Chapter 97
Carter chuckled. “You’re sharper than I gave you credit for.”
“When dealing with people like you and Kelly,” Sharon replied, her voice calm but edged, “if I’m not careful, I might not even know how I end up dead.”
He didn’t know why, but in that moment, the wife he used to think of as bland as tap water-colorless, tasteless-suddenly intrigued him.
“Sharon, if this is your way of getting my attention, I’ll tell you now-you’ve succeeded.”
She couldn’t help it. A small, dry laugh slipped out.
If narcissism had rankings, Carter would be SSS-with a plus.
Of course, he didn’t actually make a move to take her phone.
And Sharon wasn’t foolish enough to let him.
He’d tried to suppress her before-stopping that press conference-and she’d only made a bigger scene. It was clear now: she wasn’t as easy to control as he’d once thought.
“Sharon,” Carter said, his tone measured, “whether or not this gets pursued-that’s not up to you.”
She froze. But quickly, she understood the implication in his words.
Anger surged in her eyes. “Carter, are you threatening my friend again?!”
He shot her a glance. “I’ll offer your friend a satisfactory compensation.”
She blinked.
Compensation?
She knew Wendy well. Wendy would never compromise with Carter over something like money.
But this time, because of Sharon’s own impulsiveness, Kelly had attempted suicide.
Wendy felt deeply guilty for dragging others into it. She was the type who would rather endure hardship herself than create trouble for the people she cared about. And she was smart enough to know that if she clashed with Carter head-on, she’d be the
one to suffer.
There was a real chance… Wendy would accept the offer.
Sure enough, when Sharon found her again, Wendy was already with Simon, having signed the settlement agreement.
Sharon looked at her apologetically. “Wendy, I’m sorry.”
Wendy grinned. “What’s there to be sorry about? I got a big apartment downtown out of it. It’ll appreciate like crazy. If it were just me, I’d never be able to afford something like that.”
She patted Sharon on the shoulder and lowered her voice.
“Sharon, I know you’re worried I’m compromising, but… you’re about to divorce Carter. You’ll need a place to stay. If he tries to mess with you later, this apartment is legally mine. He can’t touch it. It might just be your safety net. Think about it. Kelly’s been playing this crazy act from the start. This whole thing-she clearly put Nate up to it. If Nate ends up in jail, she’ll just have another excuse to cling tighter to Carter.”
1/2
Wendy paused, then scoffed.
“You saw the way she ‘relapsed’ today? That switch flipped fast. There’s no way her mental state’s actually unstable.”
After confirming Wendy’s injuries weren’t serious, the two of them left the hospital together.
As they stepped out the front doors, Sharon caught sight of a familiar figure.
“Hey, isn’t that Julliard?” Wendy asked. She’d known him for years too. “What’s he doing here?”
Before she could finish the thought, Julliard looked up-right at them.
He walked over, stopping in front of Sharon. “Sharon, I need a word with you.”
Up until recently, Sharon had thought highly of Julliard. She had trusted him. But that was before she found out he’d lied to her about what happened to Wendy. And just like that, the trust unraveled.
He was Carter’s friend, after all. His loyalty was always going to lie with Carter. There was no way he’d betray Carter for her.
Sharon’s tone was distant. “Julliard, I’m busy right now. I don’t have time.”
She took Wendy’s hand, planning to walk right around him.
But Julliard stepped into her path. “Just one minute.”
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