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
William’s POV:I quickly hung up with the hacker, my irritation mounting like the rising tide. This frustrating trend was becoming an unfortunate pattern with me. The more the Caroline situation was dragged out, the more short-tempered I would get with the world around me. I would get unreasonably angry at my subordinates, which I initially thought was just from work stress, but no. I even had a nasty argument with Sophia at one point. It was the first time I had ever lost my temper with her, and deep shame had overcome me at the sight of her betrayed look.One day, I came home, stressed after a long day, only to hear the sound of George crying. He was wailing in his room with no signs of stopping, and when I rushed to see him, I realized that he was still in his cradle, left horribly alone. I called out for anyone to come help comfort my son, but the home was eerily quiet. Where was the maid? Where was Sophia for that matter? Why would they let a baby stay at home alone?Taking Geo
William’s POV:I should have been grateful to hear about Caroline, but I was only filled with annoyance. I shouldn’t have been as concerned as I was about her situation, nor about who was taking care of her, but my mind kept coming back to her.So, while Sophia was still coming down from her distress, I leisurely drove to the hospital to check up on Caroline. I strolled in to see her, but when I stopped by the door, I was surprised to find it was partially open. My hearing picked up two people speaking back and forth, interspersed with light laughter.Brimming with curiosity, I peeked through the crack of the door, and I could hardly believe my eyes.A man was bent over Caroline’s hospital bed, embracing her, while rose petals surrounded the luxurious hospital bed.My anger hit its peak and I burst through the door. “Caroline!” I scolded. “Are you seriously flirting with another man? Even in the hospital? Are you that shameless” Caroline was newly divorced and free to date other men,
Caroline’s POV:William’s sudden appearance put me in a sour mood. I felt my stomach ache and grabbed my belly in order to ease the pain, but it hardly did anything. It was like William upsetting me had helped to trigger this pain. I’d heard stress is not good for the body, after all.Through the pain, I couldn’t help but recall memories of William and I that only upset me more.I could still vividly remember the days following when I’d lost my baby. I had screamed and cried at William after I’d found out that he had gone into the lake to save Sophia instead of me, his wife and mother of his child. I had asked him point blank why he hadn’t come for me, and he told me that he didn’t need to because I could swim. It was such a ridiculous response. Not only was the water freezing cold, but I was also pregnant and had just left the hospital. There were even plants beneath the surface that kept me tangled down. How was I expected to survive down there? If it wasn’t for us being placed rig
William’s POV:As I silently eavesdropped on the two doctors, I heard them drop startling words such as “gastric cancer” and “Doctor Martin”. I felt a sinking feeling in my gut telling me that the patient they were referring to was none other than Caroline.I revealed myself, stopping the two before they got away with that vital information for good. “Excuse me,” I interrupted, ignoring their confused glances. “Who are you talking about?”A wary look sparked in one doctor’s eyes and he discretely covered the clipboard in his hands. My instincts told me that it had to be Caroline's report. “Sir, we have no idea what you’re talking about. May we help you?” he asked forcefully, clearly on edge.These idiots really thought they could trick me by playing dumb. Did they think I was a fool? “You better tell me what I want to know or I’ll get you fired!” I demanded.The doctor with the report tensed up greatly, an unsure look crossing over his face. In the end, he replied, “I’m sorry, sir, bu