Kathryn’s POVI was too stunned to reply. My mind reeled back to the time Rose had shown me a picture of him and Wilhelm sleeping in bed together. The pain I felt at that moment was indescribable. I had repeatedly declared it to be the most painful day of my life, discovering that my husband had cheated on me with his ex-girlfriend while his family mistreated me and he, in turn, misunderstood me.My breath hitched as I reveled in disbelief. No. This is all wrong. Wilhelm had his shortcomings, but I was way worst. I had left the person that I’ve loved for a lie. I left Wilhelm over something that wasn’t true. I felt my heart break at what I had done. “What do you think you’re all doing there?” I snapped back to reality when I heard Rose scream. I watched her in a daze as she pointed to the maids behind a few tall plants in the hallway. “You’re not being paid to gossip! I watched her in a daze as she pointed to the maids behind a few tall plants in the hallway. “You are not here to go
She fell to the floor the same way she’d done to my little girl. I looked down at her with as much anger and hate I could combine. “If you ever say anything bad or lay a single finger on my daughter, this won’t be the worst that you’ll get from me,” I said, my icy gaze matching the chill in my voice.The sound of hurried footsteps filled the air, alerting us to someone’s arrival. “What’s going on?” I stiffened. It’s Wilhelm and he’s finally home. Our eyes met, and I instantly held my breath. Rose’s confession came to mind about her fabrication of her and Wilhelm’s affair, but I pushed the thought away to focus on the matter at hand. Wilhelm rushed to Rose’s side. He looked at me before his gaze landed on Grayson. “What happened to your cheek, my son? It looks swollen.”“And mine, too!” Rose added as she showed Wilhelm the side of her cheek that I had slapped. “It—It’s your ex-wife! She had just assaulted me, Wil!” Fake tears streamed down her face. “That woman barged into our home
Kathryn’s POV“Your son ran away again. He found his way right back into my doorstep,” I said as my eyes caught Rose’s panicked expression. “I was escorting him back home after I cleaned the scratch on his face.” Wilhelm frowned at his son. “Grayson, what did we talk about when it came to running away from home?” “I’m not in a position to tell you what to do with your own son, but it would be best if you stopped reprimanding him and start wondering instead why he’s been running away all this time.” “He’s a child, and I’m always away from home,” Wilhelm insisted. “It’s merely looking for attention.” “Yes, he needed attention. But not in the way that you perceived it,” I said firmly, pulling Grayson and Charlize closer to my legs. “Grayson has been claiming that he’s being bullied by Rose whenever you’re not around. It’s been happening ever since you got engaged. And that scratch on his cheek? He never got it from playing...“ Grayson told me it was Rose who did it,” I continued, not
Rose bristled, her cheeks flushing a vibrant shade of crimson. “Don’t listen to her, Wil! She’s accusing me of being insane when, clearly, she had this all planned the moment she flew back to this place! She has your son at the palm of her hands—she wanted Grayson to believe he’s his mother and probably take you back,” she faced me. “That woman wants to take you back and your money because she can no longer afford to have her child enrolled in a decent school.” “I never intentionally approached your son,” Kathryn made it clear. “It was all a coincidence. And maybe it was for the best, because no one would willingly report you to Wilhelm that you’re hurting his son.” “She’s lying!” Grayson glared at Rose. “Don’t call Mommy a liar!” “Grayson, honey—” Rose tried, but Grayson refused to listen. “I don’t want you as my stepmother!” Taken aback, I was too stunned on what to say. Grayson had never expressed himself this way before. “You don’t?” I asked him. He nodded. “She’s not nice
I hummed, letting her know that I was somewhat convinced by her explanation. Still, something didn’t sit right about Kathryn’s reason for divorcing me. She’s a smart woman, and that’s a fact. Instead of jumping to conclusions that I had an affair with another woman, she would’ve thought differently about my relationship with Rose, despite our past. “Didn’t you hear about what everyone was saying whenever you attended parties with your ex-wife?” Rose suddenly said. “…everyone had something to say back then?” I replied in a daze. Rose nodded, straightening her shoulders. “Everyone had been saying that we looked good together, and that I should’ve been the person you had married instead of her.” I frowned. “I had no idea.” “Wil, everyone knew that I was the one for you, and that Kathryn was conniving,” she said distastefully. “God, that woman! After divorcing you for false accusations of cheating, she must’ve seen how well you’ve been handling things since your separation and forme
Kathryn’s POVI slouched in my seat, my shoulders stiff as I stared at my laptop’s screen. It had been several hours since the incident with Rose, and her confession was still weighing heavily on my mind. Rose’s alleged affair with Wilhelm—it was all a setup by Rose to break us apart. That one fact had rattled my entire world and completely shattered my beliefs about everything. My heart pounded in my chest. Despite being aware that it was a lie, I found it impossible to ignore the lingering feeling that Wilhelm had treated me coldly throughout our entire marriage. His actions made it clear what little he thought of me, or so I thought. How could I possibly understand his thoughts when he rarely expressed his emotions, even when we were together back then? I bowed my head and sighed. I felt sleepy, but I couldn’t get even an hour of good sleep last night. To make things worse, the office was in a rush with the party date drawing closer. There was so much to worry about every day,
