Orion's POV

I stood there, my hand hovering over the door handle, my mind racing. The voice had caught me off guard.

I cleared my throat, stepping into the room, my presence undeniable. Chloe turned to face me, the tension thick in the air. Her face was a mask of unease as she tried to say something but decided at the last minute to keep quiet.

My mother's condition had rattled me. Seeing her like that made me feel like an inadequate son. Why didn't she just stay at her own mansion where she had servants at her beck and call?

I stared at Chloe, my voice cold and controlled as I tried to focus on one of the reasons I had to come back as quickly as I could.

“I’ll ask you this only one time, Chloe. Did you send any message or phone call or anything at all to my wife?”

“Your wife?” She spat angrily.

“Don’t make me ask again, Chloe.”

Chloe blinked rapidly, her façade cracking for a moment. She hesitated, but I could see the way her eyes darted, the nervous flicker of guilt. She knew something. I couldn't put it past her. She must have said or done something for Ava to behave that way towards me.

“No,” she replied quickly, but I caught the relief in her sigh, as though the weight of the question had lifted off her shoulders.

But why was she relieved? What was she hiding?

I took a step closer, my eyes narrowing on her because I knew her too well. “You’re lying, Chloe. What more are you hiding? Who were you on the phone with moments ago?”

Chloe’s lips curved into a soft, practiced smile as she stepped toward me, her arms reaching for mine. Exactly what I had expected. I couldn't put it past Chloe to try to work her way out of this with plain old seduction tricks.

But it won't work this time.

She draped her arms over my shoulders, pressing herself against me. Her body, warm and familiar, rubbed against mine in a way that should have excited me but instead, made my skin crawl.

“Orion,” she cooed, “Why have you been neglecting me? All this time, I’ve been by your side, and now you’re so... distracted, so distant. What’s going on with you? Is this all part of your plan to get that bitch to surrender everything to us?”

Her words felt like poison. I could barely contain the anger boiling inside of me. I pushed her off, my hands firm on her shoulders as I held her at arm’s length.

“Don’t ever call Ava a ‘bitch’ again,” I warned, my voice low and dangerous. “You have no idea what you’re saying, Chloe. Leave her out of this.”

Her smile faltered, but she quickly recovered, her voice turning icy. “You’ve forgotten, haven’t you? We had an agreement! Ava is just your wife on paper. I’m the one meant to stand by your side, Orion. Do you really think I’ve forgotten how much I’ve sacrificed for you? How I gave up everything for you? How I saved you when no one else would?”

The weight of her words hit me like a wave. I closed my eyes, my chest twisting with guilt. Her sacrifice... it was real. She had been there for me in ways that Ava hadn’t. But that didn’t change what I had started feeling for Ava.

“I left everything for you,” Chloe continued, her voice breaking with emotion. “I even had three abortions... for you. Do you really want to throw all of that away for her? And for what? Your father’s whore?”

Anger burned inside me when she referred to Ava as my father’s whore. I know better now.

I couldn’t deny her accusations directed at me—guilt gnawed at me. But as Chloe sobbed into my chest moments later, I couldn’t help but think of Ava. She was the one I wanted. She was the one who had my heart now, even if I hadn’t fully figured out how to show it.

I wrapped my arms around Chloe, trying to comfort her, even as my mind screamed that I needed to be with Ava.

“Calm down,” I whispered, rubbing her back. “We’ll talk about this. Just calm down.”

She sobbed into my chest, her grip tightening around me, but after a while, her tears subsided.

She pulled back slightly, wiping her red shot eyes with the back of her hand. Her voice was steady, but there was something almost pleading in it when she spoke.

"I need you to drive me to the city. I want to visit my father. He’s in the elderly home, and I’ve had to keep him there so I could stay by your side, Orion. Don’t you see? I’ve given up everything for you... and now you’re going to leave me for Ava after all this?”

The weight of her words pressed down on me, and for a moment, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. What had I done to her? What was I becoming? Chloe saved me and had always been there for me. How could I abandon her?

“I’m not leaving you for Ava, okay?” I said, my voice rough, hoping the words would reassure her although I didn't mean it. “I’ll drive you to see your father. Just... just get ready while I go change.”

She nodded, her eyes softening just a fraction, but I knew it wasn’t over. As she walked away to prepare, I turned to leave the room, my mind still lost in confusion.

As I turned to leave the room, my mind swirling with conflicting emotions, I suddenly froze.

I turned around to find myself face-to-face with Ava.

Her eyes, cold and unreadable, locked onto mine. The air between us crackled with tension.

And for a moment, everything else in the world disappeared.

I had no idea how long she had been standing there, but the look in her eyes—the hurt, the distance—hit me like a punch to the gut. I felt my heart plummet to my stomach, the weight of everything crashing down at once.

What had she heard? What did she know?

I opened my mouth to speak, but the words caught in my throat.

And just like that, the room felt like it was closing in on me.