Chapter 3

I hadn't even heard Carter walk up.

He had shed his tuxedo for a dark casual jacket. His hair was a mess, and his eyes were heavily bloodshot.

Behind him stood Amanda, clutching an iPad.

I completely ignored them, taking the pen from the nurse and writing my name cleanly in the family section.

The doctor added, "Once the patient wakes up, he must not suffer any emotional distress. Furthermore, he has an extensive history of severe coronary heart disease. Did the family not monitor this?"

My fingers tightened around the pen. "We knew."

"Chloe." Carter stepped closer, his face pale. "I'm sorry... I honestly didn't know your dad was that sick."

I said nothing.

He stared at me, pleading. "Chloe, are you really not going to explain anything? Who the hell is that man?"

"He is someone deeply, profoundly important to my life," I answered softly.

Carter's eyes instantly reddened with bitter fury. "More important than me?"

I looked him dead in the eye. "Yes."

"Chloe!" Carter lost control, his voice cracking down the sterile hallway. "I saw him holding you with my own eyes! You went into the same hotel suite until one in the morning! How am I supposed to believe you?!"

A nurse poked her head out of a room and hissed at us to keep it down.

I dropped my voice to a sharp whisper. "You didn't have to blindly believe me, Carter. But you could have asked me first. You didn't. You chose to tie me to a live stream and force me into a public trial for your audience."

Carter stood there, speechless.

Amanda seized the moment and stepped in smoothly. "Ms. Vance, the agency needs Carter to issue a statement distancing himself from you immediately. That's the only way to protect his brand. We'll be releasing a formal press release tomorrow morning."

"What kind of statement?" I asked coldly.

Amanda gave a polite, icy smile. "A statement acknowledging that the footage is authentic, and announcing that the two of you are putting your marriage on an indefinite hold."

I thought I was completely numb.

Yet hearing those words still felt like a dull blade sawing through my chest.

Putting the marriage on hold.

How clean. How PR-friendly.

It kept him firmly in the role of the devoted, heartbroken victim, while shielding him from the immediate blowback of a messy divorce.

Truly the work of a top-tier management team.

I turned my head and looked straight at Carter. "Is this what you want too?"

Carter's throat bobbed. "I don't want to release it..."

"But you will."

"...I have a company with hundreds of employees depending on my reputation."

"Then release it," I said, my voice completely devoid of emotion.

I turned to walk away.

Amanda stepped into my path, a subtle, smug gleam in her eyes. "Ms. Vance, I strongly advise you to clear up your relationship with that mystery man as soon as possible. After all, if your father wakes up and sees our official statement on the news, another heart attack might just finish him off, don't you think?"

She spoke with quiet arrogance, entirely convinced that I had been caught red-handed.

I looked at her, then glanced at Carter.

Carter deliberately shifted his gaze away, not making a single move to stop her.

A slow, bitter laugh slipped past my lips.

"You both want to know who that man is so badly? Fine. I'll tell you."