Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 25883 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25883 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
His mind suddenly replayed his last moments with his wife, and of how he had even forgotten about using the Dallas M&A as his alibi for keeping their marriage a secret. It was as if his mind had taken to burying itself in the sand, and so the past eight weeks had seen Rowland unconsciously living out this fantasy of him and Emerald having a normal marriage.
If Charlotte hadn't texted, the fantasy would've likely continued indefinitely. But she had texted him, and the reminder sent Rowland crashing back to reality.
Have you changed your mind, Mr. Asherfield?
He thought of Emerald, and how she was likely waiting eagerly for him to come home. It was a heart-fucking-warming picture, but he had been burned far too many times to believe that Emerald wouldn't eventually change.
Have you changed your mind, Mr. Asherfield?
His heart threatened to stop as he started to type, and it felt as if an invisible noose around his neck was tightening with each word.
No. You may proceed as planned.
Rowland hit 'Send', and it felt no different from extinguishing his own fucking life with a click of a button.
Chapter Nineteen
EMMY WAS PLEASANTLY surprised when told she had a visitor, but her smile faded as soon as she saw the other woman standing at the foot of the stairs, a strained smile on her pale, lovely face.
"Did something happen?"
"I'm so sorry, Emmy. Is there someplace we can talk in private?"
She led Charlotte to the library since it was the room Rowland had often used when he had business associates dropping by. And it was there that the other woman gave her the news, and for the longest time, all Emmy could do was stare dumbly at the divorce papers she now held in her hand.
"I don't understand..."
Charlotte's heart broke at the blankness of the younger woman's tone, and it killed her that all she could do was say sorry. "I was wrong, Emmy. I thought those two months would have been enough for him to fall in love and change his mind."
I don't understand.
She was in love with Rowland while he...had changed his mind about being married to him.
I don't understand, God.
Please help me understand.
I just don't understand.
Charlotte felt sick with guilt as the other woman visibly struggled to comprehend the sudden breakdown of her marriage. "I'm so sorry, Emmy. I'm so sorry."
"Did he tell you why he...why he..." Emmy tried to make herself say the words, but her mind was still in denial. To say the words would make it real, and it couldn't be. This couldn't be real. Right?
She turned to Charlotte, still needing to understand how things had come to this when just an hour ago—-
Oh God, how was it just an hour ago that he had told her he didn't want to leave her, but now...
"I just..." Emmy tried to keep her voice from shaking, but it was impossible. "Does this have to do with the Dallas deal?"
Charlotte shook her head.
"Did they find out I was his wife and—-"
Charlotte couldn't bear the desperation in the other woman's voice. "It's not that, Emmy. It's not that at all."
The way Charlotte said the words made Emmy feel sick. "Was it all a lie? Was everything he told me...a lie?"
The contract from Heart's Match hadn't specified the reason her marriage had to remain a secret. But she had signed it because she had trusted Charlotte...just like she had also trusted Rowland when he told her that a sudden change in his personal life might affect the deal he was working on in Dallas.
I believed every word he said, Emmy thought numbly. I believed him, but he lied.
"I'm sorry, Emmy. He gave me the same story about the Dallas deal, but yes, I think it's a lie."
Emmy felt as if her whole world was disintegrating before her eyes.
Fucking you was all I thought of the entire month.
Don't deny me the privilege of caring for you.
I hate having to leave you.
She suddenly remembered all the times she had lost herself in his arms, and it made her want to throw up.
And when she thought about all the things he had asked her to do in bed and the things she had allowed him to do—-
They had all felt right because she believed their marriage was real.
No, please, no.
If what he said about the Dallas deal was a lie, then Emmy could only think of one reason a billionaire like Rowland wouldn't want the world to know she was his wife.
No, it can't be, no.
Emmy turned to Charlotte again, and the look on the other woman's face almost seemed an answer in itself.
He's not like that, he's not, he's not.
But Emmy had to be sure. She had to be completely sure because she didn't want to live the rest of her life plagued by an endless sea of what-ifs.