CHAPTER 169: Impassive

I did try. I reached out to Felix, hoping we could fix what was broken between us.

I opened my heart to the possibility of marriage, clinging to the memory of how we used to be—how we once blurred the line between friendship and something more, giving in to desire and pretending it meant something deeper. We used our bodies to fill the silence between us.

But everything shifted when I recognized the resentment simmering beneath Felix’s surface.

Maybe he was bitter that our families treated us like pawns, or perhaps he never forgave me for leaving him back then.

Whatever it was, the truth was clear: our marriage had no chance.

During our first year together, he brought Alice back into our lives. Felix and I worked in the same building, which meant I became an unwilling audience to the office gossip that followed her arrival.

“Vice President Doyle has a visitor. She’s stunning!” I overheard one colleague whisper.

“Shhh,” another warned quickly, glancing nervously in my direction.