Chapter 15: Let’s fuck.

Rain began before dawn, a soft whisper against the windows that grew heavier with each hour. The sound filled the house like a warning. Selina sat by the fire, her knees drawn to her chest, watching the flames shift and curl. Alan’s words echoed in her mind, looping endlessly. “When I tell you, it will change everything.”

She had barely slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him standing by that window, his face half in shadow, speaking like someone who already knew the ending to a story she hadn’t finished living. And beneath his certainty, she’d seen something else, fear.

She wasn’t sure who he feared more: Nathan, or himself.

By the time morning light broke through the curtains, Selina had made herself a cup of coffee she didn’t touch. She needed to see Karl. To make sense of something, anything, before it all slipped beyond her control.

She found him near the rose garden, repairing the fence that bordered the east lawn. His shirt clung to his back, damp from rain, his hands rough and steady. For a long moment she watched him work, the rhythm of his movements grounding her in a way nothing else could.

When she finally spoke, her voice came out softer than she intended.

“Karl.”

He paused but didn’t turn around.

“I don’t want to fight,” she said.

“Then don’t,” he replied, still facing the fence.

“I didn’t ask for this,” she continued, stepping closer. “You know I didn’t.”

He finally turned to face her, rain dripping from his hair, his eyes clouded with something darker than anger.

“You didn’t stop it either.”

She flinched. “You don’t understand, ”

“No,” he cut in, “I understand perfectly. You’re caught between him and me. And you think if you pretend hard enough, no one will see it.”

“That’s not fair,” she whispered.

“Fair?” He gave a hollow laugh. “You think any of this is fair, Selina? You think I don’t see the way he looks at you? The way you let him?”

Her pulse quickened.

“You’re wrong,” she said. “Alan, he’s dangerous. He’s playing some kind of game I don’t understand.”

Karl stepped closer, his voice lowering.

“Then why do you keep letting him win?”

She opened her mouth to answer but couldn’t. There was no right answer, and he knew it.

“I care about you,” Karl said quietly, his tone softening. “Maybe too much. But whatever this is between you and him, it’s not love. It’s control.”

Selina swallowed hard. “And what’s this between you and me?”

He hesitated. “Something real. Or it was.”

The rain fell harder, blurring the world around them. Selina stepped closer, her hand hovering near his chest before she pulled it back.

“I never wanted to hurt you,” she said. “But I can’t just walk away.”

“You could,” Karl murmured. “You just won’t.”

Her throat tightened. “If I leave, Nathan will know. And Alan, he’s not going to let this end quietly.”

Karl’s jaw clenched. “Then I’ll deal with him.”

“No,” she said quickly. “You don’t know what he’s capable of.”

“I don’t care.”

The conviction in his voice terrified her more than Alan’s threats ever had.

She took a step back, shaking her head. “You’re not thinking clearly.”

“And you are?” Karl asked bitterly. “You’re letting him twist you into someone you’re not.”

Her chest ached at the truth in his words. “You don’t get it,” she said quietly. “When I’m with him, I feel… seen. Not safe. Not happy. But alive.”

Karl’s expression darkened. “That’s not being alive, Selina. That’s drowning.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Only the rain filled the silence, heavy and relentless.

Finally, she turned away. “I have to go.”

“Selina.”

She stopped but didn’t look back.

“He’s not the man you think he is,” Karl said. “And if you keep letting him pull you under, you’ll lose everything that’s left of you.”

His words followed her all the way back to the house.

By the time she reached the veranda, the rain had eased to a mist. Rosa passed her in the hall, eyes flicking nervously toward the study door.

“Mr. Nathan is home early,” Rosa whispered. “He’s been in there for an hour already. He doesn’t look pleased.”

Selina’s heart sank. “Did he say anything?”

“Only that he needed privacy,” Rosa said, lowering her voice. “And, ma’am… there was a call. From Mr. Alan.”

Selina froze. “When?”

“Just before you came in. He sounded urgent. Said he’d be waiting in the greenhouse.”

The words sent a cold tremor down her spine.

Selina thanked her quietly and made her way upstairs to change, every step echoing louder than the last. The walls seemed to close in around her, the air thick with unspoken things.

When she finally reached the greenhouse, Alan was already there, standing near the orchids. He looked calm, too calm.

“I was starting to think you wouldn’t come,” he said without turning.

“I shouldn’t have,” she said. “Nathan’s home. Karl’s furious. You’ve made everything worse.”

Alan smiled faintly, still studying the flowers. “I haven’t done anything you didn’t want.”

“You always say that,” she snapped. “As if you know what I want better than I do.”

He turned then, his expression unreadable. “Don’t I?”

Her breath caught, anger mixing with something she couldn’t name.

