immediately dropped her gaze to the tabletop, her lips sealed tight.

Henry frowned, a shadow of genuine concern crossing his face as he leaned forward. "Pamela?" he called gently. "Your silence is making this look incredibly bad."

At his words, Pamela completely broke down. A sharp sob ripped from her throat, and she buried her face in her napkin, her shoulders shaking. She looked up at her father, shaking her head as if the truth she was hiding was a physical burden she couldn’t carry.

A loud, mocking scoff cut through her tears from across the room. "Typical. She obviously did it, and now she’s trying to cry her way out of accountability."

"Pathetic," another investor murmured, checking his watch. "I’m completely disappointed by this performance."

Pamela’s head snapped toward the voices, her jaw instantly stiffening. She swiped her thumb across her phone screen, her fingers flying over the glass. "I will prove I’m innocent," she cried, the sharp, rhythmic tones of a dialed call suddenly echoing through the room’s speaker. "I’m calling Christian right now. He will tell you all the truth. He will tell you I had nothing to do with that video."

No one spoke. Every eye at the long mahogany table locked onto the flashing screen, waiting for the connection. The line rang three times. Four times. Five. Then, it went straight to voicemail.

Pamela aggressively tapped the screen, redialing. Again, it rang out into emptiness.

Nicholas let out a sharp, impatient breath, shaking his head. "Stop stalling, Pamela. Just admit what you did and save us the display."

Pamela sniffled, a fresh wave of tears spilling down her pale cheeks as she ignored her brother, desperately pressing the redial button over and over. "Why won’t you just answer the damn phone?" she whispered to herself, her voice cracking.

"Enough of this nonsense!" Margaret barked, her patience entirely evaporated. "Tell us the truth this instant!"

"I already admitted that I called him!" Pamela shouted back, the veins in her throat bulging with the force of her panic. "But it wasn’t for the reason any of you are thinking!"

"Then what on earth is the reason, damn it!" Margaret spat, leaning over the table, her face twisted with a sudden, ugly suspicion. "Or are you sleeping with him? Is that it? Is my daughter sleeping with that loser?"

"Don’t say something like that, Maggie," Henry intervened softly, placing a steadying hand over his wife’s trembling fingers. "Let her speak, please."

"Exactly, Mother," Nicholas added, rolling his eyes. "Pamela has her flaws, but she would never dare stoop that low. Sleeping with an absolute zero like that fool? There’s no way on earth."

Roxanne stared at Pamela, her brow knitting tighter. A sudden, disturbing prickle of familiarity washed over her. Something about Pamela was familiar. She had seen her somewhere before the welcome dinner.

No. That’s impossible. You’re overthinking, Roxanne, she told herself, forcing the thought down. You’re just projecting.

"Why don’t you all let her finish a sentence and stop throwing around baseless accusations?" Richard’s calm voice anchored the room once more. He looked directly at his sister, his expression softening just a fraction. "Tell us what it is, Pam. I know you didn’t do what Mother is suggesting. Just tell us the reason, and clear your name."

Pamela swallowed hard, her lips pressing into a thin line as she stared unblinking at the table, refusing to meet her brother’s eyes.

A heavy wave of whispers broke out among the board members. Brows lifted, and eyes narrowed with sudden interest.

Pamela’s chest heaved, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps as she avoided Roxanne’s direction at all costs. She parted her lips to speak, but before a sound could escape, her phone suddenly vibrated violently against the wood, the screen lighting up with Christian’s name.

She snatched the device up, swiped the screen, and jammed it to her ear. "Hello? Christian?"

Listening to his response, she quickly tapped the speaker button and put the phone back onto the table. "Christian, you need to come down to the Villa immediately. You need to tell everyone in this room right now that I had absolutely nothing to do with the scandal or the video you leaked! If you don’t come, they’ll blame everything on me."

Christian laughed. "That’s not my problem."

Pamela swallowed, looking nervously at Richard. "Richard is about to find out everything."

The line went completely dead for a few agonizing seconds, the faint sound of traffic audible through the speaker. Finally, Christian’s voice cut through, sharp and calculating. "Is Roxanne there?"

Pamela’s eyes flew to Roxanne, swallowing hard. Roxanne’s heart stopped, and she gave a small, desperate shake of her head, silently pleading with her to lie. But Pamela couldn’t hold her gaze, her eyes dropping as she gave a slight nod to the phone.

"Yes. She’s here."

"Don’t move. I’m coming," Christian stated flatly, and the line instantly disconnected with a sharp beep.

"Tell that lunatic not to show his face on this property!" Margaret screamed, glaring at her daughter. "Call him back and cancel it right now!"

Roxanne kept her eyes fixed on Pamela, a numb disbelief settling deep into her bones.

Richard turned his head to look at Roxanne, his hand shifting under the table to give her knee a firm, reassuring squeeze. "There’s no need to worry. We will handle him together."

Roxanne managed a tight nod, drawing strength from his touch.

Then, Richard shifted his gaze back to his sister, his dark eyes demanding an answer. "Why were you silent when Mother asked you that question, Pam? Did you really have some sort of involvement with him?"

Pamela looked at Richard, her throat bobbing as she swallowed the last of her tears.

"Answer your brother!" Margaret snapped.

"Yes!" Pamela shouted, her voice echoing off the high ceiling as she threw her hands up in defeat. "I had something to do with him! Are you happy now?"

The boardroom plunged into an absolute, suffocating silence.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!