Ronan Throne

OPHELIA

Selena paused the moment her eyes fell on me. She looked from me to the child and before I could blink, she hurried toward us, shoved me out of the way, and bundled the child in a hug.

“Alia, dear.”

I grabbed the table to steady myself.

“Oh, my child. Thank goodness you’re awake. I was almost scared to death.”

“Mommy, where is…”

The door opened again and this time, Julius stepped in. A fresh memory of the scene I’d witnessed only a few minutes ago flashed in my mind and I clutched the table tighter as my breath hitched.

“Dad-Uncle,” Alia called, pulling away from Selena’s embrace.

With a smile plastered on his face, he sauntered toward her and kissed her all over her face. “Little Alia is finally awake? Did you dream of little fairies while you were unconscious this time?”

Selena wrapped a hand around his arm and leaned against him. “Yes, dearie. Why don’t you tell us what you saw this time?”

“I saw fairies and even elves.”

“Amazing,” he exclaimed. “How many did you see?”

Alia counted and held up three fingers. “Three fairies. I saw three this time.”

Julius threw his head backward and burst into laughter.

Before now, my stomach would’ve fluttered with butterflies at the sound of his contagious laughter. Now, it ached painfully and the food I’d eaten this morning rose to my throat.

Selena and Julius had always acted like this.

From calling him late at night, to being all over him whenever we were together, I’d thought they were simply just close cousins. How stupid I was not to notice this act all this while?

Four years of being his wife, yet I felt like a stranger watching a completely happy family.

His laughter suddenly ceased as his gaze landed on Alia’s feet and the rolled sock. He froze and then as if just remembering I was in the room, his eyes slowly trailed toward me. For a moment, he paused.

No.

He wouldn't know. He had no reason to keep it away from me.

But when he masked his expression with a tight-lipped smile and rolled the sock back into place, it told me everything.

It shouldn't have made sense but it did.

Julius. He knew.

The DNA wasn’t false.

Alia was my child and he’d known all along.

My breath stopped halfway in my chest and I didn’t even realise my fingers had gone cold until I felt them trembling.

“Ophelia.” He strode to me, a smile on his lips. The moment he reached me, he pulled me into his embrace. “Thank you. Thank you for saving little Alia’s life, honey.”

He drew back and cupped my cheeks with those same hands that’d touched Selena a few minutes ago. I stiffened, fighting the urge to shove him away.

“Of-of course.”

“When we get home, I have a thank-you gift. Can you guess what it is this time?”

My smile felt strained, hiding the tremor of my lips. “You never give me the same gift twice. W-who can guess?”

“This one is the very best. Huge of course.”

“I can’t wait to see it then.”

Perhaps something better than watching my perfect marriage collapse?

Before he could say anything else, Selena pulled him gently aside, placing herself between us. She embraced me for a short second. “Thank you for saving my daughter, Ophelia,” she cried. “You have a heart of gold.”

“Anyone would've done the same.”

With a low laughter that didn’t reach my throat, I pulled my hands from her and crossed them behind me, curling my fingers into fists.

“Not everyone. You’re truly kind.”

“What are we family for?”

“You’re so sweet. When we called you, I didn’t think you’d agree or understand, especially since you're… not a mother,” she paused. “Even though you lost your child and don’t know what motherhood feels like, you still helped.”

My smile cracked as her words hit me like a silent blow.

My eyes rose to Julius but he looked everywhere except me. This couldn’t be the same man who once crossed the city when I lost a shoe after a gala.

Julius and I had met in our last year at college. We immediately clicked and started dating. On graduation day, he’d knelt in front of the entire school and asked me to marry him, professing his undying love.

Yet, it turned out to all be a lie. For years he’d lied to me with practiced love while he made a family behind my back.

He wasn’t only cheating with his so-called cousin. They had my child.

Thousands of questions swirled in my head. How long has this been going on? How did they have the child that’d died years ago?

I needed those answers like I needed to breathe to survive.

And I would find out everything. Whatever they were hiding, I would uncover it.

And when I eventually do… I would make them regret this betrayal.

Until then, two can play this game.

“I’m happy to have saved her life,” I replied sweetly. “Little Alia is cute and smart and has the same heart condition as me. We are so similar. Of course, I wouldn’t say no.”

For a split second, their faces went blank.

“Mommy, Un-Uncle.”

Alia weakly called. They hurriedly returned to her side, looking every bit like the happy family they’d built behind my back.

The air in the room choked me tightly.

It felt too suffocating. Too fake. Too calculated.

The door closed behind me before I even realized I’d left the room. Barely a step into the hallway, my legs finally gave way.

My hand reached for the wall but it slid off too fast and my body tipped forward forcefully.

I gasped.

But instead of hitting the ground, strong arms caught my waist and my body suddenly crashed into a hard one.

“Careful,” a low familiar voice sounded right above my head.

My brows drew together. I knew that voice.

The moment my eyes landed on the tall figure before me, they expanded.

“Yo-you.” I stiffened.

Ronan Throne.

The richest CEO in the city, my husband’s archenemy. And oh… My brother-in-law!