Kathryn’s POVI held my breath, but then I realized I don’t have any reason to feel this way. It’s not like I felt guilty about being caught here with William; I just think it’s fair for her to experience what I went through when I saw them together in William’s office.James’ head popped out of the door. He was carrying so many files that his hands were barely visible from beneath several files of folders. “Mr. Reinhardt, I have files that needed—oh,” James stopped short at the door. “I had no idea you were meeting with Mrs. Rein—sorry, I mean, Ms. Alvarez.” “It’s fine.” “No, it’s alright,” I said the same time William spoke, dropping my glare on him. “You can stay and report whatever it was you’re about to report to him,” I walked toward the door, straightening my back, and never looking back. “Kathryn, come back. We’re not done yet,” William called as grabbed hold of the door’s knob. “We’re still in the middle of discussing things.” I turned sharply toward him, my heart poun
Kathryn’s POVThe two days that I’ve mentioned a few nights ago have finally arrived. The air was filled with blasting music as the employees became the stars of this exciting event. They looked giddy and excited, and I’m very glad that the creative team we’ve hired was on spot on the arrangement they’ve proposed to us. Unfortunately, Roland went to Europe and, to my dismay, I couldn’t find a babysitter because Jess was also away. Exhausting all possibilities in tow of my current situation, I have decided to bring Charlize along with me to work today.I saw no harm in bringing her since everyone knows I’m a single mother and I have no one else to watch my daughter when I’m not at home. Furthermore, the event was scheduled on a Saturday, when most people are off and unavailable to babysit.Although when I first told Charlize about it, she wasn’t interested in coming. However, when I Googled a photo of the hotel and showed it to her, her eyes lit up like stars, and she immediately ran
Kathryn’s POVI sneezed in the waiting area at Charlize’s new school. It was beginning to get colder now that we’re getting into the middle of October. I checked my phone, wondering where Wilhelm might be since he promised he’d be picking up our daughter and his son after class ends, but he was nowhere to be found. I sighed as I remembered our encounter with the strange doctor last week. I still wonder why Dr. Parkins had looked like she had seen a ghost when she saw Wilhelm, but I figured it must’ve been because of her health issues. She did appear quite ill, so I couldn’t help but worry about her safety. Maybe she was sicker than I had imagined, or maybe it had to do something with her past experiences? I removed the thought away when I heard the school’s bell ring, indicating that it was time for them to go home. I immediately went toward the door. I kept an eye on each student that came out from the hallway, but there was still no sign of Charlize and Grayson nearby. They were
Rose’s POVI kept a watchful eye as the woman left the grocery store in a hurry. Wilhelm looked like he had seen a ghost while Kathryn shrugged her shoulders and continued walking with the children. My gaze went back to Wilhelm. He looked as if he was in deep thought. “Darling? Is something wrong?” I tried to ask. Wilhelm shook his head in slowly. “I’m...fine.” “You don’t look like it though.”He turned his head to me and sighed. “It’s nothing,” he said, taking my hand as he dragged me to the cashier. He handed me his card and I swiped it over the machine. I took one good look at the woman who nervously stood in line behind a few people, and she was still looking pale and shaken up. I hummed. Something must’ve been wrong about her. Or maybe she knew more about my fiancee than I know myself. Whatever it was, I didn’t have an inkling feeling that it was anything normal. I need to find out more. Once I was done paying for the groceries, I gave Wilhelm back his card. “You can go ahe
Kathryn’s POV“Why are you here, doctor? I thought you were still based in Paris,” I said, out of breath, finding the situation odd now that we’ve come face-to-face again after several years of not being able to see each other. Dr. Parkin stared at me for awhile. Her lower lip quivered as she went back and forth between me and Charlize. “Is—Is that your daughter now?” “Oh, yes. She’s quite big now. Already in her kindergarten,” I smiled. “How are you nowadays?” “Good, I’m good.” “Are you still based in France?” “I wouldn’t be here if I was,” she answered curtly. I awkwardly laugh. “Uhm, yes. That—That actually makes sense! I was thinking that you’re perhaps having a vacation or something.” “I could’ve picked a better place than New York, don’t you agree?” I nodded. “Greece sounds nice.” The doctor smiled. “I’d take it into consideration.” After awhile, Dr. Parkins swallowed hard as she frantically looked around, as if searching for something. “Are you…alone?” My eyebrows sc
