All Chapters of The Wife He Never Loved : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

57 Chapters

Chapter 20: The Crumbling

Aria’s POVThe call came at 7 AM on a Tuesday.I was still in bed, halfway through my first cup of coffee, reviewing board reports on my laptop when Margaret’s name flashed on my screen.Margaret never called before nine.“What’s wrong?” I answered without saying hello.“The Hartwell Foundation pulled its funding.” Her voice was tight. “Last night. They sent a letter to the gallery director. With no explanation, just a formal withdrawal.”I sat up straight. “How much?”“Three million. The entire spring exhibition sponsorship.”Three million. The spring exhibition had been eighteen months in the making. Twenty-two emerging artists, a three-month run, and a partnership with three museums. It was the biggest thing the gallery had attempted since my father opened it fifteen years ago.Without the Hartwell funding, it was gone.“Did they give any reason?”“The letter cited ‘strategic reallocation of philanthropic resources.’ Standard boilerplate for we changed our minds.”“Get their dir

Chapter 21: The White Knight

Kyle’s POVThe call came at 9:47 AM. I was in my office working on something when my phone lit up with her name.Aria.I let it ring twice then three times. I made her wait just long enough to feel desperate.Then I answered.“Hey, you.” I kept my voice warm,and concerned. “Everything okay?”“Kyle, I…” She stopped. Took a breath. “Are you busy? I’m sorry to bother you, I just…”She sounded frantic. Worried. Exactly how I needed her.I smiled at the ceiling.“You’re never a bother. What’s wrong?”“It’s the gallery. Everything’s falling apart.” The words tumbled out. “The Hartwell Foundation pulled its funding this morning. Three million dollars. And Daniel Voss backed out of the exhibition. And my assistant quit. All in one day.”I let the silence stretch, for a while, her anxiety was so delicious it felt like I was going to cum by just listening to her sound so worried.“Kyle? Are you there?”“I’m here.” I stood and walked to the window. “I’m just trying to process. That’s… that’s a

Chapter 22: Rumor

Aria’s POVI got home at seven. I was very exhausted, but at least I felt much more relaxed. Kyle was being more useful than I thought.Kyle had fixed everything. The Becker Foundation wants to meet tomorrow. The Berlin artist’s portfolio was incredible…bold, visceral work that would anchor the exhibition perfectly. Even Thomas had called to say he’d found someone to cover Sophie’s role temporarily.One catastrophic morning had turned into manageable problems with actual solutions.I dropped my bag by the door, kicked off my heels, and headed straight for the bathroom. A hot shower, then maybe I’d order takeout and review the foundation’s requirements before bed.My phone buzzed while I was undressing. Jessica: “Have you seen ArtForum’s website?”I frowned. Typed back: “No, why?”“Call me.”Something in those two words made my stomach drop.I grabbed my laptop from the bedroom and opened ArtForum’s website.The headline was at the top of the page:“Myles Gallery in Crisis: Question

Chapter 23: Unrepentance

Jason’s POVThe cigarette burned between my fingers. I quit smoking five years ago, right after Isabelle died. I started again three days ago when the stress became too much to manage without something to do with my hands.The television flickered in the corner of my study. It seems all I watch these days is the financial news. I wasn’t really watching it..Then the headline scrolled across the bottom of the screen:“Myles Gallery in Crisis - Questions About CEO Aria Myles’s Competence”I sat forward.The anchor was talking about the article. Reading select quotes. Showing that photo of Aria from her board meeting.The irony was almost funny.“Industry insiders suggest the gallery was sustained through quiet financial support from Hartley Industries during Ms Myles’s marriage to CEO Jason Hartley…”I took a drag from the cigarette. That part was true, actually. Sort of.Hartley Industries had invested in several arts organizations over the past three years. Tax write-offs, mostly. Go

Chapter 24: The Rescue

Aria’s POVI woke up on my bedroom floor with my phone vibrating somewhere near my head.Every muscle ached. My face felt stiff from dried tears. The light coming through the windows was too bright, too harsh.I didn’t want to look at my phone.I didn't want to see more messages. More strangers telling me I was worthless. But it kept buzzing.I reached for it. And squinted at the screen.Kyle: “Turn on the news.”That was all. No explanation or context. I almost ignored it and threw the phone across the room and went back to sleep.But something in those four words made me sit up.I grabbed my laptop from the nightstand and opened it.The New York Times homepage loaded.The headline at the top made me blink.“The Takedown of Aria Myles: When Sexism Masquerades as Art Criticism”I clicked.The article was an op-ed by Sandra Morrison, a cultural critic I’d been reading for years. She was known for not pulling punches, for calling out industry bullshit wherever she found it.She’d writt

