The Billionaire's Rental Wife Is A Hot Shot

[AWE Headquarters]

Avery didn’t have the courage to open the door to the conference room. Even with the frosted glass separating her from the people inside, she could already feel the gates of the afterlife wide open for her. The man inside, her dear cousin would slice off her head the moment he saw her face. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Is the door stuck?" her assistant Bella asked with a frown. Her boss had been gripping the handle for so long that she couldn’t help but wonder if something was wrong.

"I wish it was," Avery replied, laughing awkwardly to release the tension. But when Bella’s frown deepened, questioning if it was her boss’s head that had lost some screws, Avery returned to her previous expression of silent pleading, ’Save me, Lord.’

"Let’s not keep them waiting," Bella pressed gently, nudging Avery forward. She stepped ahead and opened the door, motioning for her boss to enter. Defeated, Avery gave up on her last hope of survival.

"Call an ambulance, just in case," Avery muttered seriously as she walked inside. Bella furrowed her brows again but shrugged it off, assuming her boss was still hungover from last night’s drinking. But she realized the instant they were in, her eyes catching the Yama sitting right beside Evelyn.

"Hi!" Avery greeted the couple with a forced smile and a wave. Neither Zevian nor Evelyn looked particularly pleased, not even Evelyn, whom Avery silently begged for help with desperate eye signals.

"Where is he?" Zevian’s question made Avery flinch. She avoided eye contact, terrified of being scorched by his fiery gaze. Just hearing his dark, frustrated voice was enough to spike her blood pressure. If Ronan didn’t arrive soon, she was certain she’d die in this room, which felt colder than the Himalayas.

"Mr. Igor will be here soon, sir," Bella answered, equally intimidated by Zevian’s expression. It felt as if they had awakened a sleeping devil, one eager to claim their souls. Luckily, they had Avery as a sacrificial lamb, so their own lives were less at risk.

"Why does Elder Igor want to see me?" Evelyn asked her friend, a little frustrated. This sudden meeting had ruined the perfect moment between her and Zevian. Evelyn wouldn’t have bothered rushing over if Avery hadn’t mentioned Ronan’s grandfather. She respected the mafia king too much to ignore him.

"I have no idea," Avery shrugged. When she noticed Zevian’s glare, she squeaked and immediately hid behind Bella.

Ronan had called earlier, requesting a meeting with Evelyn at his grandfather’s insistence. Avery was curious too, hoping to stay alive long enough to hear the reason. But Zevian’s expression grew darker with every passing second, his simmering anger making her doubt that she’d survive.

After a few more excruciatingly long minutes, Ronan finally entered the room, escorted by AWE staff, with his assistant following closely behind. Evelyn observed two more of his men standing guard outside and shook her head with a small smile. His entrance was so dramatic, it felt like he was preparing to declare war.

"What’s *he* doing here?" Ronan asked Avery immediately after sitting opposite the couple. He smiled warmly at Evelyn but shot a glare at Zevian, who returned the intensity without hesitation.

"Oh, we’re doomed," Avery muttered under her breath. The already chilly room seemed to plummet further into sub-zero temperatures as the two men engaged in a silent battle. It felt like she was trapped in a freezer, sandwiched between massive glaciers.

"Are you that free, Mr. Reign? Do you always have to tag along?" Ronan teased, breaking the tense silence.

"Yes. I follow my wife wherever she goes," Zevian replied firmly, causing Evelyn to glance at him in surprise. He made it sound like he was a devoted, henpecked husband, the kind who would never leave his wife’s side. Feeling her gaze, Zevian turned to her with a warm smile, making Evelyn chuckle and shake her head.

Avery sighed in relief as the mood in the room lightened, the tension easing like the sun breaking through after a stormy night. But her hope was short-lived as Ronan’s next statement shattered the fragile peace.

"I don’t think you’ll be able to follow her to my territory for the next few weeks."

Everyone stared at him in confusion. Ronan mocked Zevian, continuing, "Unless the Reign Empire has someone else running things behind the scenes, and you’re just the face of it."

"What do you mean, Mr. Igor?" Evelyn asked, perplexed. Their project was already completed, and she had no reason to visit again unless there were major issues with the buildings.

Ronan smiled at her. "You promised to renovate my grandfather’s old mansion, Grace. Did you forget already?"

"Oh, right!" Avery chimed in, recalling the deal. During their last visit to Montedoro, the Igor family’s mafia territory and one of the darkest cities in Italy—Elder Igor had asked Evelyn to personally renovate his old mansion. They had been so swamped with work and anniversary celebrations that the promise had slipped off their minds.

Ronan’s phone rang, interrupting their thoughts. "Speak of the devil," he smirked, answering the call and putting it on speaker.

Everyone heard an angry voice on the other end speaking in Italian. Though it was weak, there was a palpable darkness behind the words that none of them could ignore. Ronan responded while casting a glance at Evelyn before switching to FaceTime.

"He wants to talk to you," Ronan said, handing the phone to Evelyn, who accepted it with a tight smile.

"Gracie, my darling!" Benjamin’s face lit up when he saw Evelyn. He waved happily, his demeanor more like a doting grandfather than a mafia boss, which only irritated Zevian further. Why was this family acting so close to Evelyn? Their relationship should have remained strictly professional.

"No, no!" Benjamin shook his head adamantly when Evelyn tried to reason with him. "You’re coming with that idiot tomorrow. End of discussion."

Zevian gritted his teeth, his fist clenching tightly on the table. Leaning closer to Evelyn, he glared at the old man and declared, "No, she won’t!"

He wasn’t about to let her go away for two long weeks, especially not with this annoying mobster!