10:36
Chapter 53
As soon as Theo walked in, the emptiness hit him. The shelves and tables that used to be crowded with Patricia’s knickknacks were bare or filled with unfamiliar things. But what really caught him off–guard was the missing plants–every last flower and green leaf Patricia had fussed over these past two years was just gone.
It was that in–between time when spring melts into summer, when the window sills should’ve been blooming. Now, not a single bloom in sight.
She’d loved those things. Protected them. Now they’d vanished, too.
“Are you moving out?” he asked.
He found Patricia upstairs, lounging on the bed in a white, old–fashioned nightgown. Her long hair was braided to one side, tied with a silk ribbon. She looked like she belonged in a painting–calm, distant, almost unreal.
But Theo knew better. That serene look was just a front.
Patricia never let anyone close. Whatever happened when she was younger had left scars too deep to heal. After her parents died, she cut herself off from everyone. Even her cousin Chelsea, her only real family, she barely saw.
“Is there a problem?” Patricia asked, voice even.
“Where are you moving to?” Theo pressed.
She just shrugged. “That’s not really any of your business.”
“We’re not enemies, Patricia. At least not yet.”
She almost laughed at that. He really thought that? Good thing he was only guessing–otherwise, she’d actually have something to worry about.
“I think it’s better if we make a clean break,” she said, finally answering his question. “Anyway, it’s late. Did you come here for something?”
“I heard about what happened with Joseph,” Theo said. “You know how protective he is of his sister. He’s not a bad guy.”
Patricia’s face didn’t change. “Not a bad guy? He grabbed a disabled woman by the neck and yanked her out of her wheelchair in front of everyone. Theo, you don’t thank me for the legs you lost because of me, fine–but you let your best friend come here and bully me, and now you want to tell me he’s a good person?”
Her voice was flat, almost too calm. She’d heard this kind of excuse from Theo too many times. No matter what anyone did to her, somehow, it always ended up being her fault. The people who hurt her always had a reason, and Theo was always ready to defend them–never her.
She looked at him, a cold little smile at the edge of her lips. “You want me to drop this?”
“Fine.” Before he could answer, she nodded. “But you have to choose–your mother or Joseph. Pick one. Since we were married, I’ll at least give you that.”
10:36
Chapter 53
“Patricia…” Theo stared at her, his voice rising in disbelief.
Patricia kept going, unbothered. “You don’t know, do you? Your mom came to see me. I’ve already been patient enough, Mr. Newton.”
“You know what I can do. If I go public with what I have, you’ll be lucky if you only lose your CEO seat at Newton Enterprises. Or maybe your whole family falls apart.”
She looked him right in the eye. “I don’t think any man could stand to see his wife naked in bed with another man. Could you?”
“Patricia, don’t push me.” Some things went way beyond business–some things were life or death.
She didn’t flinch. “Right back at you.”
That night, Theo left without getting anything from her–no promises, just her sharp words echoing in his head. He stormed back to the Newton house, furious.
But right as he was about to open the door, he stopped.
A thought hit him out of nowhere.
Maybe this chaos, all this drama–maybe it was exactly what Patricia wanted. Maybe he’d been playing right into her hands from the very start.
For all her delicate looks, Patricia was nothing like she seemed. She might look like a lily, pure and innocent, but inside, she was all poison.
10:3
