Chapter 6 - The Marriage I Never Had
I finally opened the door.
Dominic stood outside alone.
His tie hung loose.
His face looked gray.
“Where did they go?”
“I don't know.”
I studied him.
“That answer has become very convenient.”
“Vivienne, I didn't know about the files.”
“But you knew about the ring.”
His eyes dropped.
“Yes.”
The word hurt less than I expected.
Maybe because something inside me had already detached itself from him.
“Why?”
He rubbed both hands over his face.
“Because my family hates you.”
“I noticed.”
“They've always thought you made me weak.”
“And humiliating me was supposed to fix that?”
“No.”
He looked at me desperately.
“I wanted you to finally fight back.”
I stared at him.
It was such a coward's answer that for a moment I had no response.
“You wanted me to fight your family because you were too frightened to.”
“I thought if you exploded publicly, Mom would stop pretending everything was fine.”
“So you helped frame your pregnant wife.”
His mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Dad stepped beside me.
“You're finished speaking to her tonight.”
Dominic looked at him.
“She's my wife.”
I removed my wedding ring.
For three years, that ring had represented every excuse I had made.
Every dinner I had endured.
Every time I had told myself love required patience.
I placed it in Dominic's palm.
“Not anymore.”
His fingers closed automatically.
“Vivienne.”
“You don't get to stay married to someone only when nobody is watching.”
He looked as though I had struck him.
I turned away.
Then Malcolm's radio crackled.
“Mr. Reed.”
“We located Mrs. Caldwell's vehicle.”
Everyone froze.
“Where?”
“Whitaker Women's Medical Center.”
My hand went to my stomach.
That hospital belonged to my family's charitable network.
It was also where I planned to deliver my baby.
Dad's face changed.
“Why would Eleanor go there?”
The security officer's answer came through the radio.
“She met with someone from maternity administration.”
Rebecca was already reaching for her phone.
Dominic whispered behind me.
“Oh, God.”
I turned.
He knew something.
“What?”
He shook his head.
“Nothing.”
I stepped closer.
“What did your mother want from that hospital?”
His eyes filled with fear.
And finally, after three years of defending her, Dominic told me the truth.
May you like
“She wanted proof your baby would inherit something.”
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