Chapter-10

Kara’s POV.

I hoped that Derrick would be away with Jade when I came home, so I could have a few moments of peace.

So, imagine my surprise when I walked into the living room of our villa and discovered that the living room was trashed.

My clothes, shoes, makeup, skin-care products, books, and jewelry were all over the place, haphazardly placed on the couches, chairs, and even the floor, along with various boxes that held everything from my life before marriage, including my art products and physical art.

Almost everything that had been in my room when I left for the hospital, except for the few art pieces I dared to hang on the walls, was all there.

As soon as I realized this, every nerve ending in my body lit up in anger. Only two people lived in this villa, and that was me and Derrick. So, if I hadn’t done this, Derrick had.

What had he done?! Why had he cleared my room? Was this his way of telling me to get out because I told him that I’d divorce him?!

I stormed to my bedroom, hoping to find my answers. But when I opened my bedroom door, I froze, taking in the sight in front of me.

Jade sat there on my little reading seat by my window, with a very familiar book spread over her lap. My heart stuttered to a halt, because that book was precious to me.

The book where I poured my most private feelings into, because I was so certain that its contents would only ever grace my eyes. I recorded every joy I felt in that book, regardless of how small they had been, and all the despair from my unrequited love, and every hope and dream I ever had.

But nothing was sacred, and Jade was flipping through my diary as if it were a magazine, reading through my feelings for Derrick like it was entertainment for her.

I rushed to her and snatched the book away from her, clutching it to my chest, praying to God that she hadn’t read much.

“How could you?!” I hissed at her. “That’s my private property! You’ve got no right!”

“Well, if that book was so precious to you, Kara, you should’ve hidden in better,” Jade leaned in, a nasty smile on her lips. Without Derrick nearby, her true colors were showing. “But thank God you’re too stupid for that, otherwise I wouldn’t have read that disgusting book.”

“You have no right!” I repeated through gritted teeth. “This is my diary; it’s not for your eyes.”

“I have every right,” Jade snapped, getting up from her seat. “Derrick’s heart belongs to me and only to me, and if he knew that you felt such burdensome love for him, he would be disgusted. I should’ve shown it to him already. Face it, Kara. You might’ve somehow wormed your way into his home, but you will never be the one he loves. You’ll always just be the girl who dreamed of him, the girl he cast away for me!”

I wanted to let go of Derrick and let him and Jade have their love. But my feelings didn’t deserve to be mocked like this. I hadn’t done anything wrong, loving Derrick, as it was my right as his wife. If anything, Jade was the disgusting woman in this room, going after a married man.

But I couldn’t tell that to her, could I?

“What the hell are you doing in my room anyway?” I wanted to know. “Are you the one who threw my things out to the living room?”

Jade smirked. “It’s my room now. Derrick gave it to me.”

I felt anger uncurl in my heart.

Just then, as if summoned by the mere mention of his name, Derrick Whitney walked into the room.

“Hey, Jade, do you need anything else? We can get dinner going in just a second…”

He trailed off as he saw me, standing next to Jade, clutching my diary and glaring daggers at him. Instantly, a scowl came over his face.

“What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?” I demanded. “I live here. I’ve been living here for three years, and this is my bedroom. I chose this room; I decorated it, and I made it my very own safe space. You have no right to give it away to her without even having the decency to ask me in the first place.”

“What-what are you talking about, nothing here belongs to you,” Derrick spluttered, looking nervously at Jade. “I gave you a place to stay out of the goodness of my heart, and you’re taking advantage of it.”

“I do all the housekeeping here, and I’m the one who makes sure there’s dinner ready when you bother to drop in, no matter how late it is. I’m the one who takes care of your laundry, all your expensive suits and your cashmere sweaters. I’m the one who cleans every inch of this house and makes sure it looks perfect every day of the week! I’ve earned my keep, Derrick, unlike you. You’re the one taking advantage of me here, not the other way around!”

Derrick actually looked baffled at the way I yelled, and so did Jade. Seeing the surprise empowered me.

“This is my room, I was here first,” I declared. “You can’t take it away from me. Give me back my room, now.”

“Jade wanted this room!” Derrick insisted. “She’s our guest here, so she gets priority. I offered her any room in the place, and this is the room she chose.”

“That’s your first mistake then, because my room is not open for guests. So, get out!”

“No,” Derrick replied with a snarl. “Jade is our guest, and she will be staying in whichever room she prefers. You are being very rude to her, and you need to apologize right now.”

With a snarl of my own, I got up to his face.

“I will not!” I jabbed a finger into his chest, punctuating my every word. “No matter what you think, in the eyes of the law I am still your wife and this home’s mistress. No one gets to evict me from my own nest, no one! Not even you, Derrick Whitney.”