Skip to content
Novel Catalog
“You’ve got a point.”
“Of course. Where do you see a rich wife working as a secretary?”
“But I don’t understand. Why would they go through a sham marriage?”
“I heard Ms. Hansen and Mr. Blackwood grew up together. He proposed to her after her family went bankrupt, probably to help her, so no one would bully her.”
“Mr. Blackwood is a truly good person.”
“I also heard Mr. Blackwood’s been waiting for Vivian. They’re really sweet together.”
The words hung in the air as Eva stood there, an invisible weight pressing down on her chest. She listened, but her mind was elsewhere. She felt as if they weren’t even talking about her—yet it was all about her, wasn’t it? The quiet rumors, the whispers about Adrian, Vivian, and their tangled history. She couldn’t escape them.
Soon, Carter’s car pulled up, the engine’s hum breaking her trance. The window rolled down, revealing Carter’s familiar, confident face. “Get in.”
Eva stepped into the car, her thoughts still clouded. As the car sped away, she caught snippets of conversation behind her.
“That was… Ms. Hansen?”
“Yeah…”
“Did she hear us?”
“Easy. It’s just gossip. She didn’t refute anything, did she? She must be nervous.”
“Maybe she didn’t know how to react. We all saw Vivian in Mr. Blackwood’s car yesterday.”
The voices trailed off as the car faded into the distance. Eva rolled the window up, the silence inside the car thick and suffocating. She looked out at the passing trees and buildings, her heart heavy. The discussions continued to echo in her ears, pulling her deeper into a spiral she couldn’t escape. She thought about the black Porsche again. About Vivian. About Adrian. Her pulse quickened, but she pushed the thoughts aside.
“What’s wrong? You seem distracted,” Carter’s voice broke through her reverie.
Eva snapped back to reality, offering a weak smile. “It’s nothing. Probably just some lingering effects of being sick.”
Carter wasn’t convinced. “When will you stop hiding things from me?”
Eva stiffened, her heart rate spiking. Did Carter know about her pregnancy? But how could he? Emily was the only person who knew, and there was no way she would have told him. The thought was quickly dismissed, though a shadow of paranoia lingered.
“What do you mean?” she asked, trying to keep her voice even.
Carter, sensing her unease, leaned back slightly, his tone softening. “Vivian’s back. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Eva lowered her eyes, the question stirring up something deep within her. She felt exposed. Her pregnancy had already made her paranoid—this was just another layer of complexity she didn’t need.
She breathed out a quiet sigh, her voice steady. “What does it have to do with you?”
Carter glanced at her, his eyes filled with concern, though he masked it with a light shrug. “It doesn’t concern me, but what about you?”
Eva’s silence was telling, and Carter’s frustration only deepened. He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “I didn’t think it was a good idea when you agreed to marry him. He said those hurtful things to you, but you still…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but his meaning was clear. He felt sorry for her—guilty for watching her struggle, and powerless to fix it.
Eva felt a moment of relief that Carter didn’t know about the pregnancy. If he did, he would have exploded. That would only add more to the tangled mess.
Her silence weighed heavily in the car as Carter drove them to a restaurant. Once they sat down, he excused himself. “Wait here for me. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”
Eva nodded absently. She didn’t have the energy to question his actions. Her mind was still whirling.
When Carter returned, he handed her a small bag. “Here, take this.”
She looked at it blankly. “What is it?”
“It’s medicine. You should always have something on hand for when you’re feeling unwell.”
Eva furrowed her brow, a bit confused. “But I’m fine now.”
“Then keep it for next time,” he said, a bit forcefully, as though he wasn’t ready to let her brush off her health concerns.
She accepted the bag, her fingers brushing against the assortment of common medications. “Thanks, Carter,” she said softly.
“You never have to say that to me,” he replied with a small, affectionate smile. He tapped her forehead lightly. “Just tell me if anything happens.”
“I will,” she promised, but even as she said it, the words felt like empty comfort.
The lunch passed in a strained silence, but Carter couldn’t hold back his curiosity. “Have you met Vivian already?”
Eva paused, then nodded, a bitter taste in her mouth. “Yeah.”
“What does she want? To get back together with Adrian?”
His words cut through her, and she flinched. No. She shook her head. “No, they didn’t have much of a past.”
Adrian had never been with Vivian. But there was something about the way he’d spoken of her that made Eva uneasy. If Adrian truly cared about Vivian, why hadn’t they been together already? Why keep her in limbo all this time? The question gnawed at her, but she refused to dwell on it any longer.
Carter raised an eyebrow. “You’re still defending him?”
Eva pursed her lips, forcing herself to sound more detached than she felt. “I’m just telling the truth.”
“Then what about the rumors?” Carter’s voice dropped. “He brought Vivian to his office and let others gossip about you. He’s been letting this all happen while you… you still care about him?”
Eva flinched, feeling the sting of his words. But Carter wasn’t done. He continued, his frustration evident. “Did you hear the talk this morning? They’re all saying Mr. Blackwood’s girlfriend is back, and that your marriage is a sham.”
Eva’s stomach lurched. She had heard the rumors, but hearing them from Carter’s lips made them feel so much more real, more crushing.
The rest of the lunch passed in a blur as Carter’s words echoed in her mind. Was Eva’s sudden illness really just a reaction to stress, or was it something deeper—something related to everything she was trying so hard to ignore?
Eva didn’t know. All she could do was sit there in silence, pretending she had everything under control.
