Chapter 51 I Want Her
After Rebecca left the office, Derek remained seated behind his desk.
The room felt unusually quiet.
Her presence still lingered in the air the faint scent of her perfume, the way she had sat beside him during the meeting like she belonged there. Derek leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, his thoughts slowly drifting away from work.
For the first time in a long while, he wasn’t thinking about contracts or deadlines.
He was thinking about Rebecca.
Now that he knew the truth, his thoughts refused to stay calm.
Rebecca was the woman from that night.
The realization still felt unreal. That night replayed itself in his mind, the rain, the near accident and then her. She had stood there looking lost, her shoulders slightly hunched as though the weight of the world rested on them. Her eyes had been dull, filled with sadness she tried so hard to hide. Back then, he hadn't noticed her pain cause she hadn't been of importance to him.
Now, he wanted to.
He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples slowly. Apart from knowing she was the same woman, something else had changed inside him. He didn’t just want answers anymore he wanted her. He wanted her in his life, not because of a contract or obligation, but because something about her pulled at him in a way he hadn’t felt before and he wanted to help her.
But before anything else, he needed the truth.
What exactly had happened to her that night?
Why had she looked so broken?
Then there was Vanessa, her own sister. The tension between the two women was obvious, thick enough to be felt in the same room. He just couldn’t understand how sisters could harbor such bitterness toward each other. Whatever had happened between them was clearly deep and unresolved.
And then Liam.
Derek’s jaw tightened at the thought of the man that almost ruined his wedding. As far as he knew, the baby Rebecca was carrying belonged to Liam. That was the story everyone believed, and Rebecca herself hadn’t said otherwise. Derek had no reason to doubt it at least, not yet. Still, something didn’t sit right with him. The anger in Rebecca’s eyes whenever Liam’s name was mentioned wasn’t ordinary heartbreak.
There was more to it.
"I need to know everything," He muttered to himself as he picked up his phone and made a call.
"I want a full investigation," he said calmly once the call connected. "On Rebecca Smith's past, her relationships, family issues, everything. Leave nothing out." He told the person on the other end of the call.
He paused briefly before adding, "I also want you to look into Vanessa and Liam. Their connection, their history. I want the truth."
After receiving confirmation, Derek ended the call and placed the phone down slowly, feeling a mix of guilt and determination. He knew investigating Rebecca without her knowledge might feel wrong, but he couldn’t sit back and do nothing anymore.
Not when Rebecca clearly needed help.
Not when he wanted her in his life, not just as a contract wife, but as his real wife.
The thought surprised him.
He stood up and walked toward the window, hands in his pockets, staring down at the city below.
"When did this happen?" he asked himself quietly.
When did he start wanting more?
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
Before he could answer, the door opened, and Ryan walked in with a grin on his face.
"Aren’t you supposed to be at home?" Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow. "Enjoying married life? Or at least pretending to be on honeymoon?"
Derek turned and gave him a tired smile. "There was urgent work." He replied, as he walked back to his chair and sat down.
Ryan scoffed with a raised brow. "Urgent work on your first week of marriage? You’re unbelievable."
Derek shrugged. "It couldn’t wait."
Ryan walked further into the office and dropped into one of the chairs. "I heard your wife came here earlier."
Derek stiffened slightly. "You heard?"
Ryan grinned. "Your staff were talking about it when I entered."
Derek wasn't surprised, he knew the news of Rebecca coming would have spread like wildfire but he had thought it would take at least a day or two before the gossip would spread outside.
"She brought snacks for me," he said watching as Ryan smirked before he continued "and also helped me to secure a major deal, remember Mr. Collins." He added.
Ryan looked surprised. "Your wife helped you close a major deal?"
“Yes,” Derek replied proudly. "She did more than I expected."
Ryan leaned forward. "Interesting."
Derek hesitated briefly, then added, "She’s the woman I met that night. At the hotel."
Ryan burst out laughing. "I knew it."
Derek frowned slightly. "Knew what?" He asked, he wondered what was funny about what he just said.
Ryan shook his head. "That explains everything. That’s why she’s been acting the way she has."
Derek frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Why she always gets angry when you talk about being with other women, you told me she did not talk to you for a night after you told her if you two had met, you wouldn't remember."Ryan replied. "That clearly shows she remembers that night, but you didn't." He added.
Silence filled the room for a moment, as Derek looked lost in thought. If Rebecca remembers him, why didn't she tell him, he had asked her countless times if they had met before, why didn't she tell him yes. He needed answers to all these questions and he would definitely get to the bottom of everything.
After a moment of leaving him to his thoughts, Ryan asked, "So what do you want now?"
Derek turned to look at him, his expression serious.
"I want her as my wife," he replied. "For real."
Ryan blinked in surprise. "You?" He asked, pointing at Derek.
"Yes."
"The same man who said marriage was a burden?" Ryan asked incredulously. "You were the one who didn’t want to get married. So what changed?"
Derek exhaled slowly before replying. "I don’t know."
Ryan waited.
"But what I do know," Derek continued, "is that I want to help Rebecca. Whatever she’s been through, she doesn’t deserve it."