Caroline’s POV:Questions swirled in my mind as the nervousness in my veins mounted. What if it was indeed William who had hurt my father? What could I even do in that case? No matter the outcome, I knew I needed answers or I would never rest.My immediate instinct was to call William as soon as possible, but each call was spitefully ignored. As a CEO, he could have been busy with vital work, but the lack of answers infuriated me. Waiting wasn’t an option while my father lay broken in the hospital.I needed answers, but I was going to have to get them in person. With a fire in my heart, I drove down to the villa we once shared to find him, and I wasn’t going to leave until I received an explanation.I pounded on the door, expecting to see William or at least the housekeeper on the other end. Instead, I was met with the flawless features of Sophia. Since when had she moved in? She had been absent the last few times I was taken to the villa. Did she even know that her boyfriend’s ex-wif
Caroline’s POV:I was in disbelief at the cruelty of Sophia’s words. I was always willing to give Sophia the benefit of the doubt, but I now knew that she was nothing but a nasty, hurtful woman. I didn’t understand how William — or anyone for that matter — could fall in love with a woman like that. “You ruined my family, and now you own William,” I whispered, trapped in a toxic mix between despair and anger. “Did you really need to destroy my garden? Are you really that spiteful?”Sophia turned her head with a disgusted scoff. “It smelled disgusting,” she replied, rocking her baby back and forth in stilted jerks. “It smelled like a dead animal.” She shot me a devious look. “But I’m sure you know what I mean, right?”My jaw dropped in disbelief and I could only sputter out a tragic response. “What? You knew my puppy was there… Oh my god, you defiled his grave on purpose! You defiled its grave just to spite me!”Sophia simply rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Of course I did, idiot,” she
Caroline’s POV:William’s shouting sent a shiver of fear down my spine. I’d always believed that William would never hurt me, but when he saw me in front of his fallen girlfriend, he genuinely looked like he wanted to murder me right then.“William, help me!” Sophia cried out, reaching towards him as if in desperation. William dropped everything and rushed to his love’s side, gently taking George into his arms and whispering caring words to Sophia.Having seen Sophia’s manipulation firsthand and watching her fall so dramatically, my fear was offset by the feeling of ridiculousness over the entire situation. Did William actually think I would hurt his girlfriend? I had never said a cruel word in our entire marriage.Now he was knelt before her, doting on her like she was the most fragile being in the universe. He really cared for them that much, and it sent a sting of sadness into my heart that he left me and our child for such a manipulative and cruel woman. What about me? He had neve
William’s POV:I would never say it, but the sight of Caroline hurting herself would haunt me for many days. For as long as I’ve known Caroline, she’d never brought harm to herself in any sort of way. All I wanted to do was give her a light examination. I just wanted to make sure that her body was okay and that she wasn’t going to up and die on me. Why did she have such a fierce reaction? Why did the very thought of getting an examination make her so scared?She’d even escaped from the hospital just before we could give her an examination. I don’t know how she did it, but one second she was there, and the next she was gone. Poof. Did she have some help? What was she trying to hide?Since then, I hadn’t seen her for several days. I searched everywhere she could have gone, but she was nowhere to be found. I even checked her hurricane-damaged house, and she wasn’t there either. I was utterly confused as to where she could have gone, but the only thing that reassured me was the fact tha
Caroline’s POV:William’s shouting sent a shiver of fear down my spine. I’d always believed that William would never hurt me, but when he saw me in front of his fallen girlfriend, he genuinely looked like he wanted to murder me right then.“William, help me!” Sophia cried out, reaching towards him as if in desperation. William dropped everything and rushed to his love’s side, gently taking George into his arms and whispering caring words to Sophia.Having seen Sophia’s manipulation firsthand and watching her fall so dramatically, my fear was offset by the feeling of ridiculousness over the entire situation. Did William actually think I would hurt his girlfriend? I had never said a cruel word in our entire marriage.Now he was knelt before her, doting on her like she was the most fragile being in the universe. He really cared for them that much, and it sent a sting of sadness into my heart that he left me and our child for such a manipulative and cruel woman. What about me? He had neve
William’s POV:The droplets of blood aroused suspicion in me. Whose blood was it? I diligently checked Sophia and little George to see if Caroline had injured them, but they were both without a scratch. In fact, for someone who had just taken a pretty nasty fall, Sophia was perfectly okay.Growing more puzzled by the second, I asked the maid and the housekeeper if they were injured, but both denied it. That left only one person who could be the source of the crimson stain: Caroline. I vividly remembered how she had covered her mouth and frantically dashed away. Was that where the blood came from? If so, then what was wrong with her?I recalled all the alarming changes I had seen to her body. She looked unnaturally haggard and skinny, and no one lost weight that quickly. Why hadn’t I realized the seriousness of the problem before? Even if she was sick as I’d suspected, it was clearly no small problem. She was clearly hiding something. What was her secret?Needing answers, I wasted no t
Caroline’s POV:The first thing that hit me when I woke up in my hospital room was the overpowering smell of disinfectant. Nausea washed over me and I tried to sit up to get away from the odor. A gentle hand on my shoulder and a soft voice was quick to stop me, however.“Hey, don’t move,” Martin said gently, seated next to the hospital bed. I may have been the one with cancer, but he looked even more exhausted than I did. “You need to rest.”I weakly smiled at him, a sense of comfort overpowering my sickness now that he was around. “Thank you, Martin,” I whispered sincerely. “You look exhausted, though…”“Don’t worry about me,” Martin replied, dismissing my worries with a wave of his hand. “You know I’m strong enough to get through it.” He flashed a charming grin and flexed his arm, showing a bit of muscle underneath. Laughter bubbled up inside me at his antics.Following the laughter, an awkward tension settled in the air. It was relieving to joke away our problems, but I knew that I
Caroline’s POV:I could only stare at Martin in utter disbelief. His sudden confession had completely blown me away. When had Martin fallen in love with me? Martin was a kind soul who had done more for me than I could ever know. I treasured our friendship more than anything, and I wished that I could one day help him as much as he had helped me throughout the years. As beautiful as our friendship was, however, I only saw him as just that: a friend. I truly believed that what we had was special, and I loved him dearly, but I just didn’t love him in the way he wanted.Had I somehow given him the wrong impression? I wracked my brain, trying to see where I could have accidentally led him on, but my mind drew a blank. Everything was all so overwhelming. I’d never had a man confess to me with such passion before, but I just didn’t feel the same way as he did.His eyes were so full of expectation, hoping that I might just return his feelings. I didn’t know how to react, but I knew what my