The girl smiled at Melanie, carefully avoiding looking at Adam as she said," It is nice to meet you, Miss Melanie. And thank you for earlier. You saved me some embarrassment. I was just hugging my fiance and then..."
Melanie cut in then. Surprises as she was by the woman's thanks, she was already anticipating her next words. She wanted to claim a relationship with Adam again. She sighed.
She sighed internally. How predictable. This is going to be so boring. She comes, spreads rumors, is taken away and then pretends to be the wronged party.
"Hugging my husband," Melanie said in a voice that was loud and clear enough, ensuring that everyone nearby could hear every word without straining their ears for gossip. They wanted tea? She would upend the entire kettle on them!
Niana blinked, caught off guard.
Adam turned sharply to look at Melanie, his expression unreadable. Robert Collins, who had been standing nearby, also fixed his gaze on her. He had not expected such a swift couter attack.
"Excuse me?" Niana asked, irritation lacing her voice as she looked down on Melanie. Did this woman just... "What did you just say?" She straightened, her eyes narrowing into thin slits. "Miss Melanie, do you not have any manners? I was trying to thank you, and you rudely interrupted me. Really, this is too low class..."
Melanie smiled again and this time her lips stretched so wide that she was certain every single one of her teeth was visible. It was not a friendly smile.
"Oh, I wasn't interrupting you, Miss Niana," she said sweetly. "I was correcting you, lest you make the same mistake and be embarrassed. You were about to address my husband as your fiancé... again. Now that kind of mistake would have been low class... I am sure you have been uprised of the situaton by now..."
And while Niana was still stupefied, Melanie raised a single finger and pointed it directly at Adam, who was still standing there, looking completely stunned.
"This man," she declared, "is mine."
A murmur rippled through the onlookers. This was really going to be the hottest news! It seemed the usually cold faced Miss Melanie was declaring ownership! They could almost feel that they were part of some drama and wondered what the next part of the script had in store? Would they be able to witness the legendary Director Melanie show off her possessiveness.
Melanie held Niana's gaze in challenge as she continued. "So unless you have some kind of proof of this so-called engagement, I'd suggest you stop calling him your fiance. Otherwise, you're the one who would have no class." She took a small step forward, and lowered her voice just enough to be menacing, making Adam's eyes widen as she told the woman, "And one more thing. You can address me as Mrs. Collins."
Niana gaped at her while the others quickly also knew to shut their mouth. It was clearly a warning. If the two people were indeed engaged, then there should be some proof.
While she stepped back and watched Niana being taken away by the older man who gave her a deep look before leaving, Melanie turned her head to look at Adam who was staring at her with a look in his eyes.
She frowned. Why was he looking at her so oddly? She was about to step back when he leaned close to her and drawled, "That was hot, Mrs. Collins." He deliberately stressed the title, making sure she knew he'd heard every single word she'd thrown at Niana.
Melanie shot him a sharp look—one that clearly warned him,' Whatever you're thinking, stop it.'
But Adam? He had no intention of stopping. His grin stretched wider, full of mischief, as he added, "I think I like it, actually. Me belonging to you—it has a nice ring to it. Very... possessive. Reminds me of a dominatrix, you know? All you needed was a whip."
Melanie's mouth fell open. "Are you insane?" she hissed, her face heating at the words. Just now, he was warning her of rumors and now he was the one who was spreading them.
Adam chuckled, looking entirely too pleased with himself. "Oh, come on, wife. You can't just stake a claim like that and expect me to ignore it. I'm a man—my ego needs to be stroked. Alongwith other things in case you are interested."
"Your ego is insufferable," she shot back, straightening her spine. "And I only said that because—"
"Hush now. Don't try to give me some excuses. I understand." He sent her a meaningful look then and continued," Becuase I am your man."
Melanie rolled her eyes at the man beside her and enunciated each word with deliberate clarity. "Forget. I. Said. Those. Words."
Adam gasped theatrically, and even though to any onlooker it would look that he was whispering sweet nothings in her ear, he was actually teasing her- "Oh, please. It's far too late for that. The damage is done. And honestly, I'm regretting not carrying a recorder with me. Can you imagine how glorious it would be to have your declaration of ownership on loop? I could play it every morning for motivation."
Melanie struggled to control her own laughter. He was milking this for what all it's worth. "You are enjoying this way too much."
"Of course I am," Adam admitted without hesitation, a wide grin on his face. Then, with a dramatic sigh, he added, "Actually, I should be furious. No woman has ever dared to lay a claim on me before—not even privately. And yet you? You announced it publicly. For all to hear. Just like that." He clutched his chest again in mock despair. "Tell me, Melanie, how will I ever recover from this? My pristine reputation as someone unattainable is in shambles. Now, I cannot let you shirk this responsibility to me..."
Melanie shook her head. What responsibility. All she'd done was try to curb the rumors by asking for proof. Just like he'd warned her so that her reputation would not be too affected. And now, he was using that move to make fun of her.
gossip in slang language