“You told me last night there was something I didn’t know about Nathan,” she said. “Tell me now.”

Alan’s gaze softened, but only slightly. “You won’t like it.”

“I don’t care.”

He stepped closer, voice dropping. “Your husband isn’t who you think he is, Selina. The business trips, the late nights, they’re not all work.”

She frowned. “What are you implying?”

“I’m not implying anything,” Alan said quietly. “I’m telling you he’s been meeting someone. A woman.”

Selina’s stomach twisted. “You’re lying.”

“Am I?” Alan asked. “I’ve seen the letters. Heard the calls. He’s been keeping her in a flat in the city for months.”

She shook her head, unable to process. “No. He wouldn’t.”

“He would,” Alan said softly. “And he has. You just didn’t want to see it.”

Selina backed away, her pulse thundering in her ears. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you keep blaming yourself for the wrong sins,” he said. “You think you’re the only one betraying him, but you’re not.”

Her hands trembled. “You expect me to believe you?”

Alan’s eyes met hers. “I expect you to remember how good he is at pretending.”

For a moment, the room spun. Every image of Nathan, every careful word, every cold smile, shattered like glass.

“You’re cruel,” she whispered.

“I’m honest,” he corrected. “And I’m tired of watching you suffer for a man who never deserved you.”

She turned toward the door, desperate to escape. “I can’t do this right now.”

Alan caught her wrist, not hard, but firm enough to stop her.

“Then when?” he asked quietly. “When he finds out everything? When he decides what to do with the truth?”

“Let me go,” she said, her voice shaking.

He hesitated, then released her. “You’re scared of the wrong person, Selina.”

She didn’t answer. She fled the greenhouse, her breath uneven, her mind a storm.

By the time she reached the main house, dusk had fallen. Nathan was waiting in the hall, his coat still on, eyes sharp beneath the soft glow of the chandelier.

“Where were you?” he asked.

Selina froze. “I went to the garden. The air was heavy.”

“In the rain?”

“I needed to think.”

Nathan studied her for a long moment, then nodded once. “Dinner in an hour.”

When he walked away, her knees nearly gave out.

She went upstairs to her room, trying to steady her breathing. The reflection in the mirror no longer looked like her, too pale, too haunted, too fractured between guilt and defiance.

As she sat at her vanity, her phone buzzed.

Alan: You need to see for yourself.

Before she could type a reply, another message followed.

Alan: Check Nathan’s briefcase.

Her heart stuttered. She stared at the door, listening for footsteps, but the house was quiet.

Minutes later, she found herself outside Nathan’s study. The door was unlocked. Inside, the faint scent of his cologne lingered. His briefcase sat open on the desk.

She hesitated, then opened it.

Inside were papers, receipts, and beneath them, a single folded letter. She unfolded it slowly.

It wasn’t his handwriting. The words were soft, intimate, written in looping script.

“Last night was perfect. I miss you already. Same time next week?”

The signature was only an initial. E.

Her vision blurred. She dropped the paper as if it burned her fingers.

Behind her, the floor creaked.

She turned sharply.

Karl stood in the doorway, rain still clinging to his clothes.

“What are you doing in here?” he asked quietly.

She couldn’t speak.

He glanced at the open briefcase, the letter on the desk, and realization flickered in his eyes.

“So it’s true,” he murmured. “He’s been lying to you.”

Selina pressed a shaking hand to her mouth. “Karl, please, not now, ”

But Karl stepped forward, anger tightening every muscle.

“This is what he’s done to you,” he said. “All of you. He breaks things and watches them fall apart. And you, ”

“Stop,” she said, voice trembling.

“You think Alan’s any different?” Karl continued, eyes burning. “You think he’s not just another version of his father?”

Selina backed away, the weight of both men’s secrets closing in around her.

“Don’t talk about him like that,” she whispered.

Karl’s voice rose, raw and aching. “He doesn’t love you, Selina! He just wants to own you. And if you keep letting him, he will.”

She stared at him, breathless. “You’re jealous.”

He didn’t deny it.

“Maybe I am,” Karl said, stepping closer. “But at least my jealousy means something. His doesn’t.”

The silence between them stretched tight, humming with pain and something dangerously close to passion.

Outside, thunder rolled again, rattling the windows.

Selina took a step back, her voice barely a whisper.

“Karl, please… don’t make me choose.”

But the way he looked at her, hurt, furious, desperate, told her she already had.

And for the first time, Selina realized she wasn’t just trapped between two men.

She was trapped between two versions of herself, the one who wanted to be free, and the one who no longer remembered how.

Karl’s jealousy flares. The triangle tightens. Selina begins to understand that the danger isn’t just in being caught, it’s in how much she’s started to need them both.