“You’re marrying Mike Rowling. There’s no choice.” That’s what my mother said, her words as cold as ever. I never imagined my life would come to this—trapped in a marriage to a man I’ve never wanted. Mike is a bitter, broken billionaire, his heart sealed off after an accident that changed everything. He’s a stranger in his own home, and now, I’m his reluctant wife. But there’s something no one knows, not even Mike: my daughter Mia isn’t just my little girl—she’s his, too. A secret I’ve kept buried for years. As the days pass, I can’t help but feel the pull between us. He’s changing, softening, and my heart begins to betray me. But every smile, every touch, feels like a lie because of the truth I can never tell. Then one night, Mike looks at me with eyes full of questions, and I realize—he knows. Everything is about to unravel. Will the truth destroy us, or will it be the key to our future?
Lihat lebih banyak“You’ve got this all wrong, Cath,” Alex’s voice rang out, sharp and defensive, as he yanked his arm free of Jemma’s delicate grasp. “It’s not what it looks like.”
Cath gazed at the scene before her — Alex, her life partner, standing excessively near Jemma, her sister. Jemma's lips nestled into a sneer, an articulation so weak it might have been confused with responsibility by any individual who didn't have a clue about her.
Her throat consumed. "Then, at that point, *what* does it seem to be, Alex? Since from where I'm standing, it looks a ton like selling out."
Jemma shifted her head, her long light hair flowing behind her in a rehearsed move. "Cath, dear," she said, her voice trickling with pretended guiltlessness, "you're blowing up. Alex and I were simply — "
"Spare me," Cath cut her off, her voice breaking. "I saw enough. You don't get to bend this."
The load in the room squeezed against her chest as she ventured back, shaking her head in dismay. How had it worked out like this? The man she thought she'd wed, the sister she'd guarded for what seemed like forever — together in the faint light of her family's review, murmuring mysteries that currently felt like blades to her back.
Cath's knees clasped, yet she steadied herself against the door jamb, reluctant to fall before them. "How long?" Her voice hushed up, very nearly a murmur, yet it cut through the quiet like a sharp edge.
Alex looked at Jemma, then, at that point, back at Cath. "Essentially nothing remains to be informed you. This isn't — "
"Try not to lie!" The yell got away from her before she had some control over it. Her hands shuddered at her sides, clenched hands grasped so close her nails dove into her palms. "How long have you been sneaking around despite my good faith?"
Jemma moaned, emphatically, as though Cath was the nonsensical one. "Truly, Cath, you've forever been so emotional. Might you at any point see this isn't about you?"
The words hit like a slap. Cath opened her mouth, however no sound emerged. She turned her look to Alex, frantic for some sort of clarification, some defense that would fix the rugged edges cutting into her chest.
He didn't meet her eyes.
The quietness between them was stunning, broken simply by the weak ticking of the clock on the far wall. It was Jemma who broke it.
"If you will cause a ruckus, Cath, perhaps take it elsewhere," Jemma said, looking at her impeccably manicured nails. "Mother won't generally care for you creating a ruckus in the house."
Cath's breath got. "Mother."
Also, as though brought, Kaila cleared into the room. Her heels clicked against the hardwood, her presence glorious and ordering as usual.
She stopped, taking in the scene: Cath, flushed and shaking; Alex, blameworthy and quiet; Jemma, grinning as though she'd won some award.
"What's happening here?" Kaila's voice was cool, her sharp look choosing Cath.
Cath attempted to consistent her breathing, signaling at Alex and Jemma. "What's happening? *This*. This is what's happening. Your future child in regulation and your #1 little girl — together."
Kaila's eyes flicked to Alex, then, at that point, to Jemma, and lastly back to Cath. There was no shock, no displeasure. Just inconvenience. "Cath, don't be crazy."
"Ludicrous?" Cath repeated, her voice breaking. "You believe I'm making this up? I got them — here, in *your* house!"
Kaila folded her arms. "Also, what does that demonstrate? That you're adequately unreliable to rush to make judgment calls?"
Cath gazed at her mom, her throat fixed. "You're not kidding?"
Kaila's lips nestled into. "What I'm doing is declining to enjoy your showy behaviors. Jemma is your sister. Alex is — was — your life partner.
There's nothing on earth you wouldn't do to safeguard your nobility, as opposed to tossing allegations around like a despised lady."
An unpleasant giggle rose out of Cath. "Respect? You're discussing respect when my sister is lying down with the man I should wed?"
Jemma's grin enlarged, her voice misleading delicate. "Cath, don't be so rough. We as a whole are grown-ups here."
Something inside Cath snapped. She turned on Jemma, her voice rising. "You're inconceivable.
Do you partake in this? Taking all that is mine and it's your entitlement to imagine? First my companions, then my chances, this happens?"
"Perhaps in the event that you weren't really uneasy," Jemma answered without a hitch, "you wouldn't continue losing everything."
