Chapter 2

The moment the call connected, Emily shot to her feet so abruptly that her chair scraped loudly against the polished floor. She took the phone from the lawyer.

“Xavier?”

There was silence. She looked at the phone. She almost thought he had ended the call upon hearing her voice. For a second, all she could hear was the faint hum of traffic on the other end of the line.

Then his familiar voice came. “...Did you receive the documents?”

Emily's fingers tightened around the phone. Her lips parted, but no words came out. He knew about this. He had sent them. This wasn't some horrible misunderstanding.

“Xavier…” Her voice cracked. “Please tell me this isn't real.”

“It is.”

“No.” She shook her head frantically, tears gathering in her eyes. “No, it can't be. There has to be a mistake.”

“There isn't. Sign the papers.”

The calmness in his voice terrified her more than if he had shouted. She looked at Callister, hoping he would interrupt and tell her this had all been a cruel joke. He lowered his gaze. Emily felt the last bit of hope inside her crumble.

“Why?” she whispered.

There was another brief silence. Finally, Xavier spoke. "I've waited long enough."

“What does that even mean?”

“It means five years, Emily.”

He cleared his throat and his voice remained even. “Five years of marriage, yet nothing to show for it.”

“I know how long we've been married!”

“Then you also know nothing has changed.”

Emily wiped away the tears streaming down her cheeks.

“So... this is because I couldn't give you a child?”

“You already know the answer,” he said sternly.

Her chest tightened painfully. “You promised you'd wait.” Emily laughed bitterly through her tears.

“So that's it? You've decided I'm no longer worth waiting for?”

“It isn't just my decision.” His tone remained calm. “My mother has never approved of this marriage.”

Emily closed her eyes. Of course she knew it. Stella Sterling. The woman who never missed an opportunity to remind her that she was an embarrassment to the Sterling family. The woman who called her barren, who treated her like a servant inside her own home. The woman Xavier had never once stood up to. Emily swallowed hard.

“So, your mother tells you to divorce your wife, and you simply obey?”

Xavier didn't answer immediately. When he finally spoke, his voice remained infuriatingly composed. His calmness hurt more than shouting ever could.

“My mother believes this marriage has run its course.”

“And you agree with her.”

“Yes.”

Emily felt as though someone had reached into her chest and squeezed her heart.

“So five years together mean nothing to you?”

“Emily, just sign the papers. Don't make this difficult.”

His answer cut deeper than she expected.

Emily looked down at the white envelope resting on the table. She had imagined handing it to him tonight. She had imagined seeing him smile. Instead, she was discussing the end of her marriage.

She wiped her tears. “I won't sign.”

“The settlement is generous, Emily.”

She let out a disbelieving laugh.

“So that's what this is, a business negotiation?”

“You'll keep the Country Road house. Half of the assets listed in the agreement will be transferred to you. You'll never have to worry about money again.”

Emily's grip on the phone tightened.

“You think I married you for money?”

Another silence stretched between them.

Emily took a shaky breath.

"Xavier,"

For the first time since the call began, her tone softened.

“Please. Let's talk face to face.”

The call ended abruptly and the line went flat. She didn't realize it until she took the phone off her ear and looked at it. She sighed. Xavier had ended the call on her. She handed the phone to Callister.

Callister avoided her direct gaze. He wanted to tell her to sign the papers so that he could leave already, but he kept quiet. He waited for her move.

She took the divorce agreement and put it into the envelope on the table. Then, without a word to Callister, she stood up and walked to the exit. The lawyer followed behind her, obviously confused. She had just gotten up and walked away without telling him anything.

She had walked fast and he followed her as she walked to her car.

“Ma'am, what is going on? Where are you going with the papers?”

“I'm not signing anything. I'm going to meet my husband.”

She didn't say anything else. She entered the car and drove off. The lawyer watched her reverse the car and drive off. Callister sighed. He knew he was going to get into trouble with Mr. Xavier. Xavier wouldn't like it that he hadn't gotten her to sign the papers.

Emily gripped the steering wheel tightly as she drove to the Sterling mansion. She looked at the envelope she had kept on the car seat. She slammed her fist against the car steering. She knew she had wasted too much damn time on that phone call. She should have told him before she ended the call that she had news for him. She should have told him about the pregnancy.

No. Not over the phone. She wanted to see his face when she told him.

Yes, she was pregnant. That was the Valentine's day gift she planned to give to her husband at the restaurant. She had least expected that their Valentine's Day would turn out this way.

She arrived at the mansion, parked the car and stepped inside. She rushed inside, her heels hit against the polished floors as she rushed upstairs.

She held the pregnancy report in one hand, while the divorce agreement was in the other hand. The mansion seemed unusually quiet. She suspected that Xavier was in the study upstairs.

She passed the bedroom and heard noises coming from there. The door was partially open. Emily frowned. Xavier hated bringing guests, especially not into their bedroom. Those noises sounded strange. They didn't sound like the normal sound of two people talking.

She pushed the half open door. Her fingers loosened around the papers. The pregnancy report slipped from her grasp.

“Xavier?”