William’s POV:I urgently arranged a team of SWAT to rescue Caroline. The fear of losing her was overwhelming. Thankfully, I wasn’t too late.When I successfully found Caroline, she looked so broken and damaged. I had never seen Caroline like that, beaten and tied up, and it was like something in me had broken. This woman meant nothing to me, and yet I felt so utterly distraught just seeing her so hurt. I care for Caroline, I realized, my eyes widening. I care for her deeply.This care hadn’t always beat in my chest, though. There was a time when I swore to hold nothing but contempt toward her in my heart.I had always managed to convince myself that I hated Caroline and her father with a passion. I swore to myself that I wouldn’t garner any affection towards Caroline. There were dangers to letting myself get attached. Above all, the target of my revenge was her wretched father.However, I was enraged just seeing her suffering so greatly, and I promised that her attacker would feel t
Caroline’s POV:William remained silent after we set off. He seemed like falling into some kind of memory. My body ached with the angry bruises that were surely forming on my arms and legs. Even in the safety of William’s car, my heart still pounded a mile a minute, reeling from everything that had happened. The cold kiss of a knife was still felt against my face, but things would have ended so much worse had William not saved me in the nick of time. It also didn’t change the terrifying fact that Sophia was trying to kill me. I was lucky to have survived, but what if another attempt on my life was made?Despite the very real danger I had just escaped, I couldn’t bring my derailing thoughts away from William’s strange behavior. The words “our home” rang in my head like the toll of a church bell. Did William really think that his villa was still a home to me? The home I knew had been callously destroyed by William the day he brought home Sophia. With that painful reminder ever present
Caroline’s POV:To find out that William had broken it off with Sophia (the woman he had cheated on me with and ended our marriage over) so quickly made my head spin. Was she not lovable enough for him? Had William come to my rescue just so I could be a cheap replacement for his disappointing bride? I was sure that in the days to come, William would find some petty reason to toss me out like garbage and coax Sophia back into his selfish web of lies. William may have been a billionaire, but his love was cheap. I now knew (all too late unfortunately) that when William loved someone, that person became his everything; the one he loved and adored above all else. Then, when he inevitably grew bored of his current plaything, he would callously abandon them with little hesitation.Even as William stood firm in the middle of the entryway glaring daggers at Sophia, he still kept me tucked close to his chest. My eyes curiously flitted between the two during their tense back and forth, both di
Caroline’s POV:“William, answer me,” I demanded, my voice ice cold. My eyes remained full of expectation as I patiently waited for William’s answer. Surely Sophia had been foolish enough to expose her true face to him. That was the only possible way he could have found me before I could meet a terrible fate. My ex-husband was many things, but I wanted to believe that one of them wasn’t dense. William, however, only continued to disappoint me.“Caroline, I hear you, and I know what you’re saying,” William sighed between clenched teeth, “but there’s so much going on in my head right now. I promise I’ll sort it all out. Just… just give me some time, alright?”I was unable to help the disbelieving laugh that escaped me. How foolish was I to think William would just wake up? I was so naive to believe that William would, for once in his life, stand by my side instead of falling for that witch’s lies every time. Even with the truth right in front of his face, William couldn’t bear to blame
Caroline’s POV:“Caroline,” William rasped, shock playing over his face. A couple beats passed before he wound his arms around me in kind, squeezing be tight against his broad chest. A smile ghosted over my lips as I knew right then that I still had a place in his cold heart, as small as it might be. I shamelessly buried my face into his neck, taking in his smooth, earthy cologne. I could feel his warm pulse against my skin, beating quickly as I only pressed myself closer to him.“Every time I close my eyes,” I croaked, pretending to sniffle in sadness, “I see him. I see that dark room and the man who hurt me. I can still feel the ropes around my wrists and ankles. Oh, William, please stay with me.”A shuddering breath left William as he took in my words, and sure enough, my ruse worked. His hug only tightened and I could feel him give a slow, deliberate nod. “Of course I’ll stay with you, Caroline,” he murmured tenderly. “I’ll keep you safe.”With my face buried into his neck, he co
Caroline’s POV:Of all the people I thought would wake me on this quiet night, the last person I expected was little George. “George, how did you get out of your crib?” I whispered, keeping quiet so as to not awaken William. Didn’t the villa have a nanny now? Where was she?No matter the answer, George was now beside the bed, waving his little hands helplessly as he babbled for help getting on the bed. He was too young to properly walk just yet, begging the question of how he had gotten here in the first place. Either way, he was fruitlessly trying to get up on his feet, but just as he was about to fall, I scooped him off the floor and held him close to my chest.George blinked dazedly and snuggled closer to my warmth, babbling something I couldn’t understand. He was a talkative one, I could already tell. Holding his small, soft frame, I felt a strange sense of peace settle over me.In the dim glow of the night light, I could see his wide blue eyes stare up at me with wonder. To my su
Caroline’s POV:George’s crying startled me out of my tired stupor. Still lying in my arms, the baby’s little hands grabbed at my shirt, begging for something. His cries had snagged the attention of the newly hired nanny, who looked panicked and unsure of what to do.“Oh, come here, little George,” she cooed, reaching out with open arms to take the baby from my hands. “I’ll take care of you.”The nanny’s offer of care only seemed to trigger George to wail more. He buried his wet face into my chest, hiding away from the nanny. His decision was clear; he wanted to be with me. His cries triggered something instinctual in me, and so without hesitation, I did what only came naturally: be a mother. I began to coax him down from his crying fit with soft words and gentle rocking, which seemed to calm him down some.William must have been woken up by George’s fit of crying, because he soon trudged down with a stretch and a tired yawn. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his eyes landing on me and Georg
William’s POV:The day I took Sophia home was the day I saw what true despair looked like. Looking back, I realized that forcing a pregnant woman to face something so heart-wrenching was just cruel. The look of pain and betrayal on Caroline’s face still lingered in my mind even now. Although the terrible truth would have eventually come out somehow, I was wrong in how I chose to reveal it.Before the nightmare truly began, it was Sophia who had requested that I bring her to meet Caroline. “I just want to see what she looks like,” she explained simply. “I want to see if you’re happy in your marriage.”“And if we are?” I questioned, suspicion lacing my voice.Sophia’s smile was polite, but something about it didn’t quite meet her eyes. Her voice was so sickly sweet as she spoke, but her tone gave me pause. “Then I won’t bother you anymore,” she replied firmly. “I’ll leave and take care of this baby on my own.”Just the idea itself sounded like a catastrophe waiting to happen, but I sti