She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 623

Although it looked like a trinket meant for teenagers, it was undeniably a matching couple's set with the keychain Melanie kept on her handbag.

Preston's grip on the steering wheel tightened until his knuckles turned white, the veins popping starkly against his skin.

The car accelerated again. Melanie was completely oblivious to his shift in mood.

She was exhausted from the trip, yawning repeatedly throughout the drive.

While Everett was in the car, she had forced herself to stay alert, but now that it was just Preston driving, she completely relaxed and quickly dozed off.

When she woke up, she was still in the car. The lighting was dim, surrounded by concrete walls.

For a split second, Melanie felt disoriented, half-convinced she had been locked in some creepy dungeon.

She was, in fact, underground.

In a parking garage.

"How long was I out? You really could have just woken me up."

Melanie rubbed her sleepy eyes and turned to look at Preston in the driver's seat.

He didn't look back.

In profile, he looked exactly as he always did—like a masterpiece carved by a master sculptor.

Flawless.

And utterly ice-cold.

Instinctively, Melanie frowned.

She finally realized something was very wrong.

Normally, Preston would never ignore her, let alone refuse to even glance in her direction.

"Preston?"

Before the word fully left her lips, she noticed her plush bunny keychain was clutched tightly in his hand.

Melanie's eyes darted to her bag.

The strap was indeed missing its charm.

"Um... is that my keychain?"

As if only just registering her voice, Preston finally turned his head.

The moment their eyes met, Melanie's breath hitched.

The atmosphere inside the car had already been inexplicably heavy.

But the look Preston was giving her now completely shattered her understanding.

Preston wasn't an easy man to read.

Most of the time, looking into his eyes offered absolutely zero clues as to what he was thinking.

The only emotion that was ever blatantly obvious was his love for her.

"Melanie..."

She froze, stunned by the interruption.

What did he just call her?

Melanie?

If she recalled correctly, ever since they had officially become a couple, he had never used her actual name.

It was always Babe, Sweetheart, or Honey.

The car plunged into a deathly silence.

He stared at her unblinkingly, his eyes swimming with an agonizingly restrained pain.

"Is it... really that hard for you to be with me?"

Huh?

Melanie's eyes widened in utter confusion.

It was brutally obvious he was dead serious. Neither his expression nor his tone held a shred of sarcasm.

"If... there's someone else you have feelings for... I want you to tell me straight."

Melanie could hear the absolute agony and the violent, jaw-clenching jealousy in his voice when he said the words 'someone else'.