Chapter 5
The next morning, when Irene came downstairs, she saw Elise standing at the diningning dishes.
After a night of effort, the woman had successfully ditched the maid’s uniform and now wore an elegant wrap dress that accentuated her figure perfectly. It was alluring without being obvious.
Coupled with her face–which bore a faint resemblance to Irene’s–it wasn’t hard to guess why Charles had chosen her.
The moment Irene appeared, Elise greeted her with a bright, cheerful voice. “Good morning, ma’am. Come have some breakfast.”
She tilted her body slightly, as if unintentionally, revealing the faint kiss marks scattered along her neck. And on her slender wrist was a vintage diamond tennis bracelet.
Irene recognized it instantly. It had belonged to Margaret–a Whitmore family heirloom.
Irene had heard her mention it before. Charles had once tried to get it for Irene, but his mother had refused, saying she couldn’t bear children.
And now, that very bracelet was on Elise’s wrist.
Irene clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. Suddenly, everything she’d endured, everything she’d fought to hold together, felt like a cruel joke.
She had tried so hard to keep things civil between the two families. She didn’t want to blow things up. But in the end, Elise was the one Margaret recognized as her daughter–in–law.
Even yesterday at the hospital, Charles’s best friend had known about Elise and the child.
She was the only one still in the dark–spinning in circles like a fool, caught in Charles’s empty promises.
A bitter smile tugged at Irene’s lips. If Charles had been upfront about wanting ac dignity and walked away clean–no messy entanglements, no looking back.
ཇི ཚེ ཆེ་ དེའི ཧོན་ཆ་
child from the start, she could have handled it with
But after what she heard last night in the study, her chest still prickled with pain. Part of her wanted to march up to him and slap him across the face.
e was after. She wanted him to regret this for the rest of his life.
But that wasn’t the outcome she was
Just then, Charles came downstairs. He looked refreshed, not a trace of fatigue on him, like he hadn’t spent the night with another
woman at all.
As he passed Elise, the two exchanged a look far too intimate, and Elise shyly lowered her eyes.
Then he turned and noticed Irene’s pale face. He rushed over, concerned. “Baby, you’re not feeling well, are you? Was it from the rain yesterday? I can skip work today and stay home to take care of you.”
Irene couldn’t wait to leave. Every second spent in Charles’s presence made her feel like she was suffocating. He disgusted her now. “No need,” she said coldly. “Work is important. I’ll just rest at home.”
Charles frowned. Something felt off. Irene was always the clingy one never wanting him to leave her side. But now… everything was different.
Still, he knew Irene well enough to realize her mind was made up. He turned to the staff and said, “Take good care of Irene while I’m
Cone.”
The housekeepers exchanged glances, clearly numb to their daily dose of affection. One by one, they nodded as if it were just routine.
Just then, Elise stood up and walked over to Charles. She reached out to adjust his collar.
“Your shirt’s crooked–here, let me fix it.”
And Charles–without even thinking–lowered his head and let her do it.
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That unconscious gesture… was the most painful part.
Everyone in the room seemed to freeze. The staff all sucked in a breath and shifted their eyes to Irene, not daring to say a word.
Charles finally realized something was wrong. He quickly stepped back and put distance between him and Elise, offering a stiff, polite “Thanks.”
“I’m heading to the office,” he said, then walked over to Irene and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Be good. Wait for me to come home.”
The voice he used the soft, indulgent tone was the exact same one she’d heard in the study the night before.
Chapter 5
