Filed to story: When His Wife Can’t Forgive
The coach smiled. “I thought you had a date. No worries, these get-togethers happen often. If you’re busy today, you can always join us next time.”
Alicia returned the smile, looking graceful. “No, it’s just that I have a puppy at home. I’m a bit worried, so I’ll have to leave early after dinner.”
For some reason, a wave of guilt crept in after she said this, and she lowered her head, adjusting her clothes.
The coach raised an eyebrow. “You live alone?”
“I do.”
“You’re so gorgeous. Are you really not seeing anyone?” the coach asked.
Alicia shook her head. “No, I just went through a divorce and I’m not looking to date right now.”
The coach was taken by surprise.
She was divorced?
That day, winter had officially begun, bringing light rain and a chill in the air.
As dinner continued, the atmosphere grew livelier. Alicia glanced at the time and saw it was already past nine, yet the gathering showed no signs of ending. For some reason, she began thinking of Caden.
He never stayed out past ten.
Should she leave early?
If he were home, he would have messaged her by now.
The absence of any message meant he still wasn’t back. Alicia shook her head, trying to push the thought away.
Why was she so hung up on something so normal?
By ten, the dinner finally wrapped up.
Though Caden hadn’t sent her a message, she decided to head home anyway.
It dawned on her that she was acting strangely.
On her way back, a voice nagged in her mind. “He’s not home yet. If he were, he’d be calling you nonstop, telling you to come back.”
Caden had always been impatient. He approached everything with intensity and determination.
Waiting wasn’t his style.
Since there was no message from him, it was clear he hadn’t come home yet. Alicia didn’t feel the need to rush. However, as she stepped into the elevator, time seemed to crawl.
The elevator felt unbearably slow today.
Finally, she reached her door and unlocked it with her fingerprint.
When she pushed it open slightly, only Cade came out to greet her.
Alicia stood still for a few seconds, glancing around at the empty living room. Caden was clearly not home.
She pulled herself together, crouched down, and gently petted Cade’s head.
“You must be hungry.” She picked him up and walked inside. “Sorry for being late. Dinner ran longer than expected.”
After pouring some milk for Cade, Alicia noticed her clothes had gotten damp from the rain.
The cold weather worried her, and she didn’t want to risk getting sick, so she headed straight for a shower.
By the time the clock hit half past ten, Caden still hadn’t texted. Feeling restless at home, she grabbed her laptop and decided to go out.
It was a holiday, and the rain left the streets almost empty.
She made her way to the library, picked a quiet spot, put on her headphones, and focused on studying.
For over an hour, she was completely absorbed in her work.
Her notes filled the page, and she patiently went through them. But as she reviewed, she realized nearly half of her notes were wrong.
Frustration built up inside her, nearly turning into anger. Unable to stop herself, she grabbed her phone and sent Caden a message. “I’m off to bed!”
As soon as she hit send, she froze.
The message carried more emotion than she intended and felt oddly out of place.
At that moment, Caden had just finished dinner. A client shook his hand and said, “Mr. Ward, I look forward to our partnership.”
Caden smiled graciously.
“I feel the same,” he said.
While Hank went to get the car, Caden pulled out his phone.
He noticed the angry message from Alicia, checked the time, and smiled to himself.
It was late, but hadn’t he already told her he’d be back late? Couldn’t she have waited a little longer?
By typical standards, he should have responded with, “I’ll be back soon.”
However, he found amusement in Alicia’s frustration.
Thus, he sent her a message: “Go to sleep. I’m staying out tonight.” No response came after that.
Still, he could easily picture her angry expression.
A quiet laugh escaped him.
The smile faded almost instantly.
Even so, Hank noticed and silently clicked his tongue. He pretended not to see it and walked over with the umbrella for Caden.
Once they were both in the car, Hank couldn’t resist teasing him. “You seem pretty pleased, Mr. Ward. I take it today’s project went well?”
Caden replied calmly, “Don’t you enjoy making money?”
Hank muttered to himself, “Yeah, sure. Keep pretending. You’ve never been this excited about money. It’s obvious you’ve got a certain woman on your mind.”
He started the car and spoke more seriously. “Mr. Ward, I’ve just found out that Mr. Yates made a new move. He got his hands on a painting and sold it to an art dealer from Glarrialand for 200 million dollars. The deposit went through today.”
“Painting? Which one?” Caden asked.
“The details are secret, so no one knows for now. But something’s off. They wouldn’t be this secretive otherwise.” Hank added, “I’ve contacted the buyer. Would you like to meet with them?”
Caden paused to think and glanced at his watch. “All right.”
Hank noticed the slight delay in his response and asked, “Mr. Ward, is something going on at home?”
“It’s just a small matter. Nothing to worry about,” Caden responded. It was hard to tell what he was thinking.
Hank slipped and said, “It’s late. Ms. Bennett is probably already asleep.”
Caden gave him a sharp look.
Hank knew a bit about Alicia, but he wasn’t supposed to know they were living together.
“You seem to know quite a lot,” Caden warned.
Hank flinched. “I haven’t been prying into your life, Mr. Ward. I might be curious, but I’ve always followed your orders. I never cross the line.”
“Then how did you figure that out?” Caden asked.
Hank rubbed his nose. “Isn’t it obvious? You smell like Ms. Bennett.”
Caden didn’t know how to respond to that.
He almost never smoked and he rarely wore cologne. Hank had spent enough time around him to notice something had changed.
The scent wasn’t from cologne. It was the lingering fragrance of fabric softener on his clothes.
It was the same one Alicia used.
From that information alone, it was easy to glean that they were living together.
Hank felt genuinely pleased. “Mr. Ward, you’ve been going after Mr. Yates for Ms. Bennett, haven’t you?”
Caden lowered his head and spoke with an indifferent tone. “It’s not that complicated.”
Hank understood the situation better now, so he didn’t ask any more questions.
Caden’s intimidating presence caused the art dealer to confess quickly under pressure.
“Did you get the painting?” Caden asked.
The buyer shook his head. “Mr. Yates is being very cautious. He only showed me a picture and said I can collect it once I pay in full.”
Caden narrowed his eyes. “Whose painting are we talking about?”
“Mia Eland. She lived as an expatriate in Glarrialand before her death.”
Caden reflected on this.