Chapter 12

After their wedding, Selena and Lucian went on their honeymoon and spent about two weeks together before returning to their usual lives. Lucian continued travelling for work, while Selena focused on hers. Despite their busy schedules, they maintained a stable and seemingly good relationship, even though they only saw each other for about two weeks each month.

Lucian always made sure he was around for their anniversary. Whenever he returned from his trips, he brought Selena flowers and chocolates, and those little gestures made her happy. Each time, she found herself falling deeper in love with him, but she still couldn't bring herself to confess her feelings. She was afraid of his response and worried that revealing them might ruin the relationship they had built.

Brandon and Louisa visited regularly, and Louisa always brought Selena a new set of lingerie. Selena had repeatedly asked her to stop, but Louisa wouldn't listen. If anything, she seemed determined to find increasingly revealing and ridiculous outfits.

Thankfully, Selena rarely had to wear them. Lucian was always all over her whenever he was home, even when she was dressed like a grandmother with ten children and twenty grandchildren. Apparently, nothing could discourage that man.

During their second year of marriage, Selena discovered she was pregnant. Although she hadn't planned on having children so soon, and had specifically requested that they wait for the first three years of their marriage, she was surprisingly happy about it. She couldn't wait for Lucian to return so she could tell him.

In the meantime, she shared the news with Katie and Claire, who came over to congratulate her. Well, one came to congratulate her, while the other wanted to drag her to an abortion clinic. We all know who that was.

In the end, they celebrated with wine for Katie and Claire and water for Selena. She also informed her in-laws, who immediately rushed over. Louisa was practically jumping with excitement at the thought of becoming a grandmother.

However, when Lucian returned and Selena told him the news, he didn't seem particularly happy. He blamed his reaction on work, and Selena tried not to think too much about it.

A month later, she suffered a miscarriage.

It broke her heart. Lucian comforted her and repeatedly assured her that everything would be fine. He even suggested that she might have been mistaken about the pregnancy, but Selena knew what she'd experienced. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd heard relief in his voice when he thought the pregnancy was over. She eventually brushed the thought aside.

Now, as she sat reflecting on everything that had happened, tears filled Selena's eyes again. Looking back, it felt as though everything had gone wrong from the very beginning.

The doctor had attributed her miscarriage to stress, but Selena couldn't understand how that could have been the case. She'd done little beyond working, and even when Brandon and Louisa learned about the miscarriage, they insisted that she stay home and work remotely.

“Was it Katie or Brandon?” she whispered to herself.

She was about to leave when she saw Brandon and Louisa entering the house after dinner. They'd been laughing and acting affectionately towards each other, but their expressions changed as soon as they noticed her swollen eyes.

Louisa hurried over, handing her coat, purse, and other belongings to a maid before cupping Selena's face.

“What happened?” she asked, concern evident on both her and Brandon's faces.

“I promise I'll tell you what happened, but not today, okay?”

She hugged them both and started towards the door, but stopped and turned back.

“Please, don't tell Lucian about this yet.”

“What did he do?” Brandon asked, anger creeping into his voice.

Selena walked back and hugged them again. “I promise I'll tell you everything tomorrow, after our dinner.”

She was relieved that they didn't press her for answers, so she said goodbye and left.

Lucian arrived twenty minutes after she got home, but Selena pretended to be asleep because she didn't want to face him.

He showered, placed the flowers and chocolates he'd brought on her nightstand, then climbed into bed and cuddled her before falling asleep.

Selena, however, couldn't sleep. His hands on her body felt like a thousand needles pricking her at once, but she endured it because she didn't want to give anything away. She was almost grateful that he was too tired to initiate anything intimate, because how was she supposed to be close to him after what she'd discovered?

She cried silently until dawn. Then she got out of bed and began preparing for work.

Before leaving, she went downstairs and made breakfast for both of them. She ate quickly, hoping to leave before he came down, then headed to the office.

Even at work, Selena couldn't think straight. She kept wondering how she should confront him, but today was their anniversary. Should she wait until tomorrow? What about the night they were expected to spend together? Should she pretend nothing had happened?

Questions flooded her mind, leaving her more confused than ever.

And what about Katie's son?

She immediately pushed that thought away. As far as Selena knew, Katie and Lucian had never been particularly close. Lucian hadn't even joined them on their high-school staycation, which had taken place before their lives went in separate directions after graduation.

