Kael woke up early in the morning with a splitting headache. Countless beer bottles lay scattered at his feet. He vaguely remembered feeling terrible last night, and… Danna might’ve called him?
What happened after that?
His memory was a blur.
His phone was nestled quietly among the bottles. Frowning, he picked it up and realized it had powered off.
With no other choice, he plugged it in to charge and dragged himself into the bathroom for a shower. He hadn’t felt this drained in days.
While the sound of running water filled the bathroom, the phone outside began to ring—but Kael didn’t hear a thing.
When he finally came out and saw his phone blowing up with notifications, his body froze. A sinking feeling gnawed at his gut.
Back in the country, Teddy had already found out who leaked the news about Naomi and Kael.
“Who did you say it was?”
The assistant trembled slightly. “Ch
The reporters all turned to look at Naomi.“I just thought it was something I could do. My father saw that Kael was only marrying me out of obligation to save the Rhodes Group, which is why we had a marriage contract in the first place. After we got married, Kael and I only saw each other five times. Aside from that marriage certificate, nothing ever changed between us.”The crowd erupted in astonishment.People watching the livestream flooded the screen with comments:“So it was just a marriage of convenience?”“The one I feel the sorriest for is Danna.”“She didn’t do anything wrong, and yet she had to watch her boyfriend marry someone else.”“Naomi was confused; Kael made a choice.”“If Kael didn’t want to get married, Naomi wouldn’t have forced him.”“I don’t even know how to put my feelings into words.”
As soon as those words left her mouth, everyone—both those at the scene and those watching the live stream—was stunned.A stand-in?Kael's hand, holding the tablet, began to tremble. He was on the verge of losing control.Even Atlas's heart was pounding like it was about to give out. He had expected there to be some hidden issue in Naomi and Kael's marriage—but this? He never imagined this would be the answer.Maldric looked at his daughter in shock as well. He hadn’t known about this either. But after a brief moment, he seemed to realize something, and slowly, his expression relaxed.The reporters burst into commotion. The one who had asked the question was even trembling: “Miss Swift, could you clarify what you mean by ‘a stand-in’?”Naomi smiled at the camera. “I’ll tell you everything from the beginning, and I promise to be completely truthful.
No one knew what Kael had said to the chairman, but seeing Teddy leave without his usual stern face, everyone visibly relaxed a little.Mario walked in cautiously. “Mr. Rhodes, I’ll have a doctor treat your wound.”“No need. I’ll handle it myself. Have we found any trace of Naomi?”Mario hesitated for a second. “According to our investigation, Miss Swift just left the hospital.”The man tending to his wounds froze. “Why was she in the hospital?”“Apparently, she was traumatized. She witnessed a car accident on the road.”Kael’s breathing grew heavy—another car accident.“Did you talk to the doctor?”“Apologies, sir. Atlas used a private doctor. We couldn’t get access.” Mario glanced up at Kael carefully.His eyes were unreadable, as if something dark and heavy was swirling in them.“You
Atlas froze. He didn’t even dare meet Naomi’s eyes. He had no idea what kind of answer he might hear next.Looking at the man before her, Naomi thought about everything they had been through together over this time. She thought of how they had run into each other again before she had even divorced Kael. The ache in her heart intensified unbearably.Everything around her blurred. In Naomi’s eyes, the world faded until only the man in front of her remained.“Naomi, please don’t cry!”Atlas practically collapsed to his knees, fumbling for tissues to wipe her tears. If anyone saw this scene, no one would ever believe it.Naomi grabbed his hand tightly. “Why didn’t you message me when you left back then? Atlas, did you think I was just yours for the taking? Or did you never care about me to begin with?”These days, Naomi could feel—plain as day—this man’s deep affection for h
Atlas would never get tangled up in things like Jace and Naomi's relationship issues—after all, to him, nothing matters more than his wife.“Naomi, if you really want Nancy to come back, I’ll help you!”He spoke with such sincerity that Naomi was momentarily stunned. She knew how close Jace and Atlas were, so of course, she didn’t want to be the reason their friendship fell apart.The more she thought about it, the more she felt like a terrible person.“Ah, let’s not talk about that yet. I haven’t even spoken to Nancy. It’s her choice in the end.”Naomi didn’t dwell on it at all. She just dragged Atlas into the car. The two of them showed zero concern about the upcoming press conference.After all, there was nothing to worry about—they were just going to speak the truth.“Atty, let’s go home first!”“Okay. I’ll take yo
Kael woke up early in the morning with a splitting headache. Countless beer bottles lay scattered at his feet. He vaguely remembered feeling terrible last night, and… Danna might’ve called him?What happened after that?His memory was a blur.His phone was nestled quietly among the bottles. Frowning, he picked it up and realized it had powered off.With no other choice, he plugged it in to charge and dragged himself into the bathroom for a shower. He hadn’t felt this drained in days.While the sound of running water filled the bathroom, the phone outside began to ring—but Kael didn’t hear a thing.When he finally came out and saw his phone blowing up with notifications, his body froze. A sinking feeling gnawed at his gut.Back in the country, Teddy had already found out who leaked the news about Naomi and Kael.“Who did you say it was?”The assistant trembled slightly. “Ch