Before Cath could answer, Alex at long last talked. "No more." His voice was firm, however it came up short of the conviction she once respected in him. "Jemma, how about we go."
Cath's heart sank. "You're leaving? Very much like that?"
He delayed, his eyes shooting to Jemma, then, at that point, to Kaila, who gestured enthusiastically.
Without a word, he turned and followed Jemma out of the room, leaving Cath remaining in the destruction of what had once been her life.
Her mom moaned, as though she were the one troubled. "I raised you better than this, Cath. Handle your feelings secretly. This show is underneath you."
Cath's mouth went dry. "You're favoring her." It was anything but an inquiry.
Kaila's appearance solidified. "I'm favoring reality. Jemma is your sister. Whatever occurred, you ought to be attempting to excuse her, not destroying this family."
Destroying this family. The words reverberated to Cath as her vision was obscured with tears.
"You have no clue about what she's finished. Also, you couldn't care less."
Kaila's look didn't falter. "What I care about is this family's standing. Go tidy yourself up and quit humiliating us."
With that, Kaila turned and left, her heels clicking away like the last sign of Cath's almost certain demise.
Cath remained there for what felt like an unfathomable length of time, the quietness squeezing in on her like a weight.
Her chest hurled with the work of keeping down wails, her hands holding the edge of the work area for help.
This wasn't simply selling out. This was demolition.
A weak sound broke her considerations — a delicate stirring, coming from the side of the room. She turned forcefully, her breath hitching.
There, half-taken cover behind a drapery, was Mia, her five-year-old niece. Her wide eyes were overflowing with tears, and her little casing shuddered as she gripped a stuffed hare to her chest.
Cath's heart sank. "Mia... how long have you been there?"
Mia ventured forward reluctantly, her voice scarcely over a murmur. "Is it true or not that you are alright, Auntie Cath?"
Before Cath could reply, Mia's next words froze her setup.
"I heard Mama conversing with Uncle Alex last week. She said you'd never see whether they were cautious."
Cath's blood went to ice.
"Mia," she said gradually, stooping to the kid's level. "Did you hear something else?"
Mia gestured, her little hands grasping the hare more tight. "Mom said assuming you flew off the handle, Grandmother would make everything better. Like she generally does."
Cath's breath was trapped in her throat. The walls of the review appeared to shut in, the heaviness of the selling out choking out her.
But it wasn’t just the betrayal anymore. It was the conspiracy.
And she was all alone.
"Are you certain of this?" Cath's hand shook a little as it was in mine, and her voice was quiet."Have I ever had more confidence in anything?" My gaze was fixed on hers as I asked.Although she smiled, a glimmer of uncertainty was visible on her face. "I just didn't think we'd get here after everything."I grabbed her hand more tightly and drew her in. This isn't about where we've been, Cath. It concerns our destination.The garden was drenched in amber and gold hues as the sun sank, creating the ideal atmosphere for the moment I had been waiting to give her—a genuine beginning free from fear, manipulation, or contracts. Even though it was just the two of us at the time, the little gathering of relatives and friends who had gathered around us demonstrated how far we had come.The officiant started talking, but I hardly heard him. The way Cath's eyes gleamed with unshed tears, how her breath caught when I put the ring back on her finger, and how her lips trembled into a grin that bro
As I reached for her hand, Cath narrowed her eyes suspiciously and remarked, "You're hiding something.""Avoidance? Me? My lips formed a smile that I hoped would disarm her as I pretended to be innocent."Mike, you're awful at lying," she shot back, reclined on the park bench. Her silky waves of hair turned to liquid gold when the sunshine caressed them. Her eyebrows were raised in interest as she took a quick look at the canvas bag I had insisted on bringing.I joked, staring into her eyes for a little too long, "Perhaps I'm just full of surprises."The sound of her laughter was beautiful and light. "If that is the case, I am undoubtedly anxious."My heart was a frantic thumping inside. I had been anticipating this moment, which kept me up at night organizing every little detail. Despite this, I was afraid as I sat there next the woman who had completely changed my life for the better.I knew she loved me, so it wasn't rejection. but of not knowing how to express to her how much I lo
Cath's voice was quiet but roiling with rage as she replied, "She thought I wouldn't find out." "Once again, she underestimated me."Her face was shadowed by the low light as I sat across from her at the kitchen table. She was holding a manila folder, the edges of which were worn from her overly firm grasp. Pages of evidence, each more damning than the last, were included within."She didn't simply undervalue you," I leaned forward and remarked. "She undervalued us both."Cath scattered the contents of the folder across the table after opening it. She continued, her voice trembling with barely controlled rage, "This is everything." "The falsehoods, the offshore accounts, the phony charities. For years, she has been defrauding her investors. You know whose name appears on half of it?I felt sick to my stomach when I looked through the papers. Kaila had exercised caution, but not enough. A few thoughtless errors—a traceable email here, a signature there—ruined her attempts to conceal he
