Filed to story: When His Wife Can’t Forgive
Alicia’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach as realization dawned on her. Could it really be him?
Oh, God… It couldn’t be!
The ridiculousness of the idea made her shiver again, but she couldn’t shake her suspicion. She turned her head stiffly to study him, hoping to find some answer in his face.
Caden, oblivious to her turmoil, didn’t even glance up from his phone.
“Stop staring. I’m not interested.”
Jerk!
Alicia ignored the jab and cleared her throat.
“So, Caden, when did you get back?”
Only then did he lift his gaze from his phone.
He looked at her with detached amusement, as though admiring a pretty bird in a cage.
“The 14th.”
Her heart dropped like a stone, her mind spinning with the weight of those words.
The 14th?
That was the day of her “incident”!
Heart pounding in her chest, she continued her line of questioning.
“And where were you staying that day?”
Caden leaned back, a smug smile dancing on his lips as he watched her squirm. He seemed to relish seeing her panic like this.
“Can’t remember. I was too busy fucking some girl.”
Fucking some girl?
Alicia felt her mouth go dry in an instant.
This still didn’t prove anything, but anxiety gnawed at her insides.
Before she could question him further, Caden’s phone rang, breaking the tension.
He lazily answered, glancing her way with a raised brow.
“What is she looking for?”
The cinema manager’s voice crackled through the line.
“A ring.”
Caden glanced at Alicia’s delicate hands.
She hadn’t heard anything the caller had said, but his look alone was enough to make her frown. Without thinking, she clasped her hands together.
When the call ended, Caden’s voice was tinged with mockery.
“Didn’t Joshua spend a fortune on a bracelet for you? Why aren’t you wearing it?”
At this, Alicia’s expression darkened. She spoke with a coldness that concealed the sting beneath.
“He bought it for his mistress,” she muttered indifferently.
Caden let out a low, humorless laugh.
“Generous, isn’t he? Spending a fortune on a dog collar.”
Alicia said nothing, but she felt a strange sense of satisfaction in his words.
And just like that, the weight of her earlier doubts and worries faded into the background.
Whoever that man had been that night didn’t matter. She had used him, and that was all. She’d moved on.
As they pulled up to Monica’s house, Alicia hesitated. She wondered if she should thank Caden, but in the end, she said stiffly,
“I’ll wash the coat and send it back to the Yates Mansion.”
Caden, ever far from gallant, gave her a smirk.
“If you dirtied it, just hand me fifty thousand in cash.”
Huh?
Alicia blinked in bewilderment.
Fifty thousand? For this coat?
She could probably buy something better than this rag with that kind of money!
But then again, she hadn’t complained while using it earlier. Now, with no room for protest, she forced herself to comply.
After transferring the money to his account, she wiped her wet legs and feet with the coat, smirking as she tossed it back at him.
“Next time, Mr. Ward, I suggest investing in a better coat. This one’s a bit rough.”
Caden’s laughter filled the car.
Rough? Huh.
That night, she had clung to him, soaking his clothes.
She hadn’t complained about his roughness then.
As his mind drifted back to scenes from that night, his throat went dry. He swallowed hard, lighting a cigarette to stifle the ache rising within him.
But even the nicotine couldn’t calm him down…
By the time Caden reached his apartment, Hank was already waiting at the door, ready to update him on company matters.
Caden had left him with specific instructions to reorganize everything from top to bottom, all of which Hank had taken care of.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Hank added after reporting everything. “I saw Joshua at the police station earlier. It looked like he was searching for Ms. Bennett.”
Caden let out a sharp laugh, his eyes gleaming with amusement as he tossed Hank a bottle of water.
“The ever-submissive Alicia finally stood up to him, and he liked it. Imagine that.”
Now that they were on the subject of Alicia, Hank handed a ring to Caden and asked, “Should I send Ms. Bennett’s ring back to her, or have her pick it up herself?”
Caden looked over the ring.
It was just a small, plain silver band, with no diamond to speak of.
It was too big, a little loose, likely slipping off during that night’s… intensity.
Cheap material, and even cheaper sentiment.
Yet, Alicia was desperate to get it back.
Caden’s lips curved in a cynical smirk. What did she have besides that enticing body of hers? Not much.
Hank sighed, almost regretfully. “If Ms. Bennett weren’t your sister-in-law, Mr. Ward, perhaps your troubles-“
At this, Caden’s expression darkened, and Hank immediately shut up.
“It was the drug,” Caden hissed, his voice sharp as ice.
Without thinking, Hank corrected him.
“But it was Ms. Bennett who was drugged, sir.”
Caden’s fingers curled tighter around the ring, the cold metal digging into his palm. The atmosphere dropped several hundred degrees, a chill creeping over the room.
“My apologies, Mr. Ward. I spoke out of turn,” Hank murmured, stepping back, his eyes downcast.
Caden’s gaze shifted downward, to a part of himself already reacting to thoughts of Alicia. Just thinking about her stirred him.
With a wicked smile, he added, almost to himself, “We’ll know where the problem really lies… after another round.”
Alicia soaked in the warmth of the bath, letting the gentle steam wrap around her like a cocoon.
When Monica found out that it was Caden who brought Alicia back, she couldn’t stop gabbing, her eyes flashing with excitement.
“The Yates family scandal was the juiciest talk of the town back in the day! Who would’ve guessed Caden would return? And now, with the way he’s built a name for himself, it’s not like he needs the inheritance, right? So, why show up at all? To make Joshua’s life a living hell? Oh my god, it’s like a soap opera come to life-two brothers at each other’s throats. One’s your soon-to-be ex-husband, the other’s your nemesis. So, who’re you rooting for, Alicia?”
But Alicia’s mind was elsewhere, and Monica’s constant yammering had long faded into the background.
“Alicia? Hey, earth to Alicia!”
Only then did Alicia snap back to reality.
“Huh? Sorry, did you say something just now?”