“Then there’s Carter,” Kelly said, her tone light as she smiled, almost casual–yet laced with something poisonous beneath the surface. “One phone call from me, no matter what he’s doing–work, meetings, anything–he drops it all and comes to me. Even if you two are… in bed together, he’ll still leave you and come to me.”
Sharon’s hand tightened into a fist before she realized it, her nails digging into her palm. But she didn’t feel the pain.
Because it was true. More than once, in their most intimate moments, Kelly’s call had pulled Carter away.
She had pleaded with him not to go.
But all he left her with was a cold, dismissive reply. “Don’t be unreasonable.”
And then he walked out. As if the heat of a moment ago had been a hallucination. As if she meant nothing at all.
Left behind, disheveled and humiliated, Sharon had sat in the quiet, her skin still burning from his touch, her heart colder than ice.
Now, she smiled faintly and looked Kelly straight in the face.
“So,” she asked, “he left me… to sleep with you?”
Kelly’s expression twitched–barely noticeable–but then she quickly recovered, masking it with a placid look.
“It’s not as dirty as you’re imagining,” she said. “Between me and Carter… it’s not like that.”
She could lie about a lot of things. But not this.
Even if she had once been Carter’s first love, as long as Carter and Sharon hadn’t officially divorced, she had no rightful place. To the world, she was the other woman. The mistress.
And of course, those righteous voices online never hesitated to weigh in–mocking the pathetic wives who couldn’t keep their men, preaching that all love outside of marriage was betrayal.
But they didn’t know. Kelly had met Carter first. Before everything
“Dirty?” Sharon repeated the word softly, without anger. “If there’s really nothing between you two, what exactly are you proud of? That your feelings are pure? That you never managed to give him a child? Or… that he never married you?”
Kelly’s smile finally cracked, like glass splintering under pressure.
“So what?” she said, regaining her composure. “Even if I never married him, never had his child–if I asked for the moon, find a way to bring it down for me.”
he’d
Something lit up in her again, and she smiled, triumphant.
“Sorry to say, but that wedding you were supposed to have with Carter? It ended up being mine. The dress? My favorite style. Funny, after all these years, he still remembers what I like…”
Sharon raised an eyebrow. “Is a fake wedding worth celebrating so much, Kelly? If you’re so capable, why didn’t you have Carter divorce me and marry you for real?”
She met Kelly’s gaze head–on. “Don’t you want that?”
For a moment, something hateful flashed across Kelly’s eyes. She smiled again coldly.
“No wonder Carter’s family doesn’t like you. His friends don’t like you. Not even your husband or your son are close to you. Sharon, maybe it’s time you stopped blaming others and looked at yourself.”
Sharon gave her a calm, almost amused smile. “Well, I obviously can’t compare to your charm. Carter’s sister likes you. His friends adore you. Even Carter and Theo are bewitched by you. Seems even God prefers your type. Should I be congratulating you, Kelly? You’re quite the favorite.”
Chapter 11
+25 BONUS
Of course, Kelly heard the sarcasm. It wasn’t flattery–it was a death knell. She was mocking her. Mocking her… because she was dying.
The two women, not bothering to feign civility, stabbed directly at each other’s deepest wounds.
Once, Sharon might have held back, unwilling to say things that lacked grace or dignity. But now—now, she understood. Whoever made her suffer, she’d return the favor. No hesitation. No guilt.
Why destroy herself just to make others feel comfortable?
Suddenly, Kelly’s eyes turned red, brimming with unshed tears. Her voice softened into something frail, pitiful. “Sharon, you don’t need to remind me. I know… I don’t have much time left.”
She lowered her gaze, the sorrow in her words carefully measured. “You’re right. Everything Carter has given me was fake… I’m sorry. That wedding… it should’ve been yours.”
Before her words could settle, a furious shout erupted behind Sharon.
“What do you mean, ‘even God prefers Kelly‘? Sharon, who the hell are you cursing?!”
She turned, calmly, her gaze landing on the three figures standing just a few steps away.
Nate was charging forward, rage written all over his face. He looked like he wanted to tear her apart.
“Sharon, how dare you talk about Kelly like that? Have you stooped that low?”
Beside him, Julliard Macaron frowned slightly, a crease forming between his brows. “Nate, calm down. Maybe this is just a misunderstanding-”
But Nate cut him off mid–sentence. “What misunderstanding?! You and Carter both heard it! She’s jealous because Kelly’s liked by everyone–so she says even God prefers Kelly, and curses her to die! She’s so two–faced! She puts on a show in public, pretending to be all innocent, then turns around and bullies Kelly whenever she can. If we hadn’t happened to be here and heard it for ourselves, who knows how long we’d be fooled by this toxic woman?”
Nate sneered, eyes glinting with satisfaction. “Finally caught you red–handed, didn’t I?”
But Sharon stood unmoved, her expression calm. There wasn’t a trace of guilt or panic on her face.
The moment Kelly had changed her tone, Sharon had known–there were people watching. Kelly was using her usual tricks again.
Julliard noticed her glance and gave her a slight nod in greeting before quietly saying to Nate, “Nate, Sharon is Carter’s wife. Even if she did something wrong, it’s not your place to scold her.”
Nate froze at that, his footsteps halting. He turned toward Carter. “You heard everything too, didn’t you? Are you really going to let her bully Kelly and still take her side?”
Carter’s jaw was clenched tight. A cold aura radiated from him, sharp and unyielding.
“Sharon,” he said. “Apologize.”
Nate, practically gleeful now, added mockingly, “Carter’s pissed off. You’re done for, Sharon.”
She looked at him without a word.
Julliard blinked, raising his brows in surprise. Maybe it was just a feeling–but something about her seemed… different.
Normally, Sharon would’ve explained herself right away. But today, she didn’t. And not only that–her indifference, her cold demeanor–it was like someone else was standing in her place.
Carter stared at her unmoved face, and his fury grew. He hadn’t forgotten what Nate told him–Sharon had said she came here for “fun.”
Chapter 11
+25 BONUS
She was married. A mother. And she still came to a place like this?
“Sharon. Apologize to Kelly. Now.”
Nate chimed in, deliberately adding fuel to the fire. “With how horrible her words were, even if she bowed, it wouldn’t be enough.”
Sharon’s lips curved slightly–not quite a smile, more like a quiet refusal to play along. She didn’t waste a single breath on any
of them.
Without looking back, she walked past Carter.
But just as they brushed shoulders, a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist hard.
“Sharon. Didn’t you hear me tell you to apologize?”
Chapter 12
