Chapter 6

At first, I resisted and met his gaze with a defiant glare. There were more important things to attend to than deal with him. However, I reminded myself that he was still my boss and had authority over me.

I let out a deep sigh and took the seat across from him while wondering what he wanted to talk about.

“Sign the divorce papers, Elizabeth.” He placed the papers on the table.

“Sure,” I replied, which surprised him.

I wasn't acting on impulse; I had thought long and hard about this for a few days and had come to the conclusion that divorce was the only solution for us.

I took the pen and signed where needed.

He stared at me in silence for what felt like an eternity.

Finally, he took a deep breath and mustered the courage to speak. "Who's Grey Cameron?" he asked, his voice strained. "Is he your lover?"

I rose from my chair after the signing was done.

"Respectfully, Sir, you don't have the right to know. It's my personal business." After saying that, I turned to leave, but he rose from his seat and reached out to grab my arm firmly.

In that instant, I felt the heat of his palm sear my skin, sending shivers down my spine. I struggled to break free, but his grip tightened.

"Did you sleep with him as a way of getting back at me, or was it because you genuinely like him?"

My jaw dropped.

Did he seriously believe I slept with Grey? He and I had lasted six years; he knew me better than anyone. How could he even ask that?

"You and I are over, Crimson. Even if I sleep around, it's none of your business!"

We fought each other's gaze for what felt like an eternity before he finally released his grip on my arm, and I hurried back to the dining area.

I could still feel his gaze on me until I disappeared from view.

That was the perfect opportunity to tell my husband about my pregnancy, but the thought of it both frightened and angered me.

He accused me of sleeping around even though he knew me better than anyone. I doubted he would even believe me if I revealed the child was his.

While it may seem selfish of me to keep my child away from his father, it was a decision I needed to make for my son. I couldn't afford to tell him one day that his father refused to acknowledge him as his own.

"Liz?"

Samantha's voice called out my name, pulling me out of my deep thoughts. Quickly, I mumbled an apology and punched out on the time clock so that Sam could do the same.

"I'll head out first, Liz. You take care."

"You too," I replied, bidding farewell as we parted ways.

While Sam headed toward the employee parking lot, I made my way to the hotel's main entrance.

I caught sight of Crimson as he emerged from the upscale door and made his way toward me. Without a second thought, I hastened into the cab before he could catch up to me.

The world outside the window blurred into a sea of lights as the car sped away. My eyes fluttered sleepily, captivated by the mesmerizing view.

I leaned back in the soft leather chair, a wave of contentment washing over me, briefly allowing me to forget how tired I was.

Minutes passed by, and the car came to a sudden stop, jolting me back to the present moment and halting my wandering thoughts. Grateful to have arrived, I stepped out of the cab and promptly paid the driver.

I made my way inside the ancestral house, seeking refuge from the biting cold. I made a quick stop to check on my grandfather. He was sound asleep, still cradling a book in his chest.

A gentle smile spread across my lips. I carefully approached him and delicately retrieved the book from his grasp, being sure not to disturb his slumber, and placed it back on the nightstand. I couldn't help but notice the exhaustion etched on his face.

At seventy-two, he still put in long hours working on the farm. I had often encouraged him to take it easy, but he always insisted that tending to his garden made him feel alive.

I turned on the night lamp, then kissed him on the forehead before walking back to the door, where I reached for the switch and flicked it, flooding the corners of the room with darkness.

But when I turned to leave, my eyes caught sight of the picture frame on the cabinet. The frame lay face down, hiding the photograph from view. I had seen the picture many times before, and I knew it by heart.

It was a photograph of my grandfather George and Crimson's grandfather Philip, taken when they were both young men in their twenties.

I knew how my grandfather didn't get along with Philip, but I still wondered why he hadn't thrown that picture away. Perhaps it was because he had once valued the man in the picture, the one he had called a friend.

With a heavy heart, I let out a sigh and retreated to my bedroom, leaving the unanswered question behind me.

I changed into my comfortable pajamas and allowed myself to sink into the mattress. My mind was racing, but my body felt like it was made of lead. I couldn't even muster up the energy for my usual midnight half-bath ritual.

Waiting for sleep to come, I couldn't help but drift back to a memory from my childhood when my deceased grandmother had told me an odd but interesting story.

"The Stones were once the wealthiest family in Flintstone City. At one point, our land stretched as far as the eye could see, Elizabeth. But the Phoenix family managed to take it all away from us. They tricked your grandfather, and now all we have left is this house."

These were my grandmother's exact words.

My grandmother was often dismissed as delusional. People found it difficult to believe the things she said. Because of that, I couldn't help but doubt her words too. Our family was struggling financially; we even had difficulty putting food on the table, so it was highly unlikely that we once owned billions.

Exhaustion washed over me, and I realized that I needed to get some rest before heading to work in the morning.

As I closed my eyes, a slight tug of uncertainty stirred within me. Was my grandmother's story the truth, or was I succumbing to delusion by starting to believe in something that might not be real?