Chapter 4

“I just realized they have all become old-fashioned in the wait for our child,” I said, “And taking too much space for the new ones.”

“You should have discussed this with me before… putting them on fire!” he spat, his voice still hoarse with the loss of the treasure, if he still considered it as one.

“I thought you no longer cared about it,” I said, my voice dangerously calm. “You haven't opened this room for about six months.”

In the past six months, every cent that was spent from his account was to either buy Rosaline a brand new accessory or take her out on a ‘business trip’. He claimed, as his assistant, that it was important for her to look elegant and classy.

He couldn't care less about the sanctuary we built together.

Jayden knelt on the soot-stained floor, his fingers trembling as he brushed the ash off a pair of tiny, charred leather boots. The "Mafia Godfather" who terrified the Tri-State area looked like a man who had just seen his soul turn to dust.

Slowly, he stood up. The fury that had colored his face a moment ago had drained away, replaced by a haunting, fragile tenderness. He stepped toward me, ignoring the kerosene-slicked floor.

"Victoria," he whispered, his voice cracking. He reached out, his hands—the ones the internet was currently praising for their 'reverence' toward Rosaline—cupping my face. They were cold. "I’m sorry. I’ve been... too busy with these days, the expansion... I lost sight of the walls of my own home."

He pulled me into his chest, burying his face in my hair. For a heartbeat, the familiar scent of his expensive cologne almost made me forget the scent of her perfume that had been clinging to him moments before.

"I’ll make it right," he murmured against my temple. "The nursery can be rebuilt. I'll get the collections back. I’ll be here, Victoria. No more late nights. No more 'business' taking me away from you. I promise—tonight is the turning point.”

He kissed my forehead, his eyes shining with a promise that felt, for the first time in a year, like solid ground. "Be ready at seven. I’ll be home to pick you up myself. Just us."

I spent hours getting ready. I wore the midnight blue silk gown he loved, the one that draped perfectly over the slight, hidden curve of my stomach. I waited in the marble foyer, the silence no longer feeling like a tomb, but like a hushed breath before a song.

One last dinner. Together. Perhaps, it would be a less painful memory to remember in the future. He at least deserved a goodbye from me.

That was what I thought before I made up my mind to stay one more night. With Jayden.

I shot a glance at my wrist watch. 7:00 PM.

The car wasn't in the driveway.

7:30 PM. No call. No text.

8:00 PM. My reflection in the mirror began to look like a joke.

I turned on the television, flicking to the local news coverage of the Gala. The red carpet was a sea of flashbulbs. And there he was.

Jayden looked impeccable in his tuxedo. But he wasn't alone. Rosaline was draped on his arm, wearing a dress that left nothing to the imagination, her hand resting firmly on his bicep.

The reporter thrust a microphone toward them. "Mr. Jayden, word is you have a massive announcement tonight regarding the future of your legacy?"

Jayden smiled—that shark-like, charming smile. "The future has never looked brighter," he said, looking down at Rosaline. "The strength of my empire depends on the strength of the woman beside me. Tonight, we celebrate a new era."

“From today on, Rosaline is no longer my assistant, but a partner. I’m transferring half of our company’s shares in her name. She is no longer an employee, but the boss lady.”

I stared at the screen with bloodshot eyes. He was transferring half of the empire to his mistress without thinking of the need to discuss it with me. The very same empire I had worked my ass off to help him build?

I didn't cry. The fire I had started in the nursery had simply migrated to my chest, burning away the last of the "softness" they all despised.

I walked to the safe in the study. I didn't take the jewels or the cash. I took the thumb drive containing the offshore accounts I had managed—the ones he forgot I had the codes to.

As I walked out the front door, I left the diamond ring on the cold marble floor of the foyer. The same ring he had proposed to me with, the ring I had taken off a day before, and he hadn't even noticed. It rolled a few inches before stopping in a crack.

I started the engine and drove into the night. By the time I reached the airport, my phone had beeped several times. When I checked, it had ten missed calls and twenty messages from Jayden.

[Sorry, I got occupied. I’m coming to pick you up, sweetheart.]

[Victoria, why are you not at home?]

[I found our engagement ring lying on the floor. What's that mean?]

[You are scaring me now! Why the hell are you not picking up my calls?]

And so on.

I simply blocked his number and shut the phone off.

Goodbye Jayden. I’m leaving… with the child you don't know exists.