Chapter 2

Connor came back the next day with a container of my favorite soup from a restaurant across town. He set it on the bedside table, the aroma filling the sterile room.

"I thought you might like this," he said, his voice gentle. "You haven't eaten."

I stared at the wall, my face a blank mask. I didn't want his soup. I didn't want his fake concern.

"Haven, please," he begged. "Talk to me."

I turned my head slowly, my eyes cold and empty. "Talk about what, Connor? About how you left me to be raped and murdered?"

Pain flashed across his face. "It wasn't like that. I was going to come back. The kidnappers... they were just trying to scare us."

"And Gemma?" I asked, my voice flat. "What about her?"

He flinched, his gaze dropping to the floor. "It's complicated. I have a responsibility to her."

He tried to touch my arm, a gesture that once would have brought me comfort. Now, it made my skin crawl.

"Don't touch me," I snapped, my voice sharp and hard.

I yanked my arm away as if his hand was on fire. The motion sent a jolt of pain through my bruised body.

"Haven," he pleaded, his eyes filled with a hollow sorrow. "I know I hurt you. I know I messed up. But you're my wife. You're the most important person in the world to me."

Just then, a nurse rushed into the room, her expression urgent. "Mr. Jones, you need to come quickly. Miss Chan is having another panic attack. She's asking for you."

Connor didn't hesitate.

"I'll be right back," he said to me, his voice a mix of apology and urgency.

He stood up, his eyes already on the door. He turned so quickly that he knocked over the container of soup he had brought for me. It clattered to the floor, spilling across the clean linoleum.

He glanced at the mess, then at me, then back at the door. He didn't even pause.

He just left.

I watched his back as he hurried out of the room, leaving me with the smell of spilled soup and the wreckage of our marriage.

A laugh escaped my lips. It was a bitter, broken sound.

The most important person in the world to him. What a joke. I was a complete fool.

A few minutes later, two nurses walked past my open door, their voices low.

"He's been with her non-stop," one of them whispered. "Never leaves her side. Poor Miss Chan, she seems so fragile."

"And his wife?" the other asked. "She's been alone this whole time."

"He says her injuries aren't serious. But Miss Chan... she needs him more. He's so devoted to her."

The words were like acid, eating away at the last of my illusions. It wasn't just a life debt. It was an affair. He was in love with her.

A sharp pain shot through my chest, so intense it took my breath away. My vision blurred.

I had to get out of here.

I pushed the call button. My assistant, Sarah, was there in minutes.

"Mrs. Jones? Are you alright?" she asked, her face full of concern.

"I'm leaving," I said, my voice firm. "Now."

"But the doctors said you need to rest..."

"I don't care what the doctors said," I cut her off, my voice dropping into the tone I used in the boardroom. The one that left no room for argument. "Get my clothes. I'm checking out."

Sarah's eyes widened, but she nodded. She knew that look.

As I walked down the hallway, my steps unsteady, I passed Gemma's room. The door was slightly ajar. I didn't hear their voices. I saw them. He was sitting on the edge of her bed, stroking her hair as she lay with her head in his lap. He leaned down and whispered something, his expression full of a tenderness I hadn't seen in years. Then, he kissed her forehead.

My world, which was already cracked, shattered into a million irreparable pieces.

My mind went numb. I remembered a document. A contract we had signed when we founded Apex Dynamics. A clause I had insisted on, a fail-safe in case of betrayal.

A wave of dizziness washed over me, and a new, sharp pain stabbed at my lower abdomen. I clutched the wall for support, a cold sweat breaking out on my forehead.

I needed a doctor. But not here. Not in his hospital.

I had to get away.