Page 32 of The Rancher's Second-Choice Wife

Whoever this jerk was, he would pay for not minding his own business.

She turned around and whipped her hand out of the bastard's hold. "You—-"

The rest of Camelia's words died in her throat.

Fuck.

The man standing in front of her was one of the heirs of Russian billionaire Fyodor Grachyov, and it went without saying that Camelia's wealth, even when combined with that of her lover Ignacio, would only amount to a fraction of the Grachyovs' wealth.

"M-Misha, isn't it?"

She was prepared to brazen it out in whatever way she could, but the younger man didn't even look at her. His gaze instead was solely focused on...Valerian's slut.

"Are you alright, Poppy?"

****

VALERIAN WAS ON HIS way to the airport when his phone buzzed.

Heather: I had our I.T. team keep an eye on the Internet for anything related to Poppy. This just popped up.

The link Heather sent took him straight to a short-length video, and Valerian cursed under his breath when he saw Poppy talking to his ex.

What the hell?

His mood turned from furious brooding as the shakily recorded clip showed Camelia attempting to slap Poppy and a man intervening in time. Whoever was taking the video had quickly lowered his or her camera, as if fearing the consequences of revealing the man's identity.

But when Valerian heard his name stammer out a name, it was easy to put one and one together and figure out who it was that had come to Poppy's rescue.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

It felt like the past all over again, but he strove to remind himself that Poppy and Camelia were polar opposites, and so were Misha Grachyov and Camelia's aging lover, whose source of wealth was dubious at best.

So keep your damn cool, Rossfield.

Poppy was all alone as his car cruised up the driveway. No Camelia or Grachyov on sight, but this didn't make him feel any less on edge. A part of him was determined to get Poppy talking right this moment, but when Valerian stepped out of his car, and he saw the way her eyes shone like stars upon seeing him—-

I just want you to know...I believe in you. I know you can do this. I have complete faith in you.

Valerian remembered her words, and he realized two things.

Poppy's smile faded. "Is something wrong?"

How was this girl so fucking attuned to his feelings when they had barely exchanged any words in the eight months they had been in each other's lives?

"Not something," he said tautly. "Rather, there are two things that bother me.”

Concern filled her gaze. “What is it?”

“I'm jealous."

She stared at him blankly. "Over what?"

His gaze bored through hers, and Poppy actually gasped. "M-Me?"

"A clip of Misha Grachyov coming to your rescue has been circulating on the Internet."

"W-What? H-How?"

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