The mention of Kyla seemed to jolt Noah out of his reverie.
He reached out, cradling Sadie’s face in his hand, his thumb tenderly wiping away her tears. His voice was a soft whisper, trying to soothe her. “Come on, let’s just go home.”
“Go home to what? To watch you play the devoted lover to her?” Sadie’s voice cracked, her resolve crumbling.
She stepped closer, her gaze locked onto his, a silent plea in her eyes.
“Noah, I’ve loved you unwaveringly for ten years! Yet, I’ve never had a place in your heart. I’ve sacrificed my dreams, my self-respect… I know I can’t demand your love, but do you really have to be this cruel? I hurt too, you know.”
Her tears cascaded down her cheeks, each drop reflecting her broken heart.
Noah, caught off-guard by her raw vulnerability, found himself at a loss.
A heavy weight seemed to press on his chest, stealing his breath.
“Sadie…”
His heart ached to console her, but no matter how hard he tried, the words refused to leave his lips.
“Noah, please, just leave. I can’t bear to look at you right now.” Sadie’s voice was laced with a palpable hurt. She turned her back to him, a clear dismissal.
Noah lingered, his gaze fixed on her rigid shoulders, the silence stretching painfully between them.
After a moment that felt like an eternity, he turned away, his footsteps echoing down the hall.
The sound of the door closing behind him felt final, a resolute click severing their ties.
Leaning against the wall, Sadie slid to the floor, her face buried in her knees as sobs wracked her body.
The harsh truth settled in her heart; Noah would never truly grasp the depth of the pain he had inflicted on her.
Outside, the crisp night air did little to clear Noah’s troubled thoughts. His phone rang, Kyla’s voice floating through with a teasing undertone. “Noah, can you spend the night with me, please?”
The fact that he hadn’t made a move on her was what unsettled her the most.
Despite her obvious intentions, Noah responded firmly, “Get some rest, Kyla. We’ll talk at the office tomorrow.”
“But Noah…”
Kyla’s voice was a mix of disappointment and persistence.
“I’m driving right now. We’ll catch up later,” Noah interjected, ending the call briskly.
On the other end, Kyla’s eyes narrowed, the message from the private investigator she had hired burning in her mind. A dangerous plan was forming.
The following morning, upon arrival at the office, Sadie was immediately met with curious glances and whispered murmurs from her colleagues.
Her connection with them paid off when one of them pulled her aside and whispered, “Sadie, you should see what’s been sent to the company group chat.”
Trepidation gripped Sadie as she lifted her phone. Among the flood of messages, she found the anonymous email-images that captured moments between her and Noah, and shockingly, one with Alex.
As whispers swirled around her, Sadie felt the sting of each word like a slap. Colleagues she barely interacted with were painting her as the villain in a scandalous love triangle, labeling her a seductress and side chick. The comments were biting, filled with contempt.
Grateful for the heads-up, Sadie gave a quick thanks and wasted no time heading straight to Samuel.
“Samuel, can you take care of this? I can’t have my personal life disrupt my professional environment,” she implored, her voice steady yet edged with urgency.
Knowing exactly who she was, Samuel made sure to treat her with the respect she deserved.
“I’ve already silenced the group chat. We’ll wait for Mr. Wall’s guidance on how to proceed,” he assured her, his demeanor composed but sympathetic to her plight.
Keeping Sadie’s identity as his wife hidden had always been part of Noah’s plan.
Though he understood Sadie’s situation, Samuel, bound by his position, dared not intervene.
Trying to maintain her composure, Sadie nodded and excused herself, her facade uncracked as she moved through the office towards the break room.
There, she encountered the last thing she needed-a group of usual detractors, casually tossing around their latest speculations about her.
“Who would have thought the quiet and reserved Sadie had such a scandalous side?”
“Right? Just look at her-trouble from the start. It’s clear she’s not as innocent as she seems.”
“And bold enough to play the seductress right under the real girlfriend’s nose. She’s cunning, I’ll give her that.”
Sadie tried to steady her trembling hand around her cup.
The irony twisted deep into her heart-she, the legitimate wife, now misjudged as the other woman.
Unable to correct the narrative without exposing more of her private life, she took a deep, steadying breath, steeling herself against the slander.
“Sadie!”
She was about to walk away when a familiar voice called her name, stopping her in her tracks.
“What’s wrong? Feeling upset?” Kyla’s voice dripped with a taunting smugness as she sauntered closer.
The white dress she donned today only amplified her deceptively innocent allure, making her seem as pristine as a freshly bloomed lily.
Sadie stopped dead in her tracks, her gaze turning frosty as she met Kyla’s eyes. “Was it you?” she demanded, her voice a mix of disbelief and accusation.
The thought of Kyla slandering her was incomprehensible.
Didn’t she fear that Noah might just expose their marriage?
Kyla’s lips curled into a sly smile, and instead of a straightforward answer, she leaned closer, her whisper laced with contempt. “I heard you’ve been in love with Noah for a decade, but funny thing-he’s been in love with me just as long. So, tell me, when push comes to shove, do you think he’ll side with you at the brink of a divorce, or will he just discard you like a used-up toy?”
A laugh, bitter and incredulous, escaped Sadie. She fixed Kyla with a steely look. “Are you so certain he’ll choose you? I’ve shared his bed for two years. Do you honestly believe his desires mean nothing?”
Sadie knew Noah had never truly been intimate with Kyla, at least not before he confessed as much to her.
“You-“
Kyla’s face twisted with hurt and anger. Her hand flew up, poised to strike, but a sudden glimpse of a familiar black suit in her peripheral vision made her hesitate.
Quickly masking her fury with a look of feigned sorrow, she lowered her hand and sighed, “It’s not Noah’s fault-it’s all on me. Coming back was a mistake.”
“What bullshit did you just say, Sadie?” Noah’s voice suddenly cut through the tension.
He strode into the room just as Kyla’s words reached his ears. His gaze, heavy with disapproval, landed on Sadie.
She returned his look with a frosty silence before turning sharply and exiting the break room.
The wave of emotions surging through her was too much to bear; her stomach twisted into knots, compelling her to gag.
Stumbling into the restroom, Sadie leaned over the sink, her body convulsing as she retched, each heave leaving her more lightheaded than the last.
“Sadie!” Noah called out, his voice echoing slightly off the restroom tiles.
He had seen her storm away with such resolve that he couldn’t shake the feeling something was terribly wrong. His instincts had guided him here, to find her in distress.
She was sick, and it was more serious than he had realized.
Sadie’s recent mood swings suddenly made sense to him, but she remained oblivious to his thoughts, her mind screaming for solitude.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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