Kathryn’s POVWhy was Roland acting this way? He’s usually patient, and he listens very carefully to what I have to say. Now, it felt like he was about to dismiss everything that I needed to say. “That’s not it, Roland! Mrs. Brown believed in my ability, and I just wanted to not disappoint her! I also love my job more than you think,” I frowned. “Not everything is about Wilhelm. I dislike the fact that you, of all people, are associating every decision I make to him.” Roland opened and closed his mouth. He doesn’t look convinced with what I was trying to explain to him. “I’m not too sure about that…” “Not too sure—? Roland, do you even hear yourself?” I moved toward him. “Are we really going to argue over my decision? There are still plenty of capable people that could take on the job that you’re offering to me.” “You don’t understand, Kath,” he sighed. “You’re one in a million. There’s not a single woman in this world that could copy or replace you for that matter.” My eyebrows
Rose’s POVI stared at the door in front of me. “That—That bitch!” I screamed, my nails hurting the skin on my palm as I clenched my fist so hard. “She’s purposefully doing this! She’s trying to steal Wilhelm from me!” Anger rose in my chest as I ran back to the parking lot, nagging at the driver to take me home. While on the road, my phone rang. Annoyed, I still picked it up and placed it over on my ear. “What do you want?” “Hi! I’m the investigator you’ve hired.” I narrowed my eyes. “I paid you like half a million already. You better bring me some good news!” I barked. “Wait for me at my office. I’ll be home in five minutes.” The investigator sighed. “I’ll wait in the villa.” After less than three minutes, my driver was already parking in front of the villa. I practically threw my bag to that scumbag maid named Annie. “Wipe that frown on your ugly face,” I told her. She surprisingly ignored me and walked away with my branded bag that’s worth ten times her salary! Arrogant
Kathryn’s POVThe drive home felt shorter than I had anticipated it to be. We arrived at my place and Wilhelm parked his car right outside our building. I stood up, and was about to open the door, but Wilhelm beat me to it. He stood next to the door, opening it slowly while he took Charlize from me. “Oh, uhm, you didn’t need to do that,” I smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Reinhardt.” I must admit, it was weird calling him with the last name I once possessed when we were still married. Wilhelm remained silent as he softly closed the door behind me. Charlize, on the other hand, was incessant with bringing Grayson over. I was amazed how my daughter managed to speak continuously to Wilhelm until we reached the door to our apartment. It looked as if she wasn’t bored speaking to him at all!“Oh, no! We’re here already,” Charlize pouted. “I still haven’t heard you guys agree to transferring schools and playing with Grayson.” Wilhelm raised an eyebrow as he handed Charlize over. “Kathryn?” Two p
Kathryn’s POVWilhelm’s suggestion left me speechless for several reasons. Why was he doing this? “Mr. Reinhardt, I don’t think this is the place and time to talk about Charlize’s—” “REALLY?” Charlize grinned at him with renewed enthusiasm. “Do you really mean what you said, Mr. Iceberg?!”I gasped. “Charlize!” “Oh, I mean, Mr. Reinhardt! Are you enrolling me in the same school as Grayson?” My daughter giggled. “Sorry about calling you your nickname,” she covered her mouth. “I’m not supposed to say it out loud because it’s my and Grayson’s secret, so please don’t tell him!” Wilhelm, looking taken aback by Charlize’s reaction, scooped her in his arms. “Mr. Iceberg, huh?” My heart stopped beating as I gaped the scene before me. The image of them together had blown me away; it was only now that I have realized that they had a lot of similar features I can no longer deny. They shared the same nose and eye shape, and their smile resembled too much you’d mistake them for twins.I can’
Wilhelm’s POVA few nights ago... “Close the door, James.” “Wil! What are you doing?” Rose called as she hurried to the door, panic stuck in her eyes “Can’t I come in, too? I’m your fiancé, after all.” I clenched my jaw and turned away from her pleading eyes. “Please wait outside, Rose.” She was about to protest when James gently closed the door behind us, giving her no choice.“Tell me all about it,” I said, my voice firm and cold, as I walked to stand in front of him.James took a deep breath before speaking, his gaze shifting to the floor. “I’ve dug enough about the girl.” My heart skipped a beat at the mention of Kathryn’s daughter, Charlize, but I quickly composed. “Go ahead,” I encouraged him to continue, despite having a hint of what he was about to say. “I’m all ears.” James settled in the seat in front of my desk as I poured myself another glass of whiskey and drank it whole in one gulp. I sat behind my desk and waited patiently for him to speak, knowing that whatever it
Kathryn’s POV Vicky’s eyes went wide as I told her everything that happened over the weekend. “You mean to say that you were almost sent away?!”“Not so loud,” I whispered, glancing at Clarence, who was typing on his computer across from us. “Yes, I was.”“How come I never heard of it?” she whispered, her eyes going round. Clarence paused what he was doing and grinned from behind his monitor.“If this is some juicy gossip, you two better share it with me.” He wiggled his eyebrows.I sighed. “This isn’t something to talk about at work.”He chuckled. “Come on, Katy! In just a few days, you’ve managed to catch everyone’s attention.”“That doesn’t seem like a good thing.” Vicky frowned and shook her head disapprovingly. “It’s not like we’re going to make money by gossiping.”Clarence shrugged. “I guess you’re right. I mean, there are more important things to worry about than your love life, right, Katy girl?”Vicky’s cheeks turned pink as she tried to hide her smile from Clarence by let