Devilish secretary - Chapter 269

Chapter 269: Chapter 269 Jealousy
Ethan sat at the table, his food untouched, his mind clearly elsewhere. Though everyone else had settled into awkward silence, he couldn’t stop glancing at Tara, who sat just two chairs away from him—smiling, speaking softly to Ava and Nova, even laughing lightly when Sir Sparkleton fumbled his words again.

But not once did she look at him after his brother wakeup.

And now, it was getting to him.

He tapped his finger against the table, his posture restless, his thoughts storming.

Why was she ignoring him? She was only supposed to be upset in the beginning..hadn’t he brought her here to protect her? So why was she treating him like he didn’t exist?

He felt strangely invisible.

Meanwhile, the rest of the table was dipped in quiet tension.

Ava had long given up trying to lighten the mood. Nova was sipping soup like it was tea at a funeral and Rose ever sensitive to emotion kept looking between Lilith and Gray with subtle concern.

But no one, absolutely no one, dared to address Lilith.

She sat still, poised, her expression unreadable. Not smiling, not scowling. Just… calm.

Too calm.

And it was this very calmness that made them nervous.

Because Lilith was always more predictable when she smirked. Or teased. Or raised a perfectly arched brow and gave them hell. That was their Lilith.

But this Lilith?

Expressionless.

Still.

Eyes cold as obsidian glass.

Her energy had shifted. She wasn’t angry but she wasn’t alright either. And though no one said it aloud, they all felt it:

she was dangerous when quiet.

“Did you eat properly?” she murmured to the furball, tilting her head sweetly as if she was speaking to a baby. “Hmm? Still hungry?”

The cat meowed, stretching lazily and nuzzling into her palm.

Gray clenched his jaw.

He hadn’t even heard her speak that softly to him lately.

And if that wasn’t enough, Sir Sparkleton who was now practically sulking on his seat muttering in his glitchy robotic voice, “Data shows excessive pampering reduces independence. Cats are high-maintenance freeloaders with manipulative purring skills. Not that I care.”

Lilith glanced down at him, completely unimpressed. “You’re just mad he’s softer than you.”

“I am extremely soft on the inside,” Sparkleton snapped, glowing red. “I even have an empathy chip! Yours is probably just… malfunctioning!”

Gray didn’t say a word. But his hand gripped the table’s edge.

That stupid cat was curled up in her lap like it was born there, purring like a machine of war and she was feeding it grilled fish off her own plate. With her fingers.

Her fingers.

Gray’s eyes darkened.

She used to feed him with those same fingers when she felt playful. She used to sit closer, lean into him when she whispered things. He still remembered the feel of her lips against his jaw, the scent of her perfume on his shirt.

Now?

She hadn’t even looked at him since dinner started.

All her warmth, all her softness, was going to a furball with whiskers and no emotional awareness whatsoever.

And worse?

That smug cat looked up at Gray with a slow blink.

Like it knew.

Lilith chuckled softly as the cat tapped her wrist with its paw.

Gray’s chest ached.

He couldn’t decide if he wanted to rip the cat away from her arms… or just grab her face and kiss her until she remembered exactly who she used to look at like that.

Either way, something had to change.

Because Gray was not about to lose to a purring, spoiled fuzzball with perfect timing.

•••••

Gray walked down the hallway with silent, calculated steps, his eyes darting around like a man about to commit treason. When he reached her door, he didn’t even knock. He turned the knob with slow, careful fingers and slipped inside her room like a shadow.

And there it was.

The enemy.

Lying on her bed like a smug little prince was that cat…its fur fluffed, tail curled, paws tucked neatly as if it owned the entire mansion.

Gray stared at it for three seconds.

Three long, burning seconds.

This furball… this four-legged devil… was stealing everything that belonged to him.

Her attention.

Her warmth.

Her fingers.

Her bed.

His jaw tightened as he walked toward it. The cat looked up at him lazily, blinked once then let out the tiniest meow, as if mocking him.

“I’ve had enough,” Gray muttered under his breath.

He leaned down, scooped up the fluffy creature with both hands…none too gently and turned toward the door with determined steps.

He’d relocate it. To another wing. Another planet, if possible.

But just as he reached the door—

“What are you doing?”

The voice came behind him like velvet dipped in fire.

He froze.

That voice.

That woman.

He turned his head, slowly like a guilty man caught by the goddess he worshipped and there she stood.

Draped in a dark silk robe that hugged her curves like second skin, her long black hair dripping with water, glistening strands clinging to her face and neck. She was rubbing her hair with a small towel, unaware or very aware of just how dangerous she looked right now.

Her skin glowed from the steam, her blue eyes shining with curiosity and a hint of warning, and her full lips, flushed and still damp, were parted in the softest expression of amusement.

Gray forgot how to breathe.

Her gaze dropped to the cat in his hands. Then slowly slid up his arms… chest… to his face.

She took a slow step forward, voice lower now. “Human doll… are you kidnapping my cat?”

Suddenly, he felt happy—she hadn’t called him ‘Gray’ this time, but ‘Human Doll’ again, which meant she had calmed down too.

“I—” he straightened his back, trying to regain control. “It was on your pillow. I thought it would be better if—”

She kept walking toward him.

Each step… deliberate. Soft. Dangerous.

“Human doll… are you… jealous?”

Her tone was teasing now. Her eyes sparkled, and her smile was wicked.

He rolled his shoulders. “Why would I be jealous of a… fur-covered… flea magnet?”

The cat let out a slow, offended “meow.”

Lilith stopped right in front of him, her damp hair framing her glowing face. She took the cat from his hands and cradled it close to her chest.

“Because I fed him before you.”

He clenched his jaw. “I don’t need to be fed like a—”

“Because I touched him all time.”

“…It’s a cat.”

She smiled sweetly. “Because I gave him kisses.”

Gray’s hands twitched.