Aella’s anger rose like a flame. She forced herself to stay calm, not wanting to start a scene in public.
Finally, she admitted, “Yes, I told Raine to go.”
Raine had only done it to stand up for her.
But Tyrone cherished Zera so much; of course he would be furious.
Aella didn’t want Raine dragged into this mess, but apologizing?
That was impossible.
They stared at each other.
Tyrone’s eyes stayed fixed on her face.
He said quietly, “Since you admit it, go apologize to Zera.”
Aella’s eyes burned red with grievance.
She stood firm, her voice steady. “Tyrone, I don’t care how much you love her. You married me. As long as we’re still husband and wife, you and your first love are in the wrong. That child of yours is still illegitimate. And now you want me, your wife, to apologize to her? Do you even hear yourself? “
Tyrone’s gaze darkened. He wasn’t happy with her words. “Aella, that sounds harsh. Zera isn’t a homewrecker.”
Aella laughed bitterly. “Right. The one who isn’t loved is the real homewrecker, isn’t it?” Tyrone was silent.
The next second, Aella’s face went cold. “I’m the other woman, aren’t I?”
Tyrone rubbed his temples, exhausted by the whole situation. He stepped closer and comforted her, “Aella, that’s not what I meant.”
She backed away, avoiding his hand.
She looked him in the eye and asked, “Tyrone, if you love her that much, why not just divorce me and marry her? I could leave with nothing. I’ll even sign an IOU and am willing to step aside for the two of you.”
Tyrone’s face darkened, his stare locked on her with an unreadable weight.
“For now, I don’t plan to remove you from your place as Mrs. Winter.”
For now?
The words hit Aella’s heart like a blow.
They sounded so cold. So official.
As she stood there silently, Tyrone kept going.
“Zera emotions aren’t stable right now. If you apologize, it will calm her down. Otherwise, she’ll stay scared.”
The tenderness in his voice burned Aella’s heart like fire.
The more it hurt, the colder she became.
She said calmly, “If you want me, your useless lawful wife, to apologize to her, fine. But I’ll do it at a press conference, in front of reporters, for everyone to see. You want that, Mr. Winter?”
Mr. Winter.
Tyrone’s jaw tightened. He hated the way she called him. “Aella, I’m your husband.”
Aella turned her head away. “From the moment your first love and her kid came back, and you ran through the rain to pick them up from the airport, you stopped being my husband.”
Tyrone’s voice grew colder. “Aella, you know I hate being threatened.”
Her emotions slipped past her control, and her eyes filled with tears. “If you won’t agree to a press conference, then I’ll do it another way. I’ll walk out there in front of every doctor and nurse and apologize to her. I’ll say it loud and clear-that I, Mrs. Winter, smashed the homewrecker’s home and sent her to the hospital out of jealousy, and now my husband is forcing me to apologize.”
She marched toward the door. Tyrone caught her by the waist, pulling her against him.
He didn’t let go right away.
“Aella, I’m trying to talk nicely to you,” he said. “Do you have to blow up every time?”
A knock sounded at the door. Tyrone lowered his voice. “We’ll deal with the apology later. You still have work this afternoon. Go home early and get some rest.”
He held her for a while before releasing her. “I’ll grab you something to eat. Calm down.”
He cut the argument off before she completely unraveled.
When Tyrone left, Aella collapsed on the desk, drained.
He hadn’t stopped because he cared about her or her feelings.
He was protecting Zera, his pride, and his family’s reputation.
If she had broken down in public-if the hospital staff found out about the affair, about Zera staying here-he’d have the most to lose.
It took Aella a long time to steady herself.
Tyrone rushed back to drop off her lunch, then left again.
She dumped the meal straight into the trash once he was gone.
By 5:30 p.m., she clocked out on time.
Samuel didn’t have the night shift, working his usual three days-on, two days-off schedule. Aella planned to visit her parents on her day off tomorrow.
Just as she stepped into the hospital lobby with a coworker, Zera blocked her path.
“Dr. Reid, can I have a few minutes?” Zera asked.
She didn’t address Aella as Mrs. Winter in front of colleagues but chose the safer, professional title instead.
Aella didn’t want any private talk with Zera.
She pulled her female colleague to a stop and said, “Ms. Caldwell, if you have something to say, say it here.”
Zera decided to apologize right in front of Aella’s coworker.
“I just found out you’re off tomorrow, so I rushed over to apologize today,” she explained.
Aella’s eyes scanned her up and down.
She certainly carried herself like a dancer-tall and graceful-but her features didn’t quite balance out.
Since Aella stayed silent, Zera kept going. “Dr. Reid, I know Raine came after me because of you. Still, it all started with me, so I’d like to officially apologize to you. Let’s not bring this up again.”
She paused, then added, “I just returned to the country. I don’t have many friends here, but I’d really like to be friends with you.”
Aella’s expression remained cold. “Ms. Caldwell, making a single friend in this city with someone like Tyrone is worth more than a thousand others. You don’t need to waste your effort on me.”
She started to leave, but Zera caught her sleeve. “No, Dr. Reid, you’ve got it all wrong about me and Tyrone-“
Aella yanked her arm free, annoyed.
The next second, Zera stumbled and fell to the ground with a loud thud.
People nearby hurried over to watch.
“Zera!”
Tyrone came running with a hospital bill in hand. He dropped to her side, checking her in a panic.
Zera winced, tears streaming down her cheeks as she clutched her knee. “Tyrone, I just wanted to apologize to Dr. Reid. I didn’t think she’d be so upset.”
In front of everyone, Tyrone scooped her into his arms.
His cold eyes locked on Aella. “And you call yourself a doctor? Zera’s already in poor health. How could you push her?”
Aella didn’t even bother to defend herself.
This felt like one of those stupid scenes from a soap opera; only now it was happening to her.
Her gaze fixed on Zera in Tyrone’s arms.
With a flat expression, she warned, “Tyrone, your woman threw herself in my way. Pushing her was me being polite. I should’ve slapped her and shown her who’s queen.”
Zera noticed the strange looks from the crowd and quickly spoke up. “Tyrone, my leg hurts so badly. Please, take me back to my room.”
Tyrone said nothing more. He turned and carried her off.
Aella’s coworker couldn’t hold back anymore. “Aella, were those two just now a couple? Why would they treat you like that?”
Aella forced herself to pull it together. She answered quietly, “They’re husband and wife.”
Tyrone, walking a few steps ahead with Zera in his arms, froze at those words.
He turned, eyes fixed on Aella as she walked away.
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