Chapter 90: Lusting After a Married Woman Ain’t Noble
Alexander’s POV
I stumbled out of Nora’s hospital room, my legs nearly buckling under me. Leaning against the cold wall, I fought to drag air into my lungs, the weight on my chest suffocating.
Our child. Gone. My trembling hand raked through my hair, the metallic tang of blood still on my tongue from where she’d bitten me. Even broken, she fought. A bitter smirk tugged at my lips despite the hollow ache devouring me.
“Sir? You okay?” One of my security team approached, voice cautious.
I snapped upright, my face a steel mask honed over years. “No one enters this room without my direct order,” I commanded, voice lethally calm. “No medical staff unless I clear them. No visitors. No one.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And if Mrs. Claflin tries to leave…” I faltered, the terror of losing her again clawing at my gut. “You call me. Immediately.”
As the guard posted outside her door, I stole one last glance at the barrier between us. Behind it was the woman who’d just shattered me worse than my father’s betrayal, worse than Vivian’s desertion, worse than any deal I’d ever lost. Yet, I couldn’t walk away.
---
Sleep was a cruel stranger that night. I paced the shadowed expanse of my bedroom at Claflin Estate, whiskey tumbler in hand, Nora’s venomous words looping in my skull.
“I wanted you to hurt.”
“I came back to terminate the pregnancy. This was my revenge.”
“If I get pregnant again, I’ll terminate it.”
Each word stabbed deeper, twisting the blade. The bourbon seared my throat but couldn’t dull the agony. By dawn, the bottle sat empty on my nightstand, and I stood hollow at the window, watching the sun bleed over grounds that felt like a graveyard.
Descending to the dining room, my head throbbed, my mood darker than the coffee Mary poured. “Sir, you look…” Her worried eyes scanned the shadows under mine, the wrinkled shirt I’d collapsed in. “Are you sick?”
“I’m fine,” I growled, slumping into my chair at the table’s head.
Edward entered with a silver tray. “Your usual breakfast, sir, and the herbal supplement for Mrs. Claflin—”
The word herbs snapped something primal in me. The tray flew from Edward’s hands, china exploding against the wall, food splattering the imported wallpaper, silver crashing to the hardwood. “WHO THE HELL LET MORGAN INTO MY HOUSE?” I roared, my fist slamming the mahogany table.
Edward stayed composed, though his eyes flickered with shock. “Morgan? She was sent by Ms. Hayes, sir.”
The truth hit like a sucker punch. Mother. She’d meant to help, oblivious to Nora’s betrayal. And Liam—that bastard—had wormed his way in through her, planting his spies in my home.
“Sir,” Eric interrupted quietly, “Mr. Traynor is at the gate. He requests to see you.”
A cold, lethal calm smothered my rage. Perfect timing. “Let him in.”
Mary swapped a nervous glance with Edward. “Maybe we should clean up first—”
“Let him see the wreckage,” I said, voice eerily steady. “It suits the occasion.”
Minutes later, Liam sauntered into my dining room like he owned it, tailored charcoal suit pristine, calm demeanor a match to my inferno. My blood boiled.
“Traynor,” I snarled, “you’ve got guts stepping onto Claflin soil.”
His gaze swept the shattered china and ruined breakfast before locking on me with maddening poise. “I’ve done nothing wrong, Claflin. I haven’t hurt anyone,” he said smoothly. “When the truth spills, you’ll be the one in hell.”
The veiled threat hung heavy. I stared, seeing past the casual facade to the calculated predator beneath. Not just Daisy’s brother, not just a rival—this was the man who’d stood by Nora when she erased our child.
Liam seated himself across from me, uninvited, accepting Mary’s nervous offer of tea with a charming smile that made me itch to shatter his jaw. “Claflin Estate isn’t just stunning,” he mused, sipping. “Even the tea’s exceptional.”
“Why did you help her?” The question ripped from me, raw and unguarded.
His face softened, just enough to sting. “Nora… she’s not just anyone to me.”
The implication slammed into me. “You let her kill our child,” I accused, voice dropping to a deadly whisper.
