Chapter Four

Emma's POV

By then, Carter's company had finally found its footing.

He was no longer the young entrepreneur who worried about where his next investment would come from. He had become the CEO of a tech company, a man everyone wanted to know.

My career had stabilized, too. I no longer had to work so frantically that I barely had time to eat, as I had when I was just starting out.

We both wanted a child.

We'd gone through all kinds of medical tests, and the doctors had found no obvious problems. They told us to relax and be patient.

To prepare for the pregnancy, Carter turned down quite a few social engagements and rearranged business trips whenever possible.

I once laughed at him for being even more nervous than I was.

He simply told me that he wanted everything in order before our baby arrived.

So when my period was seven days late, I could hardly believe my eyes.

Three pregnancy tests lay on the table.

All three showed two distinct lines.

I sat on the bathroom floor, staring at those unmistakable red lines for a long time. Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face.

After receiving the confirmation from the hospital, I bought Carter's favorite tiramisu and headed to his office to surprise him.

But just as I stepped into the elevator, I overheard two young women in company uniforms talking.

"Have you heard? I can't believe Mr. Grayson would do something like that."

"Do what?"

"What do you think? His assistant. Apparently, they've been involved for a while."

The other woman lowered her voice.

"Seriously? Isn't he married? Isn't his wife the woman who stood by him when he was building the company?"

"It's true. I saw them leaving his office together just the other day. That assistant isn't even particularly well-educated, but she sure knows how to climb the ladder."

Neither of them noticed me standing in the corner.

The elevator stopped on an intermediate floor, and they hurried out.

I remained frozen in place, the cake box suddenly feeling heavier in my hands.

I told myself not to believe a few baseless rumors.

Carter wasn't that kind of man.

But when the elevator reached the top floor and I walked toward his office, his secretary stepped in front of me.

"Emma, Mr. Grayson is in a meeting right now."

I looked at the closed office door.

"With whom?"

The secretary's smile faltered.

"It's a business matter."

I reached for the handle and gently tried to turn it.

The door was locked.

The uneasy feeling in my chest finally overwhelmed every excuse I'd been making for him.

"If it's business, why is the door locked?"

The secretary started to explain, but I'd already pushed the door open.

What I saw made my entire body turn ice-cold.

Chloe was sitting on Carter's desk, her clothes disheveled.

Carter stood beside her, his shirt buttons still undone.

At the sound of the door, he spun around.

The moment he saw me, his expression changed.

"Emma? What are you doing here?"

This was the office I'd visited countless times before.

I'd sat on the sofa waiting for him to finish work. I'd kept him company over takeout during his late-night work sessions. We'd discussed the company's future here and celebrated its first successful round of funding together.

And now, the place made me sick.

"Didn't you say you were having a business meeting?" I heard myself ask, my voice eerily calm. "Is this what your business meetings look like?"

Carter hurriedly buttoned his shirt and walked toward me.

"Just let me explain."

"What is there to explain?"

Chloe scrambled down from the desk and hid behind him.

"Emma, it's not what you think…"

I didn't even look at her.

Instead, I walked over to the trash can and threw the box of tiramisu into it.

It seemed only then that Carter noticed what I'd been carrying.

He instinctively reached out as if to stop me, but in the end, he positioned himself in front of Chloe instead.

I'd come to tell my husband that I was pregnant.

Now, I couldn't even bring myself to say the words.

I turned and walked out of his office, making my way into the elevator.

Only when the doors closed did I realize how badly my hands were shaking.

The pregnancy report was still inside my bag.

My fingers brushed the edge of the paper, but I pulled my hand back as if I'd touched something burning hot.

When I got home, I didn't even make it to the sofa.

My knees gave way, and I sank onto the cold floor.

The tears I'd been holding back finally came pouring out.

I had no idea how long I cried.

Outside, daylight faded into darkness, and darkness eventually gave way to dawn.

I sat in the unlit house, my phone silent beside me.

Carter never came home.

It wasn't until the divorce papers I'd sent him showed as delivered that I finally heard the lock turn.

"Emma, we don't have to take things this far."

I looked at him without saying a word.

"I know you're upset, but I'm not divorcing you."

He said it as though the decision were entirely his to make.

"As long as you stop bringing up divorce, we're still husband and wife."

A chill crept through me.

He hadn't even asked why I'd left.

He hadn't asked why I'd shown up at his office that day, either.

He was simply informing me that he had no intention of ending our marriage.

As if all I had to do was stay where I was and continue accepting whatever he chose to give me.

I lowered my gaze to the pregnancy report inside my bag, slowly tightening my fingers around it.

That day, I finally understood that some relationships couldn't be saved by enduring more pain.