Karl’s POV“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Estelle whispered brokenly.“Would it have mattered?”The silence that followed answered for both of us.“Even when Harrison destroyed you,” I said quietly. “Divorced you over lies—I still loved you. When you came back with Chloe, alone and hurting, I thought maybe…finally…”I couldn’t finish. I turned away from her and stared at the wall and breathed until I could speak again.“I’ve been so selfish,” Estelle croaked behind me. “So blind and selfish and cruel.”“Yes,” I agreed without turning around. “You have.”I heard her inhale sharply.“I used you,” she went on, her voice wrecked. “Let you help me, let you be part of Chloe’s life, knowing I’d never—”She couldn’t say it, so I said it for her. “Knowing you’d never love me back.”The quiet after that lasted a long time.“The marriage was fake anyway,” I said finally, turning around. “We both knew that.”“It was supposed to keep Harrison away,” Estelle murmured. “To protect Chloe.”“Did it wor
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