Chapter 166 CHAPTER 166: WHAT YOU DIDNT TELL ME
Wayne’s pov
Wayne didn’t sleep that night.
Elara knew it.
She could feel it in the way his arm tightened around her every time she shifted. The way his breathing never quite settled. The way he would brush her hair back from her face as if checking that she was still there.
Still his.
Still safe.
Still choosing him.
But she didn’t sleep either.
Calvin’s words replayed in her mind like a song she couldn’t shut off.
Inheritance.
Leverage.
Heir.
Contained.
She hated that they lingered.
She hated that they meant something.
And she hated even more that she didn’t know whether that “something” was truth or poison.
Morning light filtered through the curtains.
Wayne stirred first.
He pressed a soft kiss against her shoulder.
“Good morning.”
She didn’t turn around.
He noticed.
“Elara?”
She inhaled slowly.
“We need to talk.”
That tone.
Soft.
Serious.
Not angry.
His body stiffened almost immediately.
“Okay,” he said carefully.
She turned onto her back and looked at him.
He looked tired.
But steady.
Always steady.
“There’s something Calvin said yesterday,” she began.
Wayne’s jaw tightened at the name, but he remained silent.
“He mentioned… inheritance.”
Silence.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
Her stomach dropped.
“You didn’t look surprised just now,” she whispered.
Wayne looked at the ceiling for a moment before answering.
“I’m not.”
Her heart thudded painfully.
“So it’s true?”
He turned to face her fully. “What exactly did he say?”
“That your father rewrote the will after our wedding.”
Wayne’s eyes darkened.
“That’s not the full story.”
“But it’s not a lie.”
He exhaled slowly.
“No.”
The word felt heavier than shouting.
She sat up slowly.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
He pushed himself up too, sitting across from her on the bed.
“Because it didn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.”
His voice stayed controlled. “Elara”
“Don’t dismiss it.”
Her voice didn’t rise.
But it sharpened.
Wayne’s gaze locked onto hers.
“I wasn’t dismissing it.”
“Then explain it.”
A long silence passed between them.
Finally, Wayne ran a hand through his hair.
“My father always intended to divide the estate between Calvin and I.”
“Okay.”
“But he never trusted Calvin with full control.”
“Why?”
“Because Calvin is impulsive. Emotional. Reckless.”
She thought of the brake lines.
Fair.
“And you’re not?”
“I’m strategic.”
The confidence in his voice wasn’t arrogance.
It was fact.
“So what changed after we got married?”
Wayne hesitated.
That hesitation sliced through her.
“He amended the will,” Wayne said slowly.
“Adding a clause.”
Her stomach tightened.
“What clause?”
“If anything ever happens to me… my share doesn’t go to Calvin.”
Her breath caught.
“It goes to you.”
The room went completely silent.
“To me?”
“Yes.”
“And if I”
“If you and I have a child, it goes to our child.”
The word child echoed loudly.
Suddenly Calvin’s voice replayed:
You’re carrying his heir.
Her throat felt tight.
“So our baby becomes the majority shareholder.”
“Yes.”
“And Calvin loses control.”
“Yes.”
Her chest felt heavy.
“You didn’t think that was important to tell me?”
Wayne’s eyes flashed slightly. “Important how?”
“Important because that makes me a target.”
“You were already a target.”
“That makes it worse!”
His tone hardened slightly. “I can handle Calvin.”
“You almost died.”
The words cut the air sharply.
He went quiet.
She continued, softer now.
“You don’t get to decide what information is relevant to me.”
“I was protecting you.”
“There it is.”
His brow furrowed. “What?”
“Protecting me from information.”
“That’s not what I”
“Yes, it is.”
She slid off the bed and walked toward the window, needing space.
“Calvin said I was leverage.”
Wayne’s voice immediately darkened. “Don’t repeat his garbage.”
“I need to know if there’s even a grain of truth in it.”
He stood up slowly.
“Elara.”
“Did your father change the will because he trusted me… or because marrying me strengthened your position?”
His silence this time lasted too long.
And that silence?
It hurt.
“Answer me.”
