Filed to story: When His Wife Can’t Forgive
Alicia couldn’t help but chuckle at Monica’s words, immediately thinking about her little scheme from earlier that day.
If everything went according to plan, the people in the meeting room would have gotten quite the surprise. Caden’s expression must have been priceless-dark as a thundercloud, no doubt.
She couldn’t help but smirk at the thought.
“What’s so funny, Alicia?” Monica’s eyes narrowed at her curiously.
Alicia quickly composed herself, suppressing the mischievous grin that had threatened to give her away.
“Oh, nothing. I just… hit my funny bone while eating, that’s all.”
Monica blinked in confusion.
“Wait, you eat with your armpit now?”
Before Alicia could respond, her phone buzzed in her hand. She glanced down to see a message from Caden. It read,
“Nice photography skills.”
Alicia snorted, rolling her eyes.
Another message popped up almost instantly:
“Satisfied with the size?”
Even through the text, she could imagine his signature smug grin. So infuriating!
Alicia’s lips twitched, and she quickly typed out a reply.
“Too small. Honestly, it’s an eyesore.”
A pause, then another message flashed on her screen:
“Oh? Well, still better than my pathetic brother. Took me two minutes to break what he couldn’t after two years.”
Her fingers froze, her eyes widening as the double meaning sank in.
Her heart gave an unsteady thump, and a wave of heat rushed to her face.
With a frustrated huff, she slammed her phone down on the table, but the words lingered, his implication twisting in her mind. Her pulse quickened in irritation as she snatched the phone back up and typed furiously.
“Don’t flatter yourself, Mr. Ward. I’ve undergone hymen repair surgery.”
Caden, lounging in a dimly lit booth at a sleek bar, chuckled as he read her response.
The amber glow from his glass of whiskey reflected off his sharp features, his lips curving into a devilishly charming smile.
Gerry Hopkins, his ever-inquisitive friend, raised an eyebrow from across the table.
“What the hell are you looking at now? You’ve got that seductive smirk on again.”
Caden simply shook his head, locking the phone and setting it down with an amused gleam in his eyes.
“Just flirting with a married woman,” he replied lazily, as though he were talking about something as trivial as the weather.
Gerry sat bolt upright, eyebrows raised in disbelief.
“Since when did you get so desperate?”
Caden didn’t bother responding, instead opting to drain his glass of liquor in one swift motion.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, lending him a raw and magnetic appeal that was hard to ignore.
Yet, despite his striking looks, women rarely lingered around him. His aloof nature made him seem untouchable-cold, distant, like a devil carved from ice.
Curiosity piqued, Gerry leaned in slightly.
“And whose wife was charming enough to break through that… peculiar condition of yours?”
Caden’s expression remained unreadable, his voice flat.
“Maybe I was never sick to begin with.”
The idea of romance had never lingered in his mind. To him, it was a mere indulgence he had neither the time nor the inclination for.
Alicia just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Soon, the bar came to life as the evening crowd filled the room, mostly beautiful women.
With Caden’s good looks, he instantly became the center of attention, whether he liked it or not.
A stunning woman with wavy hair approached, her gaze lingering on him as she offered a flirtatious smile.
“Mind if I get your number?”
Caden’s gaze slid up to meet hers. He could appreciate her flawless face and the graceful curve of her body, but he had zero interest in her.
“Sorry, but I already have a partner.”
He let the poor girl down easy, gesturing lazily toward Gerry.
The woman blinked, surprise flashing across her features before she quickly apologized and retreated.
Gerry let out a long sigh.
“Who’re you calling ‘partner’? You’re really something else, Caden, using me as your excuse for… impotence.”
Caden shot him a look but couldn’t muster the energy to argue.
Instead, he offered his friend a form of compensation.
“Your new movie’s releasing next month, right? I’ll get Lilliana to write a song for it-free of charge.”
Gerry’s indignant expression softened, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“Now that’s more like it.”
Still, there was something odd about it all. Lilliana, the rising star whose song had catapulted her into fame last year, hadn’t produced anything noteworthy since then.
Gerry couldn’t help but wonder, his tone lowering with suspicion,
“Do you think Lilliana actually wrote that song?”
That song-its melody, its heartfelt lyrics, the soulful voice behind it-had captivated the world in an instant. Thanks to that song, Lilliana became a sensation overnight.
For a moment, it seemed as though she was just beginning her rise to stardom. But who could have foreseen that it would be the peak of her fame? Since then, her career had hit a plateau, causing her to fade into the background.
With an indifferent glance, Caden said, “You’ll find out soon enough.”
Wasting no time, Alicia tried to arrange a meeting with Joshua to finalize the divorce.
Hours passed before Joshua finally responded,
“See you tonight at nine. Let’s talk at home.”
At precisely nine that evening, Alicia returned to their matrimonial home.
As soon as she pushed open the door, she was greeted by an unexpected sight.
A pair of women’s shoes lay carelessly discarded at the entrance, as if the owner had kicked them off in a frenzy. Alicia’s gaze drifted deeper into the room.
A man’s suit jacket and a woman’s dress were haphazardly strewn across the floor, suggesting something intimate had happened not too long ago. Her eyes moved upward, landing on the partially open bedroom door on the second floor.
From within, she could faintly hear the telltale sounds of labored breathing-Joshua’s, no doubt.
Alicia smirked as she stepped back, the irony of the situation not lost on her.
“Impressive,” she thought wryly. “Only a couple of months pregnant and already back at it with such reckless abandon.”
Moments later, her phone buzzed with a message from Joshua.
“Where are you?”
Alicia exhaled deeply, steeling herself for what was to come, and walked back inside.
Joshua was already waiting in the living room, seated as if nothing had happened.
His eyes, still glazed with the remnants of desire, swept over her with a calculated air, as if measuring her reaction.
“Where’s that bag you always carry?” His voice had a sharp edge, his eyes narrowing as he studied Alicia.
Alicia hesitated for just a moment, unsure of what he was playing at. Then, she calmly retrieved the ring from her purse and held it out for him to see.
“Let’s sign the agreement.”
He said evenly, cutting straight to the point,
“I don’t want anything but what I brought into this marriage. You can keep everything else.”
His expression darkened, a storm gathering behind his eyes.
“Nothing at all?” His laugh was bitter, full of disdain. “Stop acting all high and mighty, Alicia.”