Before he could finish, the phone started buzzing a third time.
Their eyes met.
Tyrone’s expression darkened.
Aella’s gaze flicked down to the phone vibrating on the table. She knew that look-the tension in his shoulders, the way he tried to stay composed.
She didn’t need to see the caller ID. She already knew who it was.
His first love.
Zera.
The urgency in his eyes was unmistakable. What she didn’t see was guilt.
When the fourth call came through, Tyrone finally spoke. “I’ll leave the driver for you. Go home and get some rest. Don’t wait up.”
As he stood, Aella rose too.
She swallowed the dull ache in her throat and reached for her bag. “You’re busy. I’ll call a cab.”
He didn’t explain. She didn’t ask.
Distracted, she turned-and bumped into a passing waiter. Her phone and bag hit the carpet, scattering everything-including the divorce papers she’d just picked up from the law firm.
Tyrone bent down to help, but Aella snatched them up first.
Now wasn’t the time. Not yet. Not until her mother was out of the hospital.
Tyrone’s eyes swept over the mess, then zeroed in on the papers in her hand. His gaze sharpened.
“What’s that?”
Aella forced her voice to stay calm. “Some medical notes.”
He didn’t buy it. “Really?”
Before she could hide them, he reached for the folder.
The papers stretched tight between them, neither willing to let go.
Then Tyrone’s phone buzzed again.
He hesitated. Looked at her.
And let go.
Tyrone left in a rush, telling the driver to take Aella home.
But as soon as he was gone, Aella waved the driver off, hailed her own cab, and followed him straight to the hospital.
She needed to see her with her own eyes-the woman who’d held Tyrone’s heart all these years.
At the elevator, she caught sight of him stepping inside. By the time she got there on another lift, he’d already disappeared.
Aella let out a bitter laugh.
Once, she’d been the proud heiress of her family-poised, admired, untouchable.
Now she was just a jealous wife, chasing after her cheating husband like some desperate fool.
Her stomach twisted. If it weren’t for her mother’s fragile health, she might’ve screamed at Tyrone, ripped off her wedding ring, and ended everything right there.
The pain was so sharp it made her dizzy.
By the time she managed to calm herself, she wiped her tears, redid her makeup, and walked into her mother’s hospital room like nothing had happened.
Miriam looked surprised to see her show up so late. Concern flashed across her tired face.
“Aella, sweetheart, tell me the truth. Did you and Tyrone have a fight?”
Aella forced a smile, dragging a chair closer to the bed. “No, Mom. We’re fine.”
Her throat tightened. She remembered the day she’d proudly told her parents that marrying Tyrone was the happiest thing in her life.
Now, how could she tell them the truth?
That her perfect husband had been unfaithful.
That she wanted a divorce.
Her father, Warren, passed her a pack of snacks sent by relatives. “Aella, you’ve been married three years now. Tyrone’s done a lot for this family. If there’s an issue, talk it through. Don’t throw a fit and make things worse.”
Miriam sighed, her tone soft but pressing. “You’re twenty-five now. It’s time to start a family. Tyrone’s the Winters’ only son. You should give him a child soon-then your marriage will last.”
Aella went quiet.
She wanted kids.
But Tyrone didn’t.
She remembered one night, not long after he came back from a business trip. She’d hidden all the protection on purpose.
That night, he’d been unusually passionate. They didn’t use anything.
For a moment, she’d been so happy-thinking maybe, finally, he was ready.
The next morning, Tyrone handed her a box of emergency pills and stood there, watching, until she swallowed them.
After that, she gave up. On schemes. On dreams.
He wanted kids-just not with her.
Later that night, her younger brother Clyde came running into the hospital after school. The moment he saw Aella, he hugged her tightly.
“Aella! I just saw Tyrone!”
Her smile froze.
Miriam frowned. “Aella, did Tyrone come here with you?”
Aella forced out an answer. “He just dropped by to see a friend. I tagged along.”
She turned to Clyde, her voice low. “Where did you see him?”
Clyde scratched his head, thinking. “We got in the elevator together. I think he pressed thirteen.”
Aella muttered something vague to her parents, then slipped out.
She couldn’t just walk up and accuse him. Instead, she quietly made her way down the thirteenth-floor hallway, checking each private suite.
Her chest tightened with every step. She wasn’t the one having an affair-but somehow, she was the one who felt ashamed.
The corridor was quiet. Too quiet.
Then she stopped.
The door ahead was slightly open. Through the narrow gap, she saw Tyrone sitting by a bed-his arm around a woman.
Her stomach dropped.
That had to be her.
His first love.
Zera.
Aella had heard her name before, but she’d never seen her in person.
Zera sat at the edge of the bed, arms looped around Tyrone’s waist, her face buried against his chest. Her long hair spilled over his arm.
Even from behind, Aella could tell she was beautiful. That kind of delicate, soft beauty that made men want to protect her.
Then Zera lifted her head, voice trembling just enough to sound fragile. “Tyrone, can you stay with me tonight?”
So that’s how close they were.
Aella’s nails dug into her palm as she watched Tyrone gently untangle Zera’s hands from his neck. And that’s when she saw it-a diamond bracelet on Zera’s wrist.
The same bracelet he’d given her earlier that evening.
Her breath caught.
She looked down at her own wrist-two identical bracelets.
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