Chapter Two The Fire

I didn’t cry.

Didn’t scream.

“Go to the sitting room and wait for me, Emery.” Tobias said putting on a shirt, “we will talk about this and I know you will understand.”

I resisted the urge to scoff. Go to the sitting room and wait for him? At what point, did I make Tobias believe he could treat me this way and I’d be nothing but docile about it?

I had no idea but somehow I’ve successfully and unintentionally passed that message.

I took a deep breath which did nothing to calm the raging storm of anger and pain brewing inside me - and walked away from the room.

There was no need to argue or give in to the urge to yell and curse at them.

What would that do?

I just walked.

Each step echoed against the marbled floors of the Sinclair Tower. 

“Good evening, Mrs. Sinclair,” the butler greeted me by the hallway, as if I hadn’t just been dragged through hell. As if my husband hadn’t just killed our child.

I didn’t respond. I walked past him like I didn’t hear. Like I wasn’t carrying death beneath my ribs.

The pill sat like lead in my stomach. An hour ago, I had life inside me. A heartbeat I never got to hear. Now all I had was silence.

I opened the door and froze.

There he was.

Killian Wolfe.

Leaning against a sleek, black Maserati like a scene from a memory I wasn’t sure I trusted. His sleeves were rolled to the elbows, and his jacket hung from his fingers. His posture was relaxed—but his eyes weren’t.

The moment he saw me, his jaw tightened.

Then he pushed off the car and strode toward me.

“Get in,” he said, voice low.

I opened my mouth, to protest or ask him to go back to hell. But all that came out was a breathless gasp followed by a sob.

But I bit down hard on my lips to stop the sob even though my tears didn’t stop falling.

His eyes swept over me slowly. My swollen eyes. The red fingerprints on my wrists. The smudged lipstick. My shaking fingers still clutching the little bear.

His gaze landed on the bear and lingered.

I didn’t speak.

I just walked around the car, opened the door, and slid into the passenger seat like I was weightless.

He didn’t ask what happened.

He didn’t need to.

The ride to his tower was wordless.

He gripped the steering wheel like it had done something unforgivable. I stared out the window, the city lights blurring past us.

“I told you not to tell him,” he said finally.

His voice wasn’t angry. Just tired.

I didn’t look at him. “I didn’t.”

He didn’t answer right away. His knuckles turned pale against the leather.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner Emery. I could have stopped it.”

I shook my head slowly. “No one could’ve stopped what he did. He made his choice.”

Killian’s jaw flexed again, but he didn’t argue.

I looked down at the bear in my lap. “I bought it for the baby.”

He glanced at me. His eyes softened.

“When?”

“This morning. After the doctor’s appointment,” I said. “It was going to be a surprise. I thought he’d… I don’t know. Smile. Cry. Maybe touch my stomach.”

Killian didn’t speak. But I saw the way his chest rose—deep, controlled.

“You know what he did?” I whispered.

“I don’t need the details,” he said. “I saw your face when you walked out of that building.”

My lips trembled. “He held me down, Killian. She—Veronica—she handed him the pill.”

His hands tightened again.

“I fought,” I added. “I tried. But he forced it down. They forced the pill down my throat and I couldn’t stop it…I…they made me kill my child, Killian. He made me kill my child.”

Killian said nothing. Even his breath was still slow, calm and measured. I would have thought he didn’t give a damn if I didn’t glanced at him and saw how tightly he was holding the steering wheel - how white his knuckles had turned from gripping it so hard as if it would stop him from doing something stupid.

“Tobias has always been an idiot.”

“I felt it go down,” I said, choking back a sob. “I didn’t want to swallow it. I swear—”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

“I was his wife,” I said, half to myself. “At least, I thought I was.”

He didn’t respond. Not until we pulled into the private garage under Wolfe Tower.

“You loved him,” he said quietly. “And he used that against you.”

I nodded once.

He opened the car door and came around to mine. For a second, he hesitated—like he wanted to reach for me, but couldn’t bring himself to touch me.

“This way,” he said instead, leading me into the private elevator.

We stepped into the penthouse in silence. Cold light spilled over expensive furniture and polished stone floors. It felt like a museum—impressive and lifeless.

And the moment he led me to the sitting room, I dropped onto the couch like my bones had given up.

Killian disappeared and returned with a glass of water, setting it down beside me without a word. Then he sat across from me—watching. Waiting.

I held the bear to my chest and stared at the floor.

The silence stretched.

“I told him I was pregnant,” I said after a while.

He didn’t react.

“I wanted to believe it would fix us,” I added, my throat raw. “Instead, he looked at me like I was a problem.”

“I would’ve handled it differently,” Killian said. “Very differently.”

I looked up. “Yeah? What would you have done?”

He didn’t blink. “I would’ve dropped to my knees and thanked you for choosing me. For giving me something that real.”

I stared at him, heart thudding.

The silence between us was different now. Heavy with the things neither of us were ready to say.

Then my phone buzzed on the coffee table.

I flinched so hard the bear nearly slipped from my lap.

Killian leaned forward, grabbed the remote, and switched on the TV.

“Channel Nine,” he muttered.

The screen lit up.

BREAKING NEWS: Veronica Sinclair Caught in Hotel Scandal

We both watched as grainy footage showed Veronica slipping out of a hotel. Different nights. Different men. Different disguises. The evidence was damning.

“Sources confirm that Veronica Sinclair has been romantically involved with at least three other men during her supposed reconciliation with Tobias Sinclair,” the anchor said. “Mr. Sinclair has yet to make a statement. But this directly contradicts his claim that Emery Sinclair was the unfaithful one.”

“What?” I breathed.

Killian nodded to the screen. “Keep watching.”

New Headline: Tobias Never Finalized Divorce from Veronica

“Public records now confirm that Tobias Sinclair was never legally divorced from his ex-wife. Despite his public appearances with Emery Sinclair as his ‘wife,’ there’s no legal documentation to support the claim. This raises new questions—was Emery ever married at all?”

I sat frozen.

My hands trembled and my body went ice-cold.

Killian’s voice softened. “Emery—”

“He lied,” I whispered. “To everyone. He lied to the press. To me. To the world.”

I turned to him slowly. “He made me believe I was his wife. He made me sign papers. Wear his ring. Sleep in his bed. But I was just a shield.”

I pressed the bear harder to my stomach. The place that used to be full.

“I can’t believe I defended him,” I whispered. “I can’t believe I loved him.”

Killian stood. This time, he didn’t sit across from me. He crossed the room and lowered himself onto the couch beside me, careful not to touch, but close enough that I could feel the heat of his body.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “You were loyal. He took advantage of that.”

My eyes burned. “They think I was the mistress.”

“They won’t for long.”

“And what if they do?” I asked, shaking my head. “What if this ruins everything? My name. My reputation—”

Killian leaned in. “Then we ruin him first.”

I looked at him. “Why do you care?”

He paused.

Then he said, “Because I’ve seen Tobias get away with so many bullshig since we were kids and I’m done watching. My one regret was that I didn’t intervene closer the first time I saw how he treated you.”

My breath caught, “even if you did, I wouldn’t have let you.”

Killian’s lips stretched into a grin that sent shivers down my spine, “baby, here’s the thing. If I had decided that I wanted to step in and rescue you…nothing would have stopped me. Not even your stubbornness.”

I said nothing.

“Just stay here and get some rest now. We will talk about how to handle my spoilt brother later.”