Chapter 4

“She’s here on an appointment,” Wilhelm replied coldly. “What are YOU doing here? I didn’t hear about you getting an appointment to see me.” 

I blinked. “You’re asking me, your own wife, to set an appointment for me to get to see you in your own company?” 

A shadow crossed over my husband’s face. “Isn’t that what I’ve just said?” 

“I’m so sorry, Kathryn! I only tried to wipe the sweat off the back of his shirt,” Rose reasoned. “I meant no harm in doing it,” she looked to Wilhelm next. “I should probably leave—” 

“You should stay. We’re not yet signing the contract,” he gestured to the paper on the desk before he shifted his gaze to me. “You should be the one to leave.” 

I couldn’t breathe at his words, my hands shaking as I held tight onto the lunchbox that I had brought him. How could he dismiss me like this? 

“Why is she joining the company?” I managed to ask. 

Wilhelm narrowed his eyes on me. “Do I need to tell you?” 

“Wil, that’s enough,” Rose said, reaching out to touch his shoulder. She flashed me a smile before she proceeded to speak. “I’m actually applying to be your company’s official consultant for sales management. I just finished my master’s degree in business management, and had been a little too rough with drinking yesterday.” 

Although her explanation coincides with what my husband has told me, I just couldn’t take away this bad feeling about her. 

“There you have it,” Wilhelm added as he focused on the paper in front of him. “Satisfied?” 

I held back my tears and hated myself for not thinking less about what was going on between the two of them. 

“Wilhelm, I need to speak to—”

“Can’t it wait when I get home?” 

“Please,” was all that came out of my mouth. I need to tell him about the growing life inside of me, or I’ll lose him forever.

He refused to look at my face. “I have texted the driver to pick you up. You may leave now.” 

I couldn’t move. He was so cold and dismissive to me that I had no strength left to even speak. 

Wordlessly, I slammed his lunchbox on his table and excused myself in their presence. The clacking of heels followed me behind, and I caught Rose catching up to me. 

“Wait! Kathryn!”

I stopped in my tracks, expecting an apology, but Rose had a sly smile on her face, rendering me suspicious as she came closer. 

“You deserved it,” she said while she took out her phone.

My jaw fell. “What did you just say?” 

She chuckled as she showed me a photo of her and my husband sleeping soundly next to her—in bed. 

“Of course, you deserve to know what’s been going on behind closed doors. See here, Kath, I know that you’re an incredible woman, but you can’t outsmart me. I’m always a foot ahead of you,” she said. “And that picture is proof that it didn’t matter if you married Wilhelm,” her eyes darkened as she continued. “He’ll still find his way back to me.” 

I couldn’t contain the pain that seeped through my chest at her words. “What…do you mean?” 

“Oh, you didn’t know about Wilhelm and me?” she clicked her tongue. “That’s too bad! I must’ve been cruel to have revealed it to you this way.” 

My eyes burned on the picture on her phone. “Explain! Why are you doing this?” 

“Remember the day you got engaged all because his stupid father wanted you to be his bride instead of me? The day before that, he broke Wilhelm and me up! And then a few months later, you were married to him,” she hissed. 

Pain shot my stomach as I started to dissect her words. “You and Wilhelm?” my eyes widened. “You’re his ex-girlfriend?” 

Rose crossed her arms, looking bored. “Oh. He didn’t tell you, did he now? We used to be so in-love back in the day. I would’ve been in your position—a billionaire’s wife, if you hadn’t appeared in the picture.” She moved away from me then. “Now, I’m here to take back what’s mine.” 

My hand held onto the wall for support as Rose turned on her heels, and walked straight to Wilhelm’s office. 

I was left alone in the hallway, and I felt something crash inside of me, like my heart was being ripped out altogether with no hope for it to be fixed. 

I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe—except for the fact that I needed to protect this baby and go as far away from them as I could. I would rather raise my child alone than have a father like Wilhelm by their side. 

Walking slowly, I found my way back to my husband’s office. Rose was laughing at something he said, and this made my blood run completely cold. 

“Wilhelm,” I called, and my husband whipped his head in my direction. 

“Didn’t I tell you to go back home?” he asked irritably. 

I ignored his words, steeling myself for what I was about to say. “Let’s get a divorce.”