Chapter 2

I stood before the manor, overwhelmed by memories.

Back then, my marriage to Logan was one of convenience.

At first, there was no love between us. We were just strangers living under the same roof.

However, when two people spent enough time together, feelings that shouldn’t be there were bound to develop.

Logan would replace my cold coffee with a cup of chamomile tea when I stayed up late at night, working on corporate reports.

At business dinners, he would take every drink meant for me, only to claim afterward that he was doing it to protect the family’s reputation.

So when things went south for the Reed Group, my father, Charles Thornton, told me to come home.

Charles warned me not to waste my time with Logan as his family was a sinking ship, but I didn’t walk away.

Instead, I sold all my shares in the Thornton family business and, together with my late mother’s inheritance, invested everything into the Reed Group.

It was all to keep Logan’s head above water.

When Charles found out, he nearly disowned me right there and then.

Since then, he had gone no contact with me.

There were times I wondered if I had made a huge mistake.

Those doubts disappeared when a business rival kidnapped Teddy to force Logan to give up his last chance at rebuilding his empire.

At the time, the Reed Group was in desperate need of a cash infusion. Securing the contract would help pull the company out of the red.

However, Logan didn’t play by the business rival’s rules.

He practically risked his life to bring Teddy home safe.

As he stood in the hospital corridor covered in blood, I believed my gamble had paid off.

I even thought to myself that once the Reed Group was back on track, I could return home with my head held high and tell Charles, “Dad, my choice was right all along.”

Too bad a harsh reality awaited me.

Human hearts were fickle.

With that in mind, I was ready to step into the house and apologize to Charles when the maid stopped me.

“You are not welcome here.”

I assumed that Charles was still upset over the incident years ago, but the maid added. “The family has gone bankrupt. Mr. Thornton put his pride aside to ask for your help, but your husband turned him away without hesitation.”

The words hit me like a ton of bricks. I had no idea.

I pushed past the maid, desperate to get answers from Charles. However, he lay in bed, his body hooked up to several devices.

The maid sneered, “Your rejection pushed him into such a severe illness that he’s been unable to walk ever since.”

Losing my grip on sanity, I raced back home to grill Logan, but the latter claimed to know nothing of the matter.

Just then, Elise emerged from his bedroom, holding Teddy in her arms.

“Oh, are you talking about the plea for capital? I thought he was a scammer, so I handled it myself.

“My bad, Mrs. Reed.”

Snapping at her offhand tone and the fact that she was holding Teddy, I lunged forward.

“You witch!”

Logan held me down, locking me in his embrace.

“It’s not a big deal. Why are you getting so worked up?

“Elise has dozens of calls to go through every day. Of course, she’d be skeptical when there’s a request for substantial funding.”

I shouted, “Logan, do you think you’d still be the CEO if it weren’t for my family?”

“That’s enough.”

Logan sighed, as if I were the unreasonable one.

“Your father isn’t terminally ill. Why are you so emotional?

“Tell you what. I’ll make time to visit him with you once things calm down a bit.

“I’ll hire the best medical team out there, so he can spend a few more years with you. Does that work?”

I froze, my blood running cold.

My mind wandered back to the maid’s remark. Charles was barely lucid due to the illness. Yet, he shut down the idea of the family reaching out to me.

“She doesn’t care about the family anymore. She’s a Reed through and through now. Don’t go contacting outsiders.”

My knees nearly buckled under me.

Had I not made the trip home, we would have spent the rest of our lives hating each other, right up until the day he died.

I let out a deep breath before turning to Logan, my resentment growing.

From that day forward, I gave him the silent treatment for days and spent all my time at the Thornton residence.

My behavior didn’t go unnoticed.

One day, I stepped out of the Thornton residence to find Logan there at the gate.

With my eyes welling up, Logan pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away my tears.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve paid more attention.”

I looked at him in disbelief. Logan was never one to yield. Yet, there he was, apologizing to me.

In the end, I didn’t decline his offer to take me home. During the drive, he said, “I’ve reassigned Elise to a different department. I won’t have further contact with her.”

I thought that our life was right back on track.

Days later, I spotted Elise outside the office building, holding Teddy’s hand.

“Daddy, I don’t want to go home. I want to be with Mommy Elise.”