Chapter 61 Unravelling
Robert’s Point of View
I had been working all day in my study when my eyes flickered toward the photo on my desk—a framed headshot of my lovely Avery.
In the photo, she wore a wide, toothy smile. It reminded me of the day I first met her.
I remembered it vividly.
I had just returned from France to marry my father’s business partner’s daughter, Lorenza Colton.
The spoilt Italian-American heiress had been betrothed to me since we were seven. Hate is an understatement compared to what I felt for Lorenza—I detested her. But for the sake of my father’s business and our family empire, I agreed to the marriage.
After all, happiness was a fickle thing.
But there was something different about the girl who had just been employed at my father’s mansion.
A maid, unlike any I had ever seen before.
Avery Meyers.
She was the light my dark soul had been starving for. Her beautiful green eyes were always bright, lighting up the room whenever she looked at me. She was like the first breath of spring—soft, warm, and full of life.
And that very light… was the first thing I took away from her.
I didn’t understand it. If she didn’t like me, why did she speak so kindly to me? Why did she smile whenever I complimented her?
If she didn’t find me interesting… why did she come to my bedroom that night?
It was only after I was done that I realized how far my lust had gone. She was weak—completely at my mercy. Even though I had committed such a heinous crime against her, there was nothing she could do about it.
No one would help her.
Who would she even report me to?
My father?
The police?
In our world, there is nothing money can’t buy, and I’m certain that my father wouldn’t allow her to ruin the wedding. So, I offered to make her mistress, promised to take good care of her.
But she refused.
Instead, she cursed at me. Swore to make me pay. Promised to get back at me—she even went as far as threatening to kill me.
But I understood her pain in the moment, and I held no grudge.
Even when she ran away with my child.
I believed she was simply being young and foolish.
Years later, she returned… with my son.
Xavier.
And now the boy carried a hatred for me even stronger than his mother’s. He wanted nothing from me.
Not even my name.
No matter how stubborn or unreasonable he was, I needed him, I needed a heir like him, someone strong-willed, confident, and capable. The only kind of man fit to inherit the empire.
Despite being born out of wedlock, Xavier was the most deserving.
Christian, on the other hand…
Let’s just say he is a disappointment. A thorn in my flesh. A liability I am forced to carry for the rest of my life.
I suppose… You can’t have everything.
“You know, I prayed today.” Lorenza’s voice cut through the silence, and my eyes snapped up toward my wife, approaching me.
How long had she been standing there? I didn’t even realize that I had company.
“For the first time in three years,” she continued, walking toward my desk. She pushed my computer aside carelessly. “And I prayed that bitch would die.”
She knocked the portrait from my hands. I watched it fall to the floor and shatter into pieces.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I growled. “Get out.”
“Why are you being so hostile?” she mused, a smile tugging at her lips. “I came to keep you company. After all, I am your legally married wife.”
“Fuck off, Lorenza.”
“Do you know why I haven’t sued your ass yet?” she asked, tilting her head.
My jaw clenched.
“Because I didn’t commit adultery,” I said flatly. “I slept with Avery the night before our wedding.”
“That’s still considered adultery.”
“We never loved each other, Lorenza.” I reminded her. “This marriage was business—arranged by our parents. You don’t get to act hurt when you never loved me in the first place.”
Her eyes widened with something close to betrayal.
“But I still gave my all to this marriage,” she argued. “I stayed loyal. I stayed dedicated. I gave you a son. This is certainly not how you repay everything I’ve sacrificed for you and your company.”
“A useless son,” I corrected coldly. “Christian has no ambition. He’s lazy. The only thing he knows how to do is spend my money. He’s no better than a pet.”
She fell silent.
“And you know this,” I continued. “It pains me to say this, but sometimes… I wish the boy had died that night.”
The sound came before the pain.
My head snapped to the side as Lorenza’s breathing turned ragged.
She had slapped me.
Lorenza was often hostile, always dissatisfied—but she had never hit me before.
“How dare you?” she growled, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
She had nearly died giving birth to Christian. The boy had been small, his lungs weak. Even the doctors had given up on him.
It was a miracle he survived.
A miracle wasted.
He survived only to become a shell.
Empty and useless.
“You know what?” she spat. “I think you should die too—along with your miserable Avery.”
Her heels clicked sharply against the marble floor as she stormed out, nearly colliding with Judith, my personal assistant, at the door.
“Sorry, ma’am,” Judith said quickly.
“Are you blind?” Lorenza snapped before slamming the door behind her.
I exhaled slowly and bent down, picking the photo from the shattered frame.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“I have a report on the student you asked me to investigate,” Judith said, stepping closer.
I placed the picture on the desk, my expression hardening.
“The boy who was with Xavier?”
“Yes, sir. His name is Alan Rowan. But when I tried to look into his past…” she hesitated slightly, “I discovered that the boy is dead. He’s been dead for five years.”