“My father respects you,” Wayne said finally.
“That’s not what I asked.”
His jaw tightened.
“He believes stability matters.”
“And I represent stability?”
“Yes.”
The honesty hit her harder than any lie would have.
“So part of this… was strategic.”
Wayne stepped closer.
“Everything in my family is strategic.”
“I’m not a chess piece.”
“I never said you were.”
“But you let me walk into a battlefield without telling me.”
He grabbed her hands gently but firmly.
“You walked into my life. Not my war.”
“They’re connected.”
His eyes searched hers.
“I didn’t marry you for inheritance.”
“I know that.”
“Then what’s the issue?”
“The issue,” she whispered, “is that I don’t know where love ends and power begins.”
That landed.
Hard.
Wayne released her hands slowly.
“You think I see you as an heir?”
“I think you see our child as one.”
Silence.
Then:
“Our child will inherit what I build. That’s not manipulation. That’s legacy.”
“And Calvin sees it as threat.”
“Calvin sees everything as threat.”
She swallowed.
“Did you ever consider that maybe he feels replaced?”
Wayne laughed once. Cold.
“Replaced by what? Responsibility?”
“By stability.”
Wayne’s expression shifted slightly.
Something old flickered there.
Something wounded.
“He’s always felt second,” Wayne admitted quietly.
“Because of you?”
“Because of himself.”
She studied him carefully.
“You two don’t just hate each other.”
“No.”
“There’s history.”
“There’s betrayal.”
“What kind?”
Wayne looked away briefly.
“When we were younger… Calvin made a decision that almost destroyed our father’s company.”
“What did he do?”
“He invested heavily without approval.”
“And?”
“It backfired.”
“Your father blamed him?”
“Yes.”
“And favored you?”
“Yes.”
“And you accepted that?”
Wayne’s jaw flexed.
“I fixed the damage.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
He didn’t respond.
She stepped closer.
“You benefited from his mistake.”
“Yes.”
“And now you benefit again from the will change.”
His eyes flashed. “I didn’t ask for that clause.”
“But you didn’t reject it.”
Silence.
She nodded slowly.
“That’s what I needed to understand.”
“Elara”
“I’m not accusing you of marrying me for money.”
“Good.”
“I’m asking why you didn’t trust me with the truth.”
Wayne exhaled slowly.
“Because I didn’t want you to feel like this.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re part of something ugly.”
She softened slightly.
“But I am part of it.”
“You’re my wife.”
“Exactly.”
A long silence passed between them.
Then she asked the question that truly mattered.
“If there was no inheritance… no clause… no power shift… would you still fight this hard for me?”
Wayne stepped forward until there was barely space between them.
“I would burn everything down for you.”
Her breath caught.
“That’s not comforting.”
“It’s honest.”
She searched his eyes.
“You need to let me stand beside you, not behind you.”
He studied her face.
“You’re pregnant.”
“I’m not fragile.”
“I know that.”
“Then treat me like your partner.”
A long, heavy pause.
Finally
“You’re right.”
The words surprised her.
“I should’ve told you,” he admitted.
“Yes.”
“I didn’t want to bring my father’s politics into our home.”
“They were already here.”
He nodded slowly.
“You deserve full clarity.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re not leverage.”
She watched him carefully.
“You’re my choice.”
Her eyes softened slightly.
“That’s different.”
He cupped her face gently.
“I chose you before the clause. Before the amendment. Before any will.”
Her heart eased just a little.
“But Calvin thinks the baby secures you.”
Wayne’s eyes darkened again.
“He thinks control equals love.”
“And you?”
“I think love equals protection.”
She held his gaze.
“Then protect me with truth.”
Silence.
Then he nodded once.
“I will.”
She exhaled slowly.
Some tension lifted.
Not all.
But enough.
After a moment, she rested her forehead against his chest.
“Next time,” she murmured, “no secrets.”
“Next time,” he agreed.
But somewhere deep in her mind, Calvin’s voice still lingered.
Not because she believed him.
But because doubt, once planted, doesn’t disappear overnight.
It has to be pulled out carefully.
And that takes time.