Mr billionaire's regret chasing his irresistible wife by Gabby Emmanuel

(SOFIA'S POV)

The air in the room was charged with raw tension, alive and electric. Jared was still standing by the door with his new girlfriend - my replacement, perched on his arm.

She didn't even have the decency to stand by herself, leaning on Jared the whole time like a silly highschool teenager out with her crush.

I rolled my eyes and looked away. I wanted to be anywhere but in the same room with Jared and Arielle.

It all felt insanely awkward, like walking around the house with no clothes on.

Jared himself looked uneasy at the sight of Arielle in the house but he did well to mask it up almost immediately. He took his arm off the lady and prodded her forward before shutting the door behind them.

He stepped into the house and nodded to his mother. "Good afternoon, mum."

Then he looked at Arielle and Ashley, and said a polite, "Good afternoon."

Arielle nodded coolly before Ashley followed suit. I could sense the malice rippling off of her, like a wild hunger to cause Jared some harm.

He didn't say anything to me and I didn't mind. I looked away, content to enjoy my own company and ruminate over my own thoughts.

Arielle's gaze locked on mine as Jared walked past and moved ahead to the stairway. But I looked away, careful to hide the effect Jared's presence was having on me.

Mrs. Smith must have noticed the tension in the room but her face remained straight and unmoved, almost drained of any emotion as she rose from her seat.

"I'll be down in a minute," she said and walked off in the direction of the stairs. We remained silent in her absence, our foods untouched on the table before us. Mrs. Smith returned shortly after with Jared and the new lady in tow.

"Please take your seats," she said to the newcomers with a very thin smile. The chef immediately reappeared at the table and set out a pair of plates to cater for Jared and his girlfriend.

"Shall we begin our lunch then," Mrs. Smith announced and picked up her cutlery.

The rest of us followed suit, doing our best to pretend that the air wasn't reeking with suffocating awkwardness.

"Alright everyone. So this here, is Tiana," Mrs. Smith pointed to the new lady.

at the announcement even though I'd expected it and seen it coming. It didn't take away the fact

Tiana Langley," Mrs. Smith

looked at Tiana through new

The

he just like my son, share a very unhealthy

mum. Where's it written that it's wrong?"

perspective and dropped her cutlery down on

rather run another company out of business because you're so blinded by greed and can't tell the difference between ambition and wickedness, huh? It's why you want to run my

type one made

business. Nothing personal," he said

"Unbelievable!" Ashley sighed.

sat with her arms folded, occasionally picking a piece of

much from what she used to look like

known each other as girls.

used to get a lot of my, princess dresses

them, but because they were too expensive designers and my parents would rather give them out than have them go to waste at home. Because we were almost the same body size, we got mistaken for twins and dressed

half a decade older. She'd

us for the first time would believe we were complete strangers to each other. So far, she hadn't shown any form of recognition for me before

a sip of water from the glass sitting before me on the table not because I was thirsty, but because I wanted to keep myself busy realized my hands were shaking terribly for no reason I

on the

with Arielle playing mediator and trying to calm her

people," Mrs. Smith intervened eventually. She rolled her eyes and rubbed the ridge

myself.. by myself," Tiana finally spoke up. The entire table

attention because her lips stretched out

that was anything but friendly. Ashley and Arielle turned to look at me quizzically. "Hello," I nodded in response, my eyes never leaving Tiana. She'd not changed at all. Even her singsong voice had remained

Tiana Langley as

And I used

when we were

I know it's hard for her because I've always known Jared to be her knight in shining armor... you know, like her

my family. I didn't