Se connecterShare
CHAPTER FIVE: Secrets in the Shadows
Dernière mise à jour:
2026-01-26 18:52:14The mansion was quiet that night, but the silence was thick—heavy with unspoken words, hidden histories, and the kind of tension that made Lydia’s pulse quicken. She had spent the day in the library, organizing her papers and exploring the estate’s hidden corners. That was when she stumbled upon it—a small drawer in Ethan’s private desk, concealed behind a false panel.
Curiosity tugged at her. She knew she shouldn’t, but something about the secrecy called to her. She slid the drawer open, revealing a stack of letters, photographs, and legal documents. Lydia’s fingers trembled as she flipped through them. There were letters from a woman—a beautiful, confident woman who signed herself Isabella. The letters were intimate, passionate, and unrelenting in their claim on Ethan’s heart. The woman had been a part of his life long before Lydia ever arrived. Each letter whispered of love, betrayal, and promises broken. Her stomach twisted. Ethan had not been exaggerating when he said there was someone else. And now, in the silence of the library, Lydia felt the sting of a reality far worse than cold indifference: she was living in the shadow of another woman. A sudden noise startled her. A floorboard creaked behind her. Ethan stepped into the library, his eyes dark and unreadable. For a moment, Lydia froze, the letters clutched in her hand. “You’ve been snooping,” he said flatly, though his voice carried an edge she hadn’t heard before. “I… I found this,” Lydia whispered, holding up the letters. “Who is she?” Ethan’s jaw tightened. He moved closer, his height and presence overwhelming. “She’s… someone from my past. Someone I made mistakes with. But she is gone from my life. You have nothing to fear from her.” “Nothing to fear?” Lydia repeated, her voice trembling with anger and hurt. “Ethan, she’s still here, in your papers, in your life, in your heart!” His eyes softened for a fraction of a second, but then he hardened again. “You don’t understand the arrangement, Lydia. I never promised you my heart. You are my wife, yes—but you do not own my feelings.” The words were like fire in her veins. Lydia realized that she had underestimated the depth of the emotional battlefield she had entered. She could endure cold nights and indifference, but this… this was betrayal by proximity, a secret that threatened to suffocate her. “I will not be ignored, Ethan,” she said, her voice steady despite the tears threatening to fall. “I am not a placeholder for the life you think you lost. I am here. I am real. And if you think you can hide the truth from me, you are mistaken.” For the first time, Ethan looked uncertain. His control, usually so absolute, flickered like a candle in the wind. Then, just as she thought the confrontation had reached its peak, a sound echoed from the hall—a whisper, faint but deliberate. Lydia froze. Ethan’s eyes narrowed. A figure emerged from the shadows. Not Isabella, but someone else entirely—a man Ethan clearly recognized, though his expression betrayed nothing. “Ethan,” the man said, low and commanding. “We need to talk. Now.” Lydia’s heart pounded. Who was this intruder? And what secrets did he hold? Ethan’s face went pale for the first time in her life. The mask of control slipped, revealing the vulnerability he had never allowed anyone to see. Lydia realized, in that instant, that the Blackwood estate held more than wealth and walls—it held dangerous secrets. Secrets that could destroy the fragile equilibrium she had only just begun to navigate. And she knew, without a doubt, that her life had just become far more complicated.
