One Night Stand With My Husband’s Brother

The cab stopped Mackenzie in front of Chase Axford’s penthouse. She paid her fare and got down from the vehicle. Mackenzie stood in front of the over ten feet building made up of more glass than bricks, and closed her eyes to suck in a deep breath.

She was finally here, yet, she did not know how to feel about it. She would be meeting him, Chase, in only a matter of minutes.

What would she say to him?

She walked past his fleet of cars, taking note of his Cardillac and Lamborghini that stood with pride, mounted next to the Tesla she knew too well.

How would she look into his eyes and tell him the truth without getting lost in his piercing orbs?

An open door led to a long corridor, while an elevator door stood at the distal end of the hexagonal shaped room. Mackenzie did not need a soothsayer to tell her he lived here alone.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

The house felt bare, lonely. Not even the exquisite art sculptures stationed at every end of the room could bring life to the bare white walls.

Mackenzie heaved a sigh and made her way to the elevator. She shook her head, and shook it hard, as the elevator doors closed in front of her.

A pang of guilt clawed at her chest.

He wasn’t supposed to be alone, not when he had twin children as adorable, pure, and loving as Cameron and Calista.

The elevator doors opened up and ushered her into another white room. This time, there were black luxury couches, about six, centered around a glass table shaped like the number eight. On top of the table was an empty vase.

Mackenzie caught her thoughts wandering about, and reminded herself why she was here. She was on a mission to get Chase to the office, nothing more, nothing less.

However, she could not deny – after seeing all the sculptures in the room – that she had known very little about Chase.

She had certainly not known he was a lover of sculptures, or art in general.

Or even glass.

As Mackenzie walked to the metal door that led to the rest of the house, she tried to suck in deep breaths, to keep her mind and heart at ease. But the more she thought about the fact that he was somewhere behind those doors, in all his powerful and sensual glory, the more she was unnerved.

There had been no opportunity to come here before, even when she was married to Jeffery, she was never allowed to visit this house. Even when his wife had her fancy birthday parties, Eleanor never allowed her mix with the elites. A “poor country girl” she always called her.

A frown stole Mackenzie’s face when she stood in front of the door. She turned to find the number keys, the key to unlock the door, but she did not know the passcode.

She picked out her phone and dialed Nora’s number quickly.

“Hello?”

“Nora, hi. Uhmm, I’m at Chase’s house now, and I just wanted to ask if you know the passcode into the house.”

“Oh. That never changes. It’s the twelfth of this month.”

“Thanks a lot.” Mackenzie ended the call immediately, and slipped her phone into her handbag. She walked to the keypad and stretched her right hand to press the first number, the doors parted open on their own accord.

Mackenzie froze on the spot.

She could neither move her hand forward, nor draw it backwards.

She was not ready to see him yet. She had not even gotten the chance to mentally prepare for…

“Holy heavens. I was really hoping I was wrong, and it wasn’t you I saw crawling past the doors.”

Mackenzie’s jaw hardened at the sound of the high pitched voice.

While her nostrils twitched, she pulled her hand back to her side.

That wasn’t Chase, it wasn’t even a man.

It was a woman she knew far too well not to know what she was out here for.

As Mackenzie tilted her neck and her stance to look at the woman, she found it impossible to hold her frown back.

Selene and trouble were synonymous.

Clad in a black bodycon dress, Selene stood several inches above Mackenzie, even in low heel Channel sandals.

The sight of Mackenzie only made her stomach turn. How much more disgusting could one woman possibly get?

She took three steps closer to Mackenzie, eyeing her from the crown of her head to the sole of her feet, like she was nothing, because that was exactly what she was.

“How dare you, Mackenzie? The nerve of you to drag your worthless self to this place. Don’t you know where people like you are supposed to be?” When Mackenzie moved her gaze to the door behind them, Selene shifted her body to cover her view.

All Mackenzie could see was the tall image of perfection standing in front of her, daring to remind her of all the million things she lacked.

Selene’s designer perfume was starting to choke her.

Selene shrugged her shoulders and folded her arms underneath her chest.

“I always knew you were a desperate little rat, but I just never thought you would be this desperate, Mackenzie. Just because you were once married into this family by an adopted son, doesn’t give you a place here. Come to think of it,”

Every sentence, every word that came out of Selene’s mouth only pushed Mackenzie further down the edge of the cliff. She was trying so hard to hold on, but the woman was pushing her real hard.

“Even he came to his senses and saw you for what you truly are.” Selene continued. Mackenzie was slowly losing her mind, she could see it.

A sinister smile crept up to her cheeks.

She was loving every bit of it.

She dared to reach for the curly tip of Mackenzie’s hair, and started to twirl the silk strands around her index finger.

“Remember your place, Mackenzie,” Selene leaned into her right ear.

“Or I’ll ruin your life.”

Leaving her a final note of warning, Selene eased her fingers off Mackenzie’s hair, and turned her back to her after flashing her a smile.

She was done with the woman, and Mackenzie would never dare show her face around here again.

Or so she thought.

“You know, Selene? I know my place, and that is why I would never show my face in my ex-husband’s house. Especially not after a divorce as…embarrassing as yours.”

The second sentence stemmed out of Mackenzie’s stomach with all the venom she could muster.

The mannequin had to get a taste of her own medicine.

Selene paused in her tracks, frowning. She had not expected Mackenzie to have the nerve to talk back to her, but now that she did…

Her frown quickly dissolved into a smile.

This was going to be so much fun.

She cackled, before turning sharply in the direction of Mackenzie’s voice.

“What? Did I hear you just say, embarrassing?” She tilted her right hip to the side and threw her hands in the air as she laughed heartily.

Mackenzie seethed.

What was so funny to her?

“You know, I really don’t know what could be as embarrassing as not knowing the different between a prenuptial agreement and a normal agreement. You were taken for a fool and left with nothing. I mean, it’s not like you deserved any more than that, but still…” She dropped her gaze on Mackenzie, and her smile disappeared at once, like it was never there.

“Get your ass out of here, Mackenzie. You really don’t want me to deal with you.” She started to take slow steps towards her, but Mackenzie stood her ground.

“You are nothing, and that’s all you would ever be. Speaking to you is a waste of my time, and my God, an insult to my being.”

“Oh really?” Mackenzie arched her left brow. It was her turn to grin.

“Don’t speak to me then, and be on your way. And you talk about being desperate? That’s rich.” Mackenzie chuckled, a mocking one, earning her a glare from Selene.

Game on, bitch.

She folded her arms and looked Selene over, just the same way the woman had dared to look at her.

“Last I checked, I wasn’t the one Chase Axford had to get a restraining order against. What more do you want from him, after cheating?”

The shame that flashed in Selene’s orbs told Mackenzie she had hit a nerve, a very important one. And that was a solid win. But she was not done yet, in fact, she had barely scratched the surface.

Soon, the shame disappeared, and Selene threw her head back, forcing herself to laugh.

“Like I was the only one who cheated.” She stopped laughing, and wiped her fake tears of laughter with her manicured pinky finger. She stared down at Mackenzie when she was done. She was smiling, but her smile was more of a warning than anything else.

“I have said it before, and I hope – for your sake – that I do not say it again. Stay away from Chase, Mackenzie. And go continue acting like a mother hen to your little twin chicks.”