Betrayed By Husband, Stolen By Brother In Law-Chapter 68: Set Up House

"Don't you have to go to work?" Melanie asked, pausing in front of the door as she stopped. Her sharp gaze flicked to Adam, who was sprawled across the couch as if he had no care in the world. He probably didn't. One arm was lazily draped over the backrest, while the other dug into a bowl of popcorn. She almost groaned at the sight.

In the five days they had lived together, Melanie had learned two very important things about Adam.

One—he was a neat freak. Despite his current lounging, looking every bit like he would never move from that spot and be stuck to it, he had a habit of cleaning up after himself and after her. She had caught him wiping down the kitchen counters three times in one evening, and heaven forbid she left a glass in the sink for later—he'd washed, dried, and put it away before she even realized.

She had to admit, it was a relief. She had no interest in sharing a space with a slob. But it was interesting at the same time because it totally warred with his bad boy image.

Second, the man liked to eat. She had no idea how he got those yummy defined abs because the way he liked to munch, he should have been as large as a house by now.

Finally, their 'honeymoon' had come to an end and now it was time to return to work. And since Melanie had to resign from her post as acting chairwoman of ABC industries, today would mark her first day as manager of LuxeArt. And she was excited. It had been so many years since she had worked the floor.

She smiled as she thought back to the time when she spent all her days there before grandma had to sell it..Shaking her head out of excitement, she glanced at Adam again and realized that he had yet to move or get ready to go to the office.

"Are you not going to the office?" she repeated, this time with an arched brow.

Adam lazily popped another piece of popcorn into his mouth, chewing with exaggerated slowness as if savoring every last kernel. He stretched out his legs, completely unbothered.

"Nope," he finally answered.

Melanie waited for further explanation, but he didn't seem inclined to give one. After a few beats of silence, she let out a sigh.

"Adam," she said, voice firm, "you do realize you hold an active director's position at ABC Industries, right?"

"Yeah, about that..." He finally sat up, stretching like a cat before turning to her with a smug grin. "I've decided to be a househusband instead."

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," he said, tossing a piece of popcorn into the air and catching it effortlessly in his mouth. "According to my dear grandmother's will, if you and I are married, I can't interfere in the day-to-day running of the company. So, my corporate career is over before it even began. I'm back to being a trust fund baby... minus the actual trust fund. Therefore, I've decided I'll be a supportive and dedicated househusband."

Melanie folded her arms, unimpressed. "So, your grand solution is to just... freeload off me?"

"Freeload?" Adam tsked, placing a hand over his heart as if wounded. "Melon, sweetheart, you cut me deep. I prefer to call it providing moral and emotional support from the comfort of our home. Picture it—you come home after a long, exhausting day, and there's hot food waiting on the table. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Melanie squinted at him. "You cook?"

"Of course not, Melon." He scoffed as if the very idea was ridiculous. "But I'll order takeout right before you get home so it's fresh. It'll be just like a home-cooked meal! Well, close enough."

Melanie opened her mouth to argue, but he wasn't done.

"And I can do laundry!" he added quickly, as if that would seal the deal. "I'll personally wash your clothes. I can even hand-wash your delicate things you know..."

"You!" Melanie pointed a warning finger at him with narrowed eyes. "Stay away from my clothes!"

Hurriedly, she marched out of the house, determined to leave before he did something else to get under her skin. She had thought she'd learned only two things about him—but she stood corrected. There was a third, and it was by far the most important.

Adam's sole purpose in life was to irritate her.

What she didn't know was that the moment she left, the lazy, indifferent look vanished from his face. In one swift motion, he pushed himself up, the sluggishness melting away as he quickly cleaned up after himself before moving to the empty first floor, where he'd set up his own private office.

Once there, he quickly made a phone call and soon, Maximilan appeared on the screen.

"They took the bait," Maximilian reported without preamble. "ABC Group has indeed made overtures, expressing interest in renewing the contract. However, we made it explicitly clear that unless Melanie Collins personally liaises with us, there will be no renewal."

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Adam nodded, as if he had expected nothing less. "Good. Now make sure that when they do give in, it's on our terms. No compromises."

Maximilian exhaled, adjusting his glasses. "That won't be difficult. They're under pressure, and they know they need us. But..." He hesitated before continuing, "Aren't you going a bit too far? If you go through with this, and the company needs urgent cash flow, they'll be strapped. This could put them in a difficult position which would ultimately be a loss to you... And why are you forcing the Melanie issue? Are you trying to get back your wife in there?"

Adam gave a small smile and shook his head. He had no plans of getting Melanie back into ABC Industries. It would be foolish of him. Melanie was just a cover to keep Spencer distracted... from his original intention. He had no plans to wait three years to get what he wanted. He'd just take it from Spencer like Spencer used to take everything from him...

Hadn't he already started by taking Melanie?