"You mean you knew what?"Cath's piercing, incredulous voice broke the tension. With her arms folded tightly across her chest, she stood in the center of the living room, gazing at Jemma as if she had never seen her before.Jemma's face remained unflinching, but she was unable to conceal the fact that her fingers were twisting the gold bracelet around her wrist. She calmly answered, "I didn't think it was my place to say anything.""Where do you live?" I quickly retaliated, intervening before Cath could. "Jemma, you've been interfering in our lives for months. Don't act like you've discovered boundaries all of a sudden.Jemma's eyes narrowed as her attention strayed to mine. She yelled, "I was defending this family." "With the way you've been destroying it, someone had to.""Dismantling it?" Cath's voice raised, shaky with rage. "Can you hear yourself at all? All the things Mike and I have battled for, all the obstacles we have surmounted, and you— Shaking her head incredulously, she
"Do you believe she will ever pardon me?"The silence in the room was broken by Cath's voice, which was gentle yet heavy with a vulnerability I wasn't used to hearing from her. With her hands gripped tightly together, she sat at the edge of the bed and gazed down at the faded carpet as if it held the solution to her query.I said, leaning against the doorframe, "Mia's a kid, Cath." "Perfection is not necessary for kids. They require affection. And you've given her that every day, even during difficult times.Cath's eyes met mine as she turned her head slightly. "What if it's insufficient?"I walked over to her and firmly replied, "It will be." I knelt down in front of her and held her hands. "Me and you? We will ensure that it is.We were silent for a time. I could see the cautiousness in her eyes relax slightly as the silent hum of the city outside filled the void between us.A tiny voice then resounded along the corridor. “Mom? Mike?”Cath suddenly straightened, a look of concern re
"You don't think I'm telling the truth?" Cath's voice was low and tremulous, yet it was piercing enough to cut through the room's silence.Her words hit me like a challenge as I looked up from the coffee mug I was holding. Her eyes, which I used to believe I understood better than my own, were filled with an inexplicable mixture of hurt, rage, and perhaps even a glimmer of hope.I put the coffee down and stated slowly, "It's not about believing you." It's about determining how to proceed. Together.Cath gave a nasty, nearly barking chuckle. "Companions? Mike, do you even understand what that means?Her accusation stung more than I anticipated. I wanted to protect myself and fire back, but I refrained. She was not mistaken."Then demonstrate for me," I responded steadily. "Cath, tell me what you need from me. I'll do it, whatever it is.The tension between us stretched like a wire ready to break as she paced the tiny living room with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "It's not t
"Mike, why do you always flee when things get tough?"Long after Cath had bounded out of the park that day, the question continued to haunt me. I didn't have a solid response back then, and I wasn't sure I did now. A critical and merciless reflection of myself gazed back at me from the café window. The city outside shifted as though nothing had happened, as though my whole universe hadn't been upended.I swirled my coffee because it was something to do, not because I intended to drink it—it had gone cold an hour ago. Something to help me stay grounded when my thoughts were racing.In actuality, Cath was correct. When things got tough, I did run. I was afraid of the potential of something real, therefore I had fled from her, from us. I now had to consider whether it was too late to repair the damage I had caused.I had been struggling for days with the decision to see her. It was the sensible thing to do, I kept telling myself. Express regret, provide an explanation, and attempt to pre
"Cath, you lack the courage to interrupt me. You didn't.The arrogance that only Kaila could summon echoed in my ears as she spoke. Like a villain who always thought they had already won, she stood in the doorway of my living room, composed and unflappable.I kept my arms crossed so she couldn't see the quiver rising in my chest. "Kaila, you are not allowed to make that call. No more.Her chuckle was piercing. "Really? following all that I have done for you? For this household? You believe you can simply leave?""I don’t think," I responded, taking a step forward. "I know."Her eyes narrowed as she swiftly recovered from the little moment of hesitation in her smile. What about Mia, too? To play this little game with me, are you truly willing to risk losing her?I grounded myself by taking a deep breath. It was this. I had been postponing this moment for years because I was frightened of the consequences. This time, though, Kaila had gone too far, and I wasn't going to allow her to des
"You don’t deserve her, Cath."I froze as the words struck me like a slap. The shrill, poisonous voice of Kaila cut through the café's silence. Her elegant designer suit and flawlessly done hair contrasted sharply with the turmoil she was bringing into my life, making her a picture of deliberate control as she stood across from me.I carefully put down my coffee cup so she wouldn't see my shaking hands. "What are you talking about?"Uninvited, she slid into the seat across from me and leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. "Mia. You're not worthy of being her mother.My chest erupted with anger, but I made myself remain composed. "I have given Mia my everything. Everything. You're not allowed to enter here and—"She interrupted, dismissively waving a manicured palm. "Save it," she said. "You have deceived her, tricked her, and pulled her into a chaotic life. Is that really what's best for her, in your opinion?I gasped. Despite her gentle tone, Kaila's remarks had a weight that made my s
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