Chapter 4

The next morning, Caroline's phone pinged with a text.

[Did he touch you last night?]

After breaking up with Laurent a year ago, she'd blocked him and never groveled to reconcile.

Now he was back, texting from a new number.

Her lashes fluttered, her fingers hovering over the screen before she deleted the message.

Right after, another text came.

[Roderick's got money. Why are you dressed like that? Thought you'd hit the jackpot marrying into wealth, but he's not spending on you, huh?]

[You were with me for five, six years. I never let you wear cheap stuff. Even your necklace was custom-made, with freaking diamonds.]

He sounded desperate, less like the untouchable CEO and more like a lovesick stray, clawing for her attention.

[Hey, talk to me. Text back.]

[I told you to unblock me on WhatsApp. Why haven't you?]

Annoyed with the bombardment, she blocked the number, but soon, another unknown number pinged.

[You blocked my number again?]

She blocked that one, too, but he called her with a third number.

Her patience finally snapped. "What do you want?"

"When are you divorcing that loser?" he asked flatly.

Her breath caught. "Why the hell would I divorce him?"

"Come on. How do you put up with that cheap, impotent guy?" he laughed, sharp and vicious. "You into that or something? I'd rather not catch bad luck talking to someone like that."

"You'd know if I'm into that, wouldn't you?" she countered, her voice biting. "I'm great at putting up with crap. Didn't I put up with you?"

His jealousy flared, turning to rage. "He's no man. Why did you even marry him?"

"We're done. What's your deal?" She gripped her phone, her knuckles turning white. "My life's none of your business anymore."

"Then why did you get married?" he pressed.

His real question hung unspoken. "Why wasn't it with me?"

"You gonna marry me if I didn't?" she asked back.

Her words hit him like a bomb. He froze, his breath catching.

"From high school to college," she choked, her voice trembling, "I never betrayed you. You dumped me! You ended it. My conscience is clear. I don’t regret breaking up with you."

His fingers tightened. Each heartbeat brought a wave of pain. "You better not. Your marriage won't last long. Eventually, he'll kick you out."

She hung up and blocked that number, too.

...

When Caroline arrived at the Reed Group headquarters, her mother-in-law and a shareholder, Margaret Reed, was waiting in her private office.

The middle-aged, commanding woman gave a faint smile that didn't reach her eyes. "You're here. How is it going with Roderick lately?"

Caroline set her bag down. "He hasn't been around much."

Margaret sneered. "Can't keep him in line?"

Sarcasm was the theme of their interactions. In high society, mothers-in-law rarely coddled their daughters-in-law.

Roderick's affairs constantly made headlines, but Margaret always blamed it on her.

"Nope," he replied, her tone blunt.

Margaret blinked, thrown by the defiance. "As his wife, you can't even hold his heart. Aren't you ashamed?"

Caroline shrugged. "I tried. Maybe you can give it a shot."

Margaret fell silent, knowing Roderick's selfish streak better than anyone. He was like that because of her spoiling.

But Caroline's nonchalance was infuriating. Margaret frowned. "I don't care why you married Roderick, but acting like you don't care about him? That's not what a good wife does."

"I'm not a good wife," Caroline said, unflinching. "I've got a meeting. Can we do this later?"

Since marrying into the Reed family, she had managed the company more than Roderick did. She hadn't handled the household well, but she ran her department like a pro.

Margaret tried to say something, but Caroline's assistant interrupted. "Ma'am, the clients from yesterday's event are arriving soon."

Caroline nodded, patted Margaret's shoulder with a polite smile, and headed to the meeting room.

Margaret was stunned. She'd come to lecture Caroline, only to get checkmated.

In the meeting room, Laurent waited with a dark expression, grimacing after sipping a cup of coffee. "Awful."

An employee nearby approached, her face blushed. "Mr. Holt, tell me what you need. I'll get you another."

"Brew me a fresh one," he said, expressionless.

Nervous and thrilled, the employee scurried out.

Laurent glanced around, unimpressed by the décor. It wasn't as nice as that of his company.

Just then, Caroline walked in with a cup of coffee. She set it down firmly in front of him. "Mr. Holt, here you go."

Laurent squinted at the cup, realizing it was the same one he had tasted.

But instead of protesting, he took a sip and set it down.

"You seem to have a pretty high-up role here," he said smoothly. "Is this the kind of pull and perks you got from marrying him?"

"Yup." Caroline nodded, sitting across from him.

Her heels made her legs look long and sleek, an irresistible allure to Laurent.

"You weren't like this," he said.

"Oh?" she smirked. "Well, I used to be too easy to fool. Turns out, being all-in for love doesn't end well."

He froze, his heart a tangle of guilt and want.