Latest chapter
His Unwanted Wife CHAPTER TEN: A Love Unbroken
The Blackwood estate was quiet, almost eerily so, the morning after the storm that had shaken its foundations both inside and out. Rain had swept through the night, leaving the grounds glistening, and a fragile sunlight now filtered through the tall windows. But inside, the mansion was alive with a tension that was different from the fear and uncertainty of the previous days. It was the tension of possibility—the quiet electricity of change, trust, and fragile hope.Lydia stood in the library, the place where so many of her battles—both emotional and practical—had begun. Sunlight streamed over the leather-bound books, catching dust motes in its glow. Her fingers brushed the spines as she walked past, and she thought of how far she had come—from the terrified bride who walked down the aisle into cold indifference, to a woman who had faced secrets, threats, and betrayal, and survived.The door creaked behind her, and she turned to see Ethan entering, dressed in casual clothes, hair stil
His Unwanted Wife CHAPTER NINE: Shadows of Betrayal
The Blackwood estate felt alive with tension that night, far more intense than the usual quiet grandeur. Lydia had learned that Ethan’s carefully controlled life was riddled with secrets—alliances he had forged in the past, enemies he had made, and debts that could ruin him if exposed. But she had also learned that beneath the impenetrable walls, he was vulnerable, and for the first time, she understood that she could not simply wait for him to change; she had to act.Ethan’s study was dimly lit, the soft glow of the desk lamp casting long shadows across the papers strewn across the surface. His jaw was tight, his hands trembling slightly as he reviewed financial documents and letters. The man who had walked through the front doors earlier—an associate turned traitor—had threatened to expose Ethan’s dealings, and he had left a lingering sense of menace in the mansion.Lydia stepped quietly into the study, aware of the weight of the moment. “Ethan,” she said softly.He looked up, dark
His Unwanted Wife CHAPTER EIGHT: The Storm Within
The morning after their first real moment together, the Blackwood estate was quiet, almost deceptively so. The previous night had left an echo in the air—something tangible and heavy, like electricity that refused to fade. Ethan was in his study, papers scattered across the desk, the lines of tension still etched into his face. He looked every bit the controlled, untouchable man Lydia had come to know, but she could see the subtle cracks that hadn’t existed before.Lydia, for her part, felt a strange mix of triumph and unease. Last night had been a breakthrough, yes. But breakthroughs didn’t erase history, secrets, or the dangers that lingered just beyond the walls of the mansion. She knew that Ethan’s world was far from simple. There were enemies, debts, and betrayals—remnants of his past that could reach her if she let her guard down.She entered the study cautiously, her heels clicking softly against the polished floor. Ethan looked up, his dark eyes catching hers, sharp but soften
His Unwanted Wife CHAPTER SEVEN: Breaking the Walls
The storm outside the Blackwood estate had passed, leaving the air crisp and heavy with the scent of wet earth. Inside, the mansion still felt like a labyrinth of secrets and shadows, but tonight, everything had shifted. The confrontation with the mysterious man—the one who had revealed hidden debts, dangerous alliances, and betrayals from Ethan’s past—had left Lydia and Ethan both shaken.Ethan’s usually composed demeanor was gone, replaced by a tension Lydia had never seen. His sharp, controlled movements were jagged, as if the perfect mask he always wore had finally fractured. And for the first time, she realized just how much weight he carried, how deeply he had buried himself beneath walls of control, wealth, and indifference.Lydia had watched him from the library doorway, silent but alert. She had listened as he confronted the man—whose name she still did not know—about mistakes, threats, and obligations that stretched back years. She had glimpsed the man behind the myth, the m
His Unwanted Wife CHAPTER SIX: Fractured Loyalties
The Blackwood estate had never felt more like a trap. Rain pelted the windows again, violent and relentless, as though the heavens themselves mourned the storm that raged within the mansion. Lydia paced the library, her hands trembling slightly as she clutched the stack of letters she had discovered. The confrontation from last night haunted her—the intruder in the hall, Ethan’s rare moment of vulnerability, and the hidden life she had glimpsed through Isabella’s letters.She could feel it now, the electric tension lingering in the air, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath.Footsteps echoed on the marble floors. Ethan entered the library, his dark eyes burning with a mixture of anger and something else Lydia couldn’t quite place—fear, maybe, or guilt.“You shouldn’t have gone through my things,” he said, voice low, dangerous. “It was a mistake.”Lydia held her ground. “A mistake? Ethan, you’ve hidden this from me. From the moment we married, you’ve built your walls, an
His Unwanted Wife CHAPTER FIVE: Secrets in the Shadows
The mansion was quiet that night, but the silence was thick—heavy with unspoken words, hidden histories, and the kind of tension that made Lydia’s pulse quicken. She had spent the day in the library, organizing her papers and exploring the estate’s hidden corners. That was when she stumbled upon it—a small drawer in Ethan’s private desk, concealed behind a false panel.Curiosity tugged at her. She knew she shouldn’t, but something about the secrecy called to her. She slid the drawer open, revealing a stack of letters, photographs, and legal documents.Lydia’s fingers trembled as she flipped through them.There were letters from a woman—a beautiful, confident woman who signed herself Isabella. The letters were intimate, passionate, and unrelenting in their claim on Ethan’s heart. The woman had been a part of his life long before Lydia ever arrived. Each letter whispered of love, betrayal, and promises broken.Her stomach twisted. Ethan had not been exaggerating when he said there was s
Vous vous intéresseriez aussi à
I Kissed A CEO And He Liked It!
LiLhyz1.5M VuesAccidentally Yours
Shayla HArt1.8M VuesMy Dad's Bestfriend
Liz Barnet764.2K VuesI Want You Back
Meminger527.5K VuesBuilt in Ruins
Twwoossie146 VuesClaimed by the Cold CEO
Victoria Knight140 VuesHis Regret Began When She Let Go
Bella Amanda 470 VuesI Divorced and I Thrived
Riverflow737 Vues