Chapter 25: The Kiss

Aria’s POV A young woman in the third row raised her hand. “Ms Myles, do you believe yesterday’s crisis was someone trying to sabotage you?”I paused. If I were being honest, I felt like that is what happened. Instead, I smiled and faced her.“I believe the art world is competitive. I believe people make strategic decisions. Whether those decisions were coordinated against this gallery specifically…” I shrugged. “That’s above my pay grade. What I know is that we solved every problem. And we’re moving forward.”Kyle’s expression didn’t change, but something in his eyes looked pleased.After the press had left and Thomas was fielding follow-up calls, Kyle and I stood in the main gallery space.“You did well,” he said.“I survived. All thanks to you Kyle.”“You did more than survive.” He walked to one of the empty pedestals. “You won.”I joined him. Looked at where Marina’s sculpture would eventually sit.“I couldn’t have done this without you.”“Yes, you could have. You just didn’t ha

Chapter 26: My Obsession. I Want A Taste

Kyle’s POVI kissed her in the elevator and felt victory surge through my veins. It’s been two years. Two fucking years of watching and waiting and planning, and finally she was in my arms.Her mouth opened under mine and I took everything. My hand slid to the back of her neck, fingers threading through hair I’d watched her straighten every morning for Jason. Now it was loose and natural. The way I wanted it.My teeth caught her lower lip and tugged hard enough to make her gasp.“Do you know how long I’ve been wanting to taste you?”The words came out raw. Honest in a way I couldn’t quite control.I pulled back just enough to look at her. Eyes glazed. Completely overwhelmed. She was at my mercy. At the mercy of my love and my undying devotion to her.“La mia ossessione,” I said. My obsession.True in every sense. Truer than she’d ever know.I kissed her again, my tongue chasing hers like I was trying to consume her. Like I could somehow make her part of me through sheer force of wi

Chapter 27: Warm food? No Just a Bitch.

Jason’s POVThe office was dark except for the desk lamp casting shadows across papers I hadn’t touched in days.I lit another cigarette. The ashtray was already full…a mountain of crushed butts and ash that my assistant would definitely comment on tomorrow. Or today. I’d lost track of what day it even was.The smoke burned going down. I didn’t care. Needed something to do with my hands besides throw things or punch walls.My computer screen glowed with unopened emails. Contracts waiting for review. Deals that needed my attention. I couldn’t focus on any of it.Every time I tried to read a document, I saw her face instead. Aria on that news broadcast, confident and powerful, announcing funding for her gallery. Aria at her board meeting, firing executives and taking control. Aria is everything I’d never let her be when she was mine.I took another drag and pinched the bridge of my nose. A headache had been building for hours. Or maybe days. Time felt strange lately.The office door o

Chapter 28: The Possession

Kyle’s POVMy office overlooked Central Park. Floor-to-ceiling windows. Expensive view. I wasn’t looking at it.I was looking at my phone.The message I’d sent Aria two hours ago sat there with two blue checkmarks. Read. No response.“Morning. How did you sleep?”I set the phone down. Picked it up again. I checked the time.11:47 AM.Two hours and twelve minutes since she’d read the message.I opened our chat history. Scrolled through yesterday’s messages. She’d responded to everything within minutes. Sometimes seconds.Now nothing.I typed another message.“Lunch today?”Send it.I watched the checkmarks turn blue immediately.She was online. She was reading my messages. She just wasn’t responding.My jaw clenched.One minute passed. Two. Five.Then the typing indicator appeared.I leaned forward, watching those three dots like they held the secrets of the universe.The message came through.“Can’t today. Meeting a friend. Maybe dinner?”I read it three times.Meeting a friend.What fr

Chapter 29: The Lesson

Kyle’s POVBy five PM I’d read Claire Donovan’s entire digital history three times.Her LinkedIn showed job changes. Marketing positions at increasingly prestigious firms. There was absolutely nothing remarkable there.Her Facebook was more interesting. It had photos from college with Aria. Trip to Barcelona last year. A relationship status change from six months ago: “Single.”I clicked deeper and found older posts. Photos with women that looked too intimate to be just friendly. And the comments confirmed what I’d suspected.Claire was bisexual.And she was newly single.And she was back in New York reconnecting with her “oldest friend.”I leaned back in my chair and stared at the screen.This was a problem.Not just a friend. A potential romantic threat. Someone who’d known Aria before Jason. And even before me.My jaw clenched.I closed the laptop and checked Aria’s location again. Still at the restaurant. They’d been there for four hours now.Four hours that didn’t involve me.Fou

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