Chapter 4

Charlotte didn't seem to notice. Or maybe she noticed and simply didn't care.

"Oh, and there was this other time," she went on, peeling another curl of skin off the apple, her voice softening again. "I had a huge blowup with my ex. Really ugly. I cut everyone off and disappeared for a few days."

She glanced my way, like she was letting me in on something personal.

"Adrian lost his mind trying to find me. Once he did, he dragged me out of there himself. He was so angry I honestly thought he might hurt somebody." She laughed lightly. "He kept swearing, saying, 'You think you can just vanish on me like that? I'll tear this whole city apart if that's what it takes.'"

Something twisted in my chest. I remembered that night too.

New Year's Eve.

He'd come home late. Different. Rough around the edges, like something in him had snapped. He barely said a word. He just took me, over and over, like he couldn't make himself stop.

I'd thought maybe he finally wanted me. That maybe something was starting to grow between us.

I was so foolish.

The next morning I woke and the spot beside me had already gone cold. I told myself he'd had urgent business. Normal enough, right?

But now I know better. He wasn't handling business. He was running back to her. Always her.

Charlotte finished peeling and finally held the apple out to me. "Here."

I didn't take it.

She didn't seem to mind. She just set it down beside me, that same soft, harmless expression fixed on her face.

"You're really something, Ms. Sterling," she said gently. "Staying beside him all these years, taking care of him like you have."

Her eyes lingered on me, something unreadable flickering there.

"But there are some things," she added quietly, "that no matter how hard you try, will just never belong to you."

I dropped my gaze to my hand, the IV needle still buried beneath the skin.

Yeah. I think I finally understood that.

**

Once I was discharged, I went home and quietly began packing. Clothes. Jewelry. Things I'd barely touched, things I once thought mattered. I didn't take much. What was the point? I was just waiting now — waiting for the divorce to go through, waiting for it all to be over.

During that stretch, Charlotte kept sending me messages, not even bothering to hide it. Videos. Photos. One after another. At first I refused to open them. Then I gave in. I don't know why. Maybe I wanted to properly hurt myself. Maybe I just needed to see it with my own eyes.

Adrian never left her side, not for a moment, in any of it. In one clip he sat beside her hospital bed, carefully feeding her fruit, peeling it clean like it was something precious. In another he adjusted her blanket, slow and patient. Gentle. So gentle. I stared at the screen a long time. Was this really the same man who never even glanced my way twice?

Then another message landed. Another video.

"Look at this, Miss Sterling," Charlotte said, filling the frame as she turned the camera.

Adrian stood there talking to a doctor, his face serious, controlled — that same cold, commanding presence.

"He sent my mom overseas for treatment," she said casually. "Covered everything. Even bought her a house out there. A maid, a private doctor, the whole arrangement." She laughed a little. "He's really something, isn't he?"

My grip tightened on the phone.

"Sorry for borrowing your husband for a while, Miss Sterling," she added, voice light, almost teasing. "He just missed me too much, I guess. He loves me so much I can't even push him away." Her smile never wavered. "There's really no competing with that, is there?"

The screen went dark. I didn't realize I was crying until the tears hit my hand, drop by drop. I wiped them away fast, drawing in a shaky breath.

All those years, I'd done every one of those things too. His stomach always gave him trouble, so I rose early to cook for him. I sat up waiting with the lights on no matter how late he came home. I peeled his fruit, cut it into small pieces so he'd never have to think twice. I gave him everything I had. And now he was doing all of it for someone else.

I shut my eyes and exhaled slowly. "It's fine," I whispered to myself. "It'll be over soon." Once I stopped loving him, I'd be okay. I'd take care of myself. I had to.

**

A week later, he showed up at home without warning. It caught me off guard — shouldn't he have been with her?

"Get changed," he said, already loosening his tie. "We're having dinner here tonight."

"...Okay."

I didn't ask anything. I just went upstairs and changed.

At dinner, everything felt normal. Too normal. People laughing, chatting, raising glasses like it was just another gathering. Then the topic shifted.

"You two have been married five years now. Time you had a child."

"That's right, Adrian's head of the family now. There needs to be an heir."

"Mika, you'd better hurry up."

I kept my eyes down, fingers grazing the rim of my glass. A child? With him? Did I even have a right to that?

"No rush," Adrian said.

His voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the whole room anyway. Everyone went quiet. Glances passed around the table, but nobody pushed further. Not with him. Not anymore. The mood turned stiff, and dinner wrapped up quickly.

"Mika," Mrs. Kingsley said sharply as we stood. "Come with me to the study."

I already knew what that meant. Anyone would have. A warning. About children. About my place in this family.

"If you've got something to say, say it in front of me," Adrian said, frowning.

Before she could answer, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and his whole expression shifted.

"...Charlotte?" he answered, already stepping away. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

His voice — it wasn't the voice he used with me. Not even close.

Mrs. Kingsley let out a cold huff. "Come with me."

I pressed my lips together and followed in silence. The moment the study door shut, her face changed completely. Whatever calm she'd faked at dinner vanished.

"Kneel."

I didn't argue. I lowered myself slowly, knees meeting the cold marble. It stung, but I was already used to that particular pain.

"Do you understand where you went wrong?" she asked, looking down at me like I was something filthy.

I kept my eyes lowered and said nothing.

Her palm slammed against the table. "You foolish girl!" she snapped, voice sharp and icy. "Adrian says he's in no rush for a child and you just sat there?! You didn't even try to change his mind?"

My fingers curled slightly. Was I supposed to beg him? Push him into it? Hadn't he already made it painfully clear I meant nothing to him?

She yanked open a drawer, pulled out a small bottle, and slammed it down in front of me. "Drink this. It's a fertility tonic. Starting today you take it daily, and you sleep with him until you're pregnant. I don't care what it takes."

I stared at the bottle. There was a time I would've swallowed it without protest. But now — "I won't take it," I said quietly.

The room went dead silent.

"What did you just say?" Her voice dropped, turned dangerous.

"I won't take it," I repeated, lifting my chin. "He doesn't want a child right now. I'm respecting that." And it was true — every time we were together he made sure there were precautions, and if anything slipped, he had me swallow pills right after. I used to tell myself he simply wasn't ready. Now I understood. He just didn't want one with me. And since I was leaving anyway, why bind myself to him forever?

"You've got some nerve on you?!" she said slowly, eyes narrowing. "Say that again."

"I won't take it."

Her face twisted. "You've crossed a line!" she shouted. "As his wife, you can't even manage your one duty? Can't even give him a child? And you let him waste himself chasing that woman. All that time, all that effort, poured into her and her whole family. You never once stopped him."

My chest clenched. Stop him? When exactly had I ever held that kind of power?

She turned her head slightly. "Bring it."

A servant stepped forward, handing her a thick leather strap — dark, heavy, the kind reserved for punishment. My whole body tensed.

"I'll ask you one final time," she said, gripping it tight. "Are you taking the medicine or not?"

I shook my head.

The sound reached me before the pain did.

CRACK!

A sharp snap tore through the room, and then it landed. My back arched as pain exploded across my skin, burning and tearing all at once. I bit down hard on my lip to keep the scream from escaping.