《The Woman He Never Chose》全部章節：第 1 章 - 第 5 章

Rita woke to an email that made her stomach drop.The hospital had terminated her contract. Effective immediately. No explanation. No warning. She did not need one. She already knew Philip had made a call.Anger rose sharp and bitter in her throat. It was not only about the money. The job had meant more than a paycheck. It had been her quiet way of staying close to the career she had never been able to claim for herself. She had chosen the hospital on purpose, taking whatever position was open, just so she could watch the doctors and nurses save lives. Just so she could stand near the career she had always wishe for. Philip had taken that from her without asking a single question. He had decided the shape of her days as if she had no say at all.That is what happens when you marry a billionaire, she thought, and the words tasted sour.She moved through the morning in a foul mood. The house sat quiet around her, a sharp contrast to the storm turning in her chest. In the kitchen she ma

Philip’s lashes fluttered once, then again, as if the motion alone might buy him a few more seconds of silence. Rita’s question still hung in the air between them, soft but pointed, and he had no clean answer for it. To side with his mother would place him against the woman who shared his name. To ignore Bianca’s rising voice would look like open disrespect. He stood on the last stair a moment longer, the weight of the choice pressing against his ribs, before he finally drew a slow breath and spoke. “Let us put this aside,” he said. His tone was even, almost weary. “I do not have the patience for it tonight.” Bianca’s mouth fell open. The shock on her face was almost theatrical. “Really?” Philip finished the descent and lowered himself onto the nearest sofa. The leather sighed under his weight. Blair settled beside him without invitation, her shoulder brushing his as though the space belonged to her by right. He did not pull away. “Let it go, Mother,” he said again, quieter this t