Chapter 37
1 turned to Karl, eyes wide, heart pounding, waiting for him to say something. Anything.
He just stood there, calm as ever, like this was normal. Like walking into our house to find her on the couch in a cast was a routine thing. His expression didn’t shift. No guilt, no hesitation.
“Can we talk?” I asked, my voice clipped. “In private.
He nodded once. “Sure.”
He led the way, down the hallway, through the study doors. The second they shut behind us, I turned to face him fully.
“Don’t you think 1 deserve some kind of explanation here?” I asked, arms folded right across my chest
He leaned slightly against the sideboard, arms crossed casually. “Her family’s going through a lot. I offered her a place to stay”
My jaw clenched. “You offered? Just like that!”
He looked me straight in the eye, voice steady, “Yes.”
“What about us?” I stepped closer, hands gesturing between us. “We live here together. What if the media finds out she’s staying here? Do you know what they’ll say?”
“I don’t care what they say, he replied, completely unfazed “That doesn’t matter anymore”
I stared at him, the word hitting like cold water.
“Oh,” I said, laughing bitterly. “Of course. You only cared before because of Gypsy. You needed it to look real so she’d notice. Now that she’s seen it… what I feel doesn’t matter.
He didn’t argue
That silence said everything.
I stepped back, heart hammering, throat tightening I didn’t want him to see how much it got to me, but I knew he already had..
I turned and walked out of the study, fast, without another word.
Once I reached the bedroom, I slammed the door shut and locked it behind me. My chest was rising and falling too fast. I pressed my palms into the door, breathing hard
My hands trembled as I reached up to remove my earrings, I tossed them carelessly on the dresser, sat on the edge of the bed, and stared at nothing.
What was happening?
How did I end up in a house where I was the wife in name only, while his ex slept in the next room?
I lay down without bothering to change out of my clothes, pulling the covers over me roughly. My eyes stayed wide open. My mind stayed loud.
And my heart.. it wouldn’t stop hurting.
I sat up in bed, the sheets twisted around my legs, the pillow still damp from where my cheek had been pressed. I hadn’t slept much. Every time I closed my eyes, all I could hear was his voice saying he didn’t care.
I rubbed at my face, mumbling under my breath. “It’s fine. I don’t care. I don’t care.”
My arms folded around myself as I got up and walked to the mirror. My hair was a thess. My eyes looked tired. My chest felt tight, like I was holding something in and it just wouldn’t go down.
He p got what he wanted, didn’t he‘ He showed Gypsy his perfect little life. The lie worked And now?
Now it didn’t matter what I felt.
I rugged on a sweatshirt, slid on a pair of slippers, and stepped out of the room. I needed to speak to him. Tell him this wasn’t working. That I was going to leave this contract. Get out before it chipped away at me completely
10:41 AM
Chapter 37
The hallway was quiet.
I glanced toward the guest wing but didn’t stop. 1 didn’t know where Gypsy had slept. I didn’t want to know.
I headed down the staircase and spotted Kent in the foyer talking to one of the staff. He was straightening a tray and pointing to something on the list the maid was holding, I waited until he noticed me.
“I need to talk to Karl,” I said, arms crossed.
Kent looked up, completely calm. “He’s in the gym
Of course
I turned immediately, heading through the house to the room at the back with the tall frosted glass doors. My feet moved fast. I didn’t want to think. I just wanted to get it over with
I opened the door.
The first thing I saw was sweat.
The second was skin.
Karl was shirtless, gripping a metal bar, his arms flexing as he pulled it down behind his head in one smooth, controlled motion. His back muscles shifted with every breath. His hair was damp at the sides. His chest glistened.
He didn’t notice me at first. He was too focused. His jaw was clenched, eyes forward, every line of his body sharp and tense. He exhaled through his nose, dropped the bar with a soft thud, and reached for a towel. His abs moved with every breath.
I stood there, frozen.
He finally turned, towel in hand, eyes landing on mine.
“I need to speak to you,” I said, ignoring how dry my throat had suddenly gone.
He tossed the towel over his shoulder, the movement slow. His chest rose and fell, sweat still dripping down his neck
“Go ahead,” he said, voice sready. “I’m listening”
He stood there in front of me like that, hot, indifferent, completely unreadable while I tried to remember why I came in here in the first place.
I blinked, forcing myself to look away from his chest, from the way his abs moved with every breath. I cleared my throat and looked straight into his eyes.
“I came here to tell you to cancel the contract, I said, gripping my arm “Since you already got what you wanted out of it.
He took a step forward.
I instinctively stepped back
“You want me to cancel the asked, voice low
I nodded once.
Another step forward from him. My back bumped gently against the wall. He didn’t stop.
“You do remember the repercussions of cancelling that contract, right?” he asked, his tone even lower now, eyes locked on mine.
I swallowed. “I’m not cancelling it. I’m asking you to You already got Gypsy’s attention. That’s what you wanted”
He tilted his head slightly, gaze narrowing “How I choose to use this contract isn’t your business. Why are you so affected?”
My hands clenched at my sides. “Because it I stopped, breathing fast. “Because it traumatizes me.”
He said nothing.
“I just had two people I trusted rip me apart,” I continued, voice unsteady, “Layla Darren. They pretended to love me, then threw me away like I was
bit down on the next word.
Chapter 37
He stepped in even closer.
“I’m terrified,” I admitted, “terrified of being abandoned again. Even though I know this is fake, even though I know…”
His hand reached up and gently caught my chin. My breath caught.
He tilted my head up until my eyes met his, his other hand pressed lightly against the wall beside me.
His voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m not abandoning you.”
I could feel the heat of him, feel his breath close to mine.
This contract stays on.”
ara