Selena sighed and decided to take things one step at a time. She picked up her phone and bag and left her office. She'd already instructed her secretary to reschedule her meetings, but there was someone she needed to see first.

She arrived at a café and waited patiently for Claire.

A few minutes later, Claire walked in and sat in the chair opposite her.

“Hi.”

Selena didn't bother returning the greeting.

“Claire, I'm not here to get even with you or criticise you for not telling me about the two of them.” She leaned closer. “I want you to lay everything you know and suspect on the table. Right now.”

Silence stretched between them for a long moment before Claire finally spoke.

“Selena, you know how much I love you and that I'd do anything for you, but I can't do that. Katie is my only sibling, my sister. I can't betray her like that.”

“But I can be betrayed, right?”

Claire lowered her head and said nothing.

“Then why did you show me the video?”

“Because you deserve to know what Lucian was doing behind your back.”

Selena stared at her, anger evident on her face.

“Since you won't tell me anything...” She reached into her bag and took out her phone. “Maybe I'll call her myself.”

“NO!”

Claire tried to snatch the phone from her, but Selena was faster. She turned the screen towards Claire, revealing that she wasn't calling anyone. She'd only wanted to shake her up.

“Selena, I can't tell you anything. I've wronged my sister enough.”

Claire picked up her bag and stood.

“Contact our aunt. She might have some answers.”

She sighed, tears gathering in her eyes.

“I'm sorry, Sel.”

Then she turned and left.

Selena's tears began to fall too. The betrayal was too much to bear, but she paid for the untouched drinks and returned to the office.

Her secretary had already obtained Aunt Susan's number, as Selena had instructed, but she'd been putting off calling her ever since she returned. Perhaps she was afraid of hearing what she suspected was the truth. Or perhaps some part of her still wanted to forget everything, forgive them, and pretend she'd never found out.

She picked up her phone and dialled the number.

“Hello, am I speaking with Susan?” she asked, making her voice sound cheerful.

“Yes, you are.”

“It's me, Selena.”

A long pause followed before Susan finally responded.

“Oh, hiiii! It's been so long.”

There was something strange about her voice, but Selena couldn't quite place it.

“Yes, it has.” Without bothering with more pleasantries, Selena continued. “Auntie, I'd like to speak with you. Is now a good time?”

“Yes, it is.”

Selena explained the main details of what she'd discovered, leaving out the parts she wasn't ready to share.

When she'd finished, Susan sighed.

“I'm sorry about what you think has happened, but has it never occurred to you that you're the other woman?”

Selena went silent.

“What do you mean, Auntie?” she asked, her voice steadier than she expected.

“I'm sorry to say this, Selena, but you're the other woman.”

Selena's heart dropped to her stomach.

“How? What do you mean?”

Tears gathered in her eyes.

“The father of Katie's children is Lucian.”

Susan paused before continuing.

“I'm pretty sure you don't know about Elvira, Lucian's daughter with Katie. They've been seeing each other for eight years, and everyone knew, including your wonderful in-laws. Everyone except you.”

She let out a dry laugh.

“I was furious when I found out yesterday that you were getting married to Lucian. I was about to tell Katie's father everything so he could stop the wedding, but Katie held me back.”

Selena was so distraught that she didn't even realise when her phone slipped from her hand. The speaker was loud enough for her to hear Susan's every word.

“Katie cares about you, but no parent would choose an outsider over their own children. So she kept seeing him, even after he married you, as long as you never found out.”

Selena could hear the triumph in Susan's voice.

“And they didn't want you getting pregnant, either. Why would they? So your child could compete with Noah for what they believed was rightfully his?”

Susan laughed again.

“The sisters kept sending you things to satisfy your pregnancy cravings, laced with little doses of abortion medication, and Lucian gave his approval. They even paid the doctor to cover it up.”

Then her tone turned serious.

“So, my dear Selena, you're the other woman. And your in-laws know about the children and the affair. They just don't know about the pills.”

With that, Susan hung up.

Selena sat frozen, unable to process what she'd just heard. It felt as though every ounce of strength had drained from her body.

Slowly, she picked up her phone, stood, and walked out of the office.

She was going to the place Lucian had chosen for their anniversary.