“I respect Nora’s choices,” he replied evenly. “Every single one.”
“You respect—” Rage choked me. “She murdered my child, and you respected that?”
Liam’s eyes glinted with something sharp. “You cared about your child’s life, but what about Nora’s? The one you called a bastard? Now that ‘bastard’ is gone—aren’t you relieved?”
“We could’ve fixed it,” I muttered, more to myself. “If I’d been five minutes sooner…”
“Yes,” Liam agreed, a trace of real regret in his tone. “The child’s gone. Who’s at fault?”
“Loving a married woman isn’t noble, Traynor,” I said, probing for a crack.
He didn’t blink. “I care for Nora,” he admitted, gaze unflinching. “Love isn’t dishonorable. I might be.”
His candor threw me. No lies, no deflection.
“She’ll be Mrs. Claflin until her last breath,” I stated, ironclad.
Liam’s smile was infuriatingly sure. “Nora ended the pregnancy so decisively because she wants me.”
A feral roar surged in me. I lunged across the table, seizing his collar, yanking him half out of his seat. “You bastard,” I hissed. “You pushed her to kill our child.”
“I swear on my life,” Liam said, deadly serious despite my grip, “if I ever suggested she terminate, may I die right here.”
I released him, scouring his face for deceit. I found none.
“I came for one reason, Claflin,” he continued, fixing his collar. “Agree to the divorce. Set Nora free.”
I barked a harsh laugh. “Never.”
“You didn’t cherish her,” he shot back. “That’s why I got my shot. From now on, I’ll protect her.”
I stepped closer, voice a lethal murmur. “The only one protecting Nora is me.”
Liam sighed, like I was a petulant kid. “She doesn’t want you, Claflin. Terminating your child made that crystal clear.”
“Get out of my house,” I ordered, patience obliterated.
---
Later, the hospital corridor stretched endlessly as I neared Nora’s room. Ahead, my mother hesitated outside her door, uncertainty etched on her usually composed face.
“Mother,” I called softly.
She turned, relief flooding her features. “Alexander! I wasn’t sure if I should…”
“Go in if you want,” I said, forcing a tight smile. “I’m here to see her too.”
We entered together. Nora sat up in bed, her face draining of color at the sight of us. My mother surged forward, tears already spilling.
“How could you?” she demanded, voice cracking. “You knew it was Alexander’s child, and you still ended it? I helped you, Nora, and you used me for this?”
Nora’s face betrayed a flicker of guilt, then hardened. I saw it—she was hiding something. I always knew.
“I’m sorry,” she said, eyes locking on mine. “I’ll return to Claflin Enterprises, stay in Kingsley City, but Alexander, we need to divorce. We can be… friends.”
I nearly laughed at the absurdity. “Do I look like a fool to you?”
“You and Liam planned this perfectly,” I pressed, watching her closely. “He told me everything today. Admitted he loves you.”
Her shock seemed real. “What? Why would he say that?”
“Unless your bodies step over my corpse,” I growled, “this marriage doesn’t end.”
My mother, caught between us, sobbed. “I tried to help until the end,” she whispered. “Now my grandchild is gone. Everything is gone.” Turning to Nora, her voice sliced through the room. “From now on, we never see each other again.”
Nora’s devastation flashed, almost enough to make me stop my mother’s exit, but her eyes turned to stone before I could.
“Let’s move past this,” I offered, grasping for a lifeline. “In six months, we can try for another child.”
Her bitter laugh cut me cold. “Why should I sacrifice myself? Why must I carry and birth again?”
“Because we’re married,” I said, as if it answered everything.
“You still don’t get it!” she erupted. “Let me remind you—” What followed was a brutal recounting of my sins: forcing her into marriage, threats, locking her in the estate, accusing her of carrying another man’s child, dragging her to face Chuck…
“Enough,” I cut in, each word a fresh wound. “I remember. All of it.”
Nora’s gaze softened, her tone gentler than it’d been in weeks. “True love isn’t possession, Alexander. It’s letting go. Giving what they need, even if it destroys you.” She paused, her final blow precise. “So, you don’t love me. Not really.”