I had an unpleasant past with Rhodes. He confessed his feelings for me while I was working at my brother's company. I only saw him as a friend because I was dating Thorne. Even though we hadn't discussed the future, I was serious about him.
Our relationship grew distant. Briar didn't invite Rhodes over to his apartment. He also didn't include me when greeting his friend at an event. We stopped seeing each other when I moved after marrying Thorne.
I didn't know if he was married because Briar didn't share anything about his friends after I got married. Rhodes wasn't wearing a ring on his finger, making it hard for me to know his status. He didn't have any feelings for me, did he?
"It has nothing to do with Briar," I answered.
"If you want to ask about my leg, I was in an accident two years ago," Rhodes answered my question when we met outside the ICU.
"I'm sorry," I muttered. I furrowed my brow as Rhodes stared at me without saying a word. "Um, what's wrong?"
"You've changed a lot. Did Thorne hurt you?" he asked.
I shouldn't have been surprised since Rhodes liked to speak his mind, but the question caught me off guard. "Why would you think that?"
"Your eyes are swollen, your forehead is constantly furrowed, and you're restless," he replied.
"I forgot. You like to notice the little details in everyone," I said.
"Not everyone. Just you," the man said.
His eyes looked at me seriously. The room suddenly felt empty, as if there were only him and me. It was as if the events of seven years ago were repeating themselves. Rhodes stood before me with his gentle gaze and declared his love for me.
No. It was impossible. That man didn't love me. I must have misread his attitude because it had been so long since I'd seen him. Even though he wasn't wearing a ring, he might be married and have children.
"I'm having problems at work," I said, taking advantage of his attention.
"Oh. What happened? I know you've been running Briar's company since he's been in a coma," Rhodes said. He leaned in, eager to hear my answer.
"The company is having financial problems. I was getting help, but they suddenly canceled the loan they'd promised," I explained.
The man pulled his phone from the inner pocket of his jacket. "How much do you need?"
"Huh?" I asked.
Rhodes looked at me. "You said you needed a loan. How much do you need?"
"Y-you want to help me?"
"Of course. Briar is my best friend. His sister is my sister," he replied.
I felt a huge sense of relief as I left the hospital. Rhodes had helped me solve one problem. I drove my car home, but that feeling of happiness quickly faded. I remembered another huge issue that weighed heavily on my heart.
I was relieved Thorne wasn't in our room. I washed myself under the shower and let my tears flow along with the water. I dried myself off as my body began to shiver. My reflection in the mirror looked absolutely terrible. Rhodes was right. I had changed a lot.
I couldn't believe my husband had betrayed me. That woman and her child were staying at Mom's house. My mother-in-law wouldn't have taken them in if the child weren't Thorne's. She must have had them both tested. I couldn't believe he'd be capable of doing that behind my back.
The most painful reality was that it didn't take that woman long to get pregnant, while I had to wait five years. Even though the doctor said I was healthy and had no issues with my fertility, I failed. Why was God being so unfair to me?
Someone knocked on the door and opened it. Breathing in the familiar scent, I knew Thorne was home. I heard his quiet footsteps on the carpet as he approached the bathroom. My hands clenched into fists, remembering what happened at the hospital.
"Oh. Hi, Thorne." I turned around when he was standing near me. I knew he would wrap his arms around my shoulders and kiss my hair.
"Hi, sweetheart," he replied. "For you." Thorne handed me a bouquet of red roses.
I avoided his kiss and walked toward the walk-in closet. I placed the bouquet on the vanity. "Your meeting ended a day early. Does that mean your colleagues approved all the terms you proposed?"
"Of course. You know how amazing your husband is," he said.
"Where are we going tomorrow?" After putting on my nightgown, I applied night cream to my face.
"You must be bored waiting for summer to arrive. Therefore, I chose Hawaii." Thorne took off his clothes. "I'm going to take a quick shower."
I nodded. Hearing the sound of the shower, I sighed. How dare he pretend nothing had happened. I knew Thorne had ordered his spies to follow me wherever I went. That man must have told him about what happened at the hospital earlier.
I stepped out of the dressing room and placed the bouquet on the sideboard. I asked the maids to bring a bottle of wine to the room, and they set it on the table. I poured the wine into a glass. After sitting down on the couch, I sipped the red liquid.
"What about you? Have the issues with your business been resolved?" Thorne sat down beside me.
I moved away and set my glass on the table. "No need to pretend, Thorne. I know everything. When did you sleep with Lily? Was it when you went to Dubai on a business trip two years ago? Did you and she spend a two-week honeymoon there?"
"You shouldn't have found out this way. I wanted to explain everything to you," Thorne said gently.
I scoffed. "I don't need an explanation. It's all clear to me. You couldn't wait to have a child, so you approached that woman and slept with her. I don't want to share the name Mrs. Thorne Watson with her. So, you choose—her or me."
