Chapter 147: Stolen Millions

His voice thundered through the house.

Millie had mentioned Naomi’s absence almost immediately he stepped through.

Why hadn’t she come around? Why wasn’t she checking on them?

Richard had questioned Diana and she admitted they had argued.

And then she told him what she had said.

Richard looked ready to explode. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"What was I supposed to do? Her husband hurt you."

"You do realize we need her around to keep ourselves informed," Richard snapped. "I need to know what she has told Dorian and what she hasn’t."

"I told you already, find a way to refund the girl’s money."

That was the wrong thing to say. All the anger Richard had been carrying seemed to break loose at once.

His hand came across her face.

Diana stumbled sideways and fell against the sofa.

"You are so fucking stupid. So ridiculously stupid."

Diana pressed a hand to her cheek.

Richard paced in front of her, still furious, still bruised, still acting as though everyone else in the house was responsible for the mess he had created. "No wonder Ethan is just as stupid. What kind of sixteen-year-old can’t even speak to his peers?" he boomed. "That came from your side of the family."

"Richard..."

"What?!"

Diana wasn’t looking at him anymore.

Richard followed her gaze.

Diana’s eyes had travelled past his shoulder. "He..." Her voice faltered. "He didn’t mean it, baby."

Ethan stood behind them. His face had gone blank in the way it always did when he wanted to disappear.

"What are you doing here?!"

Ethan looked down at the floor instead of meeting his father’s eyes. "Millie left her bag."

Diana pushed herself off the sofa and hurried toward the dining table where Millie’s bag had been left behind. "It’s nothing, love," she said, forcing softness into her voice as she picked up the bag. "Daddy is just anxious."

Ethan nodded.

Diana crossed the room and handed him the bag.

Ethan looked at her. His eyes dropped to her cheek.

Diana smiled at him. "Go on. You’ll be late."

He nodded again, turned around and walked back out.

The front door closed behind him.

Diana stayed facing the doorway for a few seconds. She could still hear Richard behind her.

Still breathing heavily.

Richard stepped closer.

Diana instinctively moved back.

"Now, I do not care how you do it. You will mend things with Naomi or I swear to God, I’m leaving you."

"You’ll leave me?" Diana demanded. "After everything you have done? With two kids?"

"Damned straight. You want to be a fool, be a fool all by yourself." He turned away.

Even angry, he had to move carefully. His ribs were still healing, and every step reminded him of the beating he had taken.

*****

"I cannot believe this!" Tessa said. "I just cannot believe this!"

"You cannot? And I am supposed to believe it?"

Tessa leaned forward, eyes wide. "What the hell? How many followers now?"

"Ten thousand, last I checked."

Tessa slapped a hand over her mouth.

Naomi groaned and dropped her phone onto the table. "This is insane." She had gone viral.

And not in the fun, harmless way where strangers argued over a cooking video and then forgot she existed.

No.

Naomi had somehow gone viral in the business world. Her speech from the night before had spread through blogs, professional pages, event clips and social media accounts she had never heard of.

People had reposted the video of her defending Dorian over and over.

The stylist who had dressed her for the forum had already called. She wanted Naomi to model a few more outfits.

Just showcase them on her page and attend a few things. And she would pay her.

Naomi still hadn’t recovered from that part.

Someone wanted to pay her to wear clothes.

Tessa shook her head slowly. "This is crazy."

"You think?" Naomi snorted. "Dorian’s nickname changed." She picked up her coffee. "To Husband of Service."

"This is the funniest thing that has ever happened to that man."

"He is going to hate it." Naomi tried not to laugh.

The whole thing was overwhelming.

Her phone had been vibrating almost nonstop since she powered it on that morning. Messages, tags, follow requests, calls from people who suddenly seemed very interested in her life.

By the time her shift at the bakery ended, Naomi had felt like her brain was overheating. So she had reached for the one person who would understand the spiral.

Tessa.

Now the two of them sat in a coffee shop, recounting everything that had happened since the night before while Naomi tried to process the fact that one unplanned speech had somehow altered her entire online existence.

"The restaurant are riding the high too." She scrolled rapidly. "They tagged me as their chef in a post."

Tessa frowned. "So?"

"They have never done that." Naomi found the post. "Look at this." She shoved the phone toward Tessa. "See? ’Wife of the Year is our chef?’"

"They should pay you for that," Tessa said, still staring at the restaurant’s post.

Naomi waved the suggestion away. "Naaah..."

"Why not? They’re using your face and your sudden celebrity status to advertise the restaurant."

"Celebrity is doing a lot of heavy lifting there."

"You have ten thousand followers overnight."

"Which could become twelve by tomorrow or three by Friday when everyone finds something else to obsess over."

Tessa gave her a look but let it go. "Have you called Dorian?"

Naomi shook her head. "No. He’s a busy one, and he said he has interviews fixed all morning. I don’t want to bother him."

"Interviews for what?"

"His new assistant."

Tessa nodded, then glanced at Naomi’s phone as another notification appeared. "You need someone to help you manage all these requests for jobs."

There were messages from small businesses, event pages.

"I guess so. But maybe it’s a fleeting thing. We’ll see if it continues over the next few days."

"That’s sensible." Tessa leaned back in her chair. "Still crazy, though. Who knew your accidental marriage would change your life?"