Billionaire, Let's Divorce (Mark and Sydney)

Sydney's POV

"So," he raised his brows, "How're things so far?"

I shrugged and took my time to respond. "Nothing much."

He suddenly wiped off his smile with a frown,, "What do you mean nothing much? Come on, give me an appropriate report on what things he has been up to since the last time we spoke. Who did he meet with? What did he eat?..."

He went on and on, listing and counting down things he wanted to hear with his fingers.

"Something like that, you know that," then he squinted his eyes, "wait, why are you stalling?"

I shrugged again "I'm not stalling. There's just really nothing much to report." Part of me felt a bit of guilt for playing dumb, but I pushed it aside. This was too important - I couldn't risk blowing my cover over a minor deception.

"Even if he shits, Sydney, you have to tell me," he gritted out, his jaw tensing with impatience.

"Alright then, he did shit this week," I said lightly.

I couldn't resist a little joke to defuse the growing tension between us.

I held back my giggle at my own response but it quickly died down when I saw his narrowed eyes and thunderous expression. Ah, so he wasn't in a humorous mood today. I made a mental note not to push any further jokes.

I folded my lips tightly and apologized in a tiny, contrite voice, "Sorry." I pouted when he wouldn't stop glaring at me, running my hand along his arm. "Come on, I was just trying to make you laugh. You've been frowning since you got here."

He sighed heavily. "I would not be frowning if you'd just tell me about his movements. That's the only thing that I can hear about and will make me smile."

I sighed as well, realizing I needed to get down to business and give him the information he was hungry for. Painting him a picture of Tavon's daily life and routines was the only way to earn back his favor and trust.

I began recounting everything I knew Tavon had been up to lately.

"He came to visit and I brought him to the garden terrace. Scarlet was busy making sure that no one could interrupt us and ended up unintentionally eavesdropping on our conversation while Bella was working on...keeping Tavon in his room." I cringed inwardly. I didn't want to dwell on what exactly "keeping him in his room" might have meant from poor Bella.

"He has also rarely gone out," I continued, laying out the details meticulously. "He's just basically been frolicking around with Jessica in the mansion without any shame or regard for me. However..."

My heart skipped a beat as his eyes sharpened and his whole demeanor tensed,m. Clearly that "however" had piqued his interest in a major way.

I bit my lip, "He takes time out every day to meet with Axel," I finally rushed out.

Dylan immediately became alert. "Apart from Axel, who else has he been seeing?"

I pretended to furrow my brow as if racking my brain. Then I said slowly, "I remember that there's another middle-aged man. I can tell he is about the same age group as Tavon."

Dylan leaned in closer and I mirrored his movement, playing up an air of conspiratorial secrecy between us.

"Whenever he's here, the staff call him..." I trailed off, furrowing my brow further and biting my lower lip in an exaggerated pantomime of struggling to remember. "I can't really recall what they call him...ah, the military adviser!" I blurted out with fake excitement.

"Yes, they call him the military adviser. Each time he comes, Tavon meets with him in the conference room for several hours every day, often with Axel and some other unknown faces involved."

"Other faces?" Dylan's eyebrows drew down in a severe angle of anger and intense concentration.

"And you cannot recognize any of these other faces?"

I shook my head sadly and played up my disappointment.

"Unfortunately not. I've tried but they're too unfamiliar."

He narrowed his eyes further at me, clearly displeased by this lack of key details.

"Yet you think all of this activity and strange meetings aren't important enough to report promptly, huh?"

I sighed heavily and let my shoulders droop as I wrapped my arms around myself in a vulnerable posture.

"I didn't want you to get too worried just yet," I said in a small voice. "I mean, it might as well be nothing serious, just them having fun or mundane business discussions."

"It could be anything," he sneered dismissively. "It could be something much bigger, so tell me every single piece of information and everything you see and hear, no matter how insignificant it may seem."

I flinched back slightly at the harsh edge in his voice, then slowly nodded in acquiescence.

"Of course, you're right. I'll be sure to report everything moving forward, no matter how trivial."

I frowned, as if just remembering another puzzling detail.

"Actually, why haven't I seen you come to visit Godfather these days? You know how important maintaining family ties and loyalty is in this business. You do understand that, right Dylan?"

He didn't respond immediately. He was processing the implications of what I'd just told him. I could see the calculations and contingencies flickering behind his eyes.

After a pause, I decided to nudge him further, keeping my tone purposefully casual and gentle.

"Besides," I moved closer until my body was almost brushing against his, trailing my fingers lightly across his chest before resting them on his shoulders.