"Can't you just listen to me first?" Thorne pleaded. "Nothing has changed, sweety. We'll be happy together. You and I will live in this house without anyone else's interference, and my son and his mother will be with my parents."
I gaped at him. "W-what? You want me to let you keep that woman as your mistress. Is that it? You're with me today and with her tomorrow? No, Thorne. You have to choose between us."
"I love you and won't let you go, but I can't ignore my son. He needs his mom, at least until he's five. I won't sleep with Lily. Her purpose has been fulfilled. I never wanted her."
"Wow! Don't you have any feelings? Do you think I'm happy hearing that nonsense? You say you love me? That's not love, Thorne. You've betrayed your love and vows to me!" My eyes burned with anger.
"I didn't betray you." He took my hand, but I quickly pulled away. "I slept with Lily just to have a son. Nothing more. I only love you. Five years. She won't be living here with us. What's got you so angry?"
"Okay. What if the situation were reversed? Wouldn't you be angry if I gave birth to another man's child? Would you agree if he and our son were living at my parents' house?"
"Don't compare our situations, Rose. You have no obligation to carry on your family line, whereas I do," he growled, defending himself. "Don't you dare talk about another man, let alone have a child with him."
"I'm just asking you to imagine it, and you're furious. Do you understand how I feel now?" I demanded.
He sighed. "You don't need to worry. Nothing has changed. I finally have a son, and we can move on with our lives without listening to my parents' pressure anymore."
"No, Thorne. I want you to choose," I protested. "I want us to get a divorce if you choose—"
"Have you forgotten about your brother?" Thorne threatened. That sentence silenced me. "Do you want him to keep receiving treatment or die?"
I became a housewife after we got married. So, I relied on Thorne's generosity to pay for his treatment because all his life-support equipment wasn't cheap. Even though I worked while he was in a coma, Briar's company was on the verge of bankruptcy.
What Thorne did was despicable. He used my brother's condition to threaten me. The thing he did only made me more certain that he didn't love me. He was a selfish man who only thought of himself and his family.
"Good that you understand. Never bring up divorce."
I clenched my fists, holding back my emotions. I gave in for my brother's sake. I was the only one he could rely on. I got a loan from Rhodes to save Briar's company. I was sure I could get help to cover his medical expenses.
His phone vibrated; Thorne checked it immediately. "I have an urgent matter. We'll talk later."
I moved back as he leaned in to kiss my forehead. My eyes stung at the thought of him being intimate with that woman. For that reason, I wouldn't let the hands that caressed her, or the lips that kissed her body, touch me.
Thorne didn't protest. He stood up and left the room. There was only one reason he'd leave without a second thought. That message must have been from Magnolia or Lilybeth. It was outrageous. He'd lied to me about a business trip when he was actually with that woman at his parents' house.
My phone vibrated; I picked it up from the table. Seeing an incoming message from my mother-in-law's number, I opened it reluctantly. She had sent a photo of Thorne sitting very close to that cheap woman as she held her baby.
"My son is happy with his little family. Let him go," Magnolia messaged.
I bit my lip to hold back the tears welling up in my eyes. I should have been there with my husband and our baby, but life was so unfair to me. Since I needed Thorne to help with my brother's treatment, I held back.
"Thank you for letting me know. I can sleep peacefully and not wait for my husband to come home tonight," I replied, sending a photo of the dozen roses Thorne had given me.
My phone vibrated, but I didn't read the new message. I was sure it was my mother-in-law who sent it. I enjoyed the wine alone. My eyes stung imagining my husband in another woman's arms, but I held back my tears.
I woke up alone in bed. Tears betrayed my struggle to stay strong. Unwilling to waste time crying over my situation, I got ready for work. The quiet atmosphere in the house was normal since the staff was busy in the kitchen.
"If they had a child, that baby would be as handsome as William," a maid in the dining room remarked.
I held back my urge to open the door. I thought Magnolia and Thorne were hiding the child's existence. How could the servants know about it when I didn't? Oh, God. Was I the only one completely in the dark about Thorne's betrayal?
"It is what it is. Mrs. Watson didn't approve of their relationship. Young Master insisted on marrying Young Madam. I feel guilty, but I couldn't disobey her orders to mix that medicine into Young Madam's food," another maid added.
"It breaks my heart to see the pregnancy test and used pads in the trash in Young Madam's bathroom. She must be depressed after five years of trying but not getting pregnant. If only she knew she's been taking birth control all this time—" she continued.
"Shh. Lower your voice. Young Madam will be coming down for breakfast soon. We shouldn't discuss it here," her colleague cut in.
My heart nearly stopped when I heard that. I placed my hand over my stomach. Was I not pregnant because the maid had mixed the medicine into my food? My eyes stung as I realized the painful betrayal.
