Chapter 36: Nikki

Linda’s POV

I woke up feeling guilty.

My eyes moved slowly around the room, taking it in properly for the first time since I had arrived. The bedroom was large and quietly stunning, the kind of space that didn’t announce itself but revealed its beauty the longer you looked. A floor-to-ceiling window dominated the far wall, dressed in heavy cream curtains that filtered the morning light into something soft and golden.

It was a room that felt like the man who occupied it. Composed. Deliberate. Warm beneath the surface.

I turned and looked at Charles.

He was lying on his back, one arm stretched across the space where I had been, the white blanket pooled around his hips and leaving his chest completely bare. The morning light fell directly across him and I made the mistake of looking properly. His chest rose and fell with slow even breaths, every line of him relaxed in sleep, his jaw loose, his dark lashes resting against his cheeks. The definition of his