14

(BETTY’S POV)

I swallowed. “Jay, it’s okay.”

“No, it isn’t.” He looked directly into my eyes. “You didn’t deserve it.”

I forced a small smile, though my chest felt tight. “I understood why you acted that way.”

“That doesn’t make it right.”

“You were in love with someone else.” The words came out more quietly than I intended. “Anyone in my position would have been hurt. But even though you didn’t love me, you still treated me well in front of everyone. You took care of me when I was sick. You never deliberately humiliated me.”

His expression softened. “You were there for me too.”

I looked down at the roses in my arms. “I was your wife.”

“You were more than that.”

My eyes immediately returned to meet his own.

For a moment neither of us said a word.

There was something in the silence—something charged and unspoken.

The way he was looking at me made my heart race.

Suddenly all the little things he had done over the past few days came rushing back: the way he would not let me cook, the way he complained whenever I tried to clean, the way he reminded me to rest, the massages when my body ached, the midday phone calls just to ask if I had eaten.

Whenever I complained about something he listened instead of brushing me off. He has even started tolerating my little tantrums without the cold silence that used to follow.

And every time he did something kind, my heart betrayed me a little more.

I was falling for him again. Perhaps I have never really stopped loving him.

I just did not know if he felt anything close to the same way.

My fingers tightened around the bouquet. “Jay…”

“Yes?”

I hesitated, then asked the question that had been sitting painfully in my chest for days. “Do you…still love Jewel?”

His expression changed. For a second I wished I could take the question back. He reached for my hand and held it gently, his thumb brushing once across my knuckles.

“I still love Jewel.”

My heartbeat dropped.

I knew the answer. I have always known. But hearing it from his lips still hurt more than I was prepared for.

He continued, voice quiet but steady. “But the truth is, you’re carrying my child, and I don’t want our child to…”

“Wait.” I pulled my hand away slightly. “Is that why you’re apologizing to me?”

He frowned. “What?”

“Because of the baby?” My grip on the bouquet loosened. “Is that why you’ve been taking care of me? Because I’m carrying your child?”

“Betty, don’t misunderstand me.”

“But that’s what you just said.”

“I said I’m sorry because you deserved better from me.” He stepped closer. “I’m not saying I’m only taking care of you because you’re pregnant.”

I stared at him, searching his face for something I was not sure I would find.

Before I could ask anything else, the words escaped me. “You’ll never stop loving her, will you?”

Jayson was quiet for a long moment.

Then he answered honestly. “Yeah.”

One word. That was all it took. My heart broke into pieces I wasn't sure anyone could mend.

His phone suddenly rang.

He glanced at the screen, then stepped away. “I need to take this.”

And just like that, he walked out of the room, already answering the call in the low, professional tone he used for work.

I stood there, holding the roses, staring at the empty doorway.

What was I thinking? That he would suddenly fall in love with me? That a few days of kindness meant I had finally become important to him?

I let out a quiet, humorless laugh. Of course not. Jewel has been his first love—the woman he had loved before me, the woman he will probably never stop loving. And me? I was his wife. His contract wife and nothing more.

I took the bouquet upstairs and placed it carefully on the small table beside my bed. The roses were beautiful. Too beautiful. I stared at them for a while before picking up my phone. I needed a distraction.

I opened F******k and began scrolling mindlessly through my feed.

People were posting pictures from dinners, vacations, weddings, parties. I barely paid attention to any of them.

My mind kept circling back to Jayson—his apology, his kindness, his quiet confession.

I sighed and continued scrolling until a notification popped up.

You have a new friend request.

I tapped on it without thinking. The profile loaded and my entire body went still.

Jewel Smith.