Chapter 2

Everything stopped for seconds—maybe even minutes.

But in that moment, Solene's vision blurred, the room dissolving into moving shapes and distant sounds. Laughter echoed from somewhere. And even Lewis walked away from her, shoving her in the process.

She stumbled backward, but her body refused to respond.

‘It's not possible. It can't be true.’ Her heart slammed hard against her ribs, her hands shaking as she tried to breathe.

This had to be a joke. Some sick anniversary stunt that Lewis had his entire family in on—including Nyla—to cover up something worse that he'd done.

But what if this was the worst he'd done?

Her stomach clenched painfully.

“Solene." Clarissa's voice snapped her back to her stinking reality.

Solene turned slowly, her eyes settling on the grinning woman.

“Have a seat.” Clarissa said coolly, "And welcome Nyla. She's a complete woman."

The ringing in Solene's head stopped, and she didn't know which part of her body hurt more.

She kept her eyes on Lewis even as she forced herself into a chair, blinking carefully, afraid she might shatter if she moved too fast.

‘This can't be happening.’

But Lewis's words echoed in her head mercilessly. “The mother of my unborn child.”

Lewis pulled out a chair and sat beside Nyla, still not acknowledging that his wife was sitting right across from him.

“Hi, Solene," Nyla called gently, her voice a picture of butterflies in a garden. “Stanley’s told me a lot about you. You look much nicer in person."

Solene forced a smile. "You too.”

"Oh, and I heard about your…issue. I'm so sorry about that.” She batted her lashes. "When Stanley told me about it, I felt terrible. I mean, it's not your fault."

The air in Solene's lungs seemed to choke her.

Of course, he'd taken the first chance he saw to blab about her problem to his mistress.

Nyla stuck out her lower lip pitifully and leaned into Lewis. “You poor thing."

Silence descended upon the table. And even Lewis shifted uncomfortably.

But Solene's hand trembled underneath the table. No one needed to interpret what was going on.

“Now isn't this lovely? Good news at last,” Clarissa said, breaking the silence. "You are very much welcome, Nyla."

Nyla chuckled. “Thank you, Mrs Crawford."

“Oh, don't be silly." She said, waving her hand. “Call me Clarissa."

Solene turned to the woman unbelievably. In the three years she'd known her, she’d never said those words to her.

Then Lewis pushed out his seat and stood up abruptly. “I'll be right back." He announced and made for the stairs.

But something snapped quietly inside Solene. She wanted to hear it directly from Lewis.

She wanted him to man up and tell her he'd cheated with some woman who was wallowing in her father's money when he lost everything.

With the energy of a robot, she rose to her feet and followed him.

But just as she climbed the stairs, the front door flew open.

“Happy Thanksgiving! What did I miss?"

That was Linda at the door, but Solene didn't stop. She followed Lewis behind, trying to keep up with his pace.

“Lewis," she called as he reached their bedroom.

But he didn't stop. Instead, he turned into their bedroom and shut the door behind him. But she caught it just in time and pushed inside.

“What is the meaning of that circus you just pulled downstairs?" She demanded, shutting the door behind her.

Lewis just turned away from her, loosening his work tie.

Solene's eyes shimmered. She stepped closer. “I am talking to you, Lewis Crawford."

“What? What else do you want to hear? Or have you suddenly become dumb?" He snapped, turning to her. “Everything that happened down there happened alright? Digest it already!"

Solene swallowed, shock replacing her anger.

Lewis had never spoken to her that way before.

She watched him undo his button and pull off his shirt, exposing his muscular body, which she always pinched and melted into for comfort.

Her heart beat loudly in her chest. She tried to inhale and exhale, but nothing was working.

A tear rolled down her cheek. “What did I ever do to you, Lewis?”

He shut his eyes and exhaled, his voice going soft.

"I got tired, Solene. I got tired of pretending everything was okay when I wasn't. I got tired of waiting. No child, no signs of getting one. I got tired of the pointless sex with someone who's clearly hopeless.”

Solene's hand dropped to her stomach, as if covering the life forming inside. "Hopeless?” She whispered. "Lewis, that accident was your fault and you know it.”

He just stared her down and looked away.

She let out a pained scoff, realization dawning on her. Still, she could stop her tears from falling. “I gave you everything I had. I stayed with you even after the accident. I protected—"

"And so what?!” he roared. "Yes, you gave me your inheritance and then what? You helped because you could. You gave because you had. You think without my effort your money would have been useful?"

Solene inhaled shakily and stepped back.

But Lewis didn't stop.

His voice dropped. “Everything I have now was because of my effort, Solene. Don't come at me with that…story.”

Solene's breaths came as scoffs, and even her tears seemed to find out it was pointless and stopped falling.

Yes, she was the one who'd funded the entire foundation of his company—Crawford Atelier—she’d picked him off his feet years ago when he lost everything to a failed business idea.

They'd met on a plane while Solène was on her way to her brother's burial, and he was on an assignment for his boss. And they'd just clicked immediately.

While they talked, she'd mistakenly said where she was going, and Lewis had finished his assignment early and showed up at the funeral.

After that day, Lewis was the only one in her world.

God, she should have known it was just pity, or rather forced gratitude, when he proposed to her.

Her gaze fell to the ground as she tried to gather her thoughts. “I really meant nothing to you, didn't I?" she asked in a straight voice.

He let out a sigh, running his fingers through his hair. Then he moved towards her, cupping her face. “Nyla is here to stay. But you can too."

Solene moved away, her frown deepening. “What?"

"Her father is Ricardo Hermes.” He said coldly. "You think I'm letting that go?”

Solene just blinked for a second, his words replaying in her head.

Then understanding hit her like ice—Lewis wasn't just putting her aside because she couldn't give birth.

He was upgrading her.

A knock echoed through the room, and a maid peeped through. “Sir, ma'am. Mrs Crawford requests your presence at the table."

Solene just stood there, more stunned than pained. Nothing made sense anymore. Not even the breath she took.

She still couldn't believe this was actually happening.

“Wait," Lewis called before the maid went away.

He took one glance at Solene then back to the maid. “Before dinner's up, I want her things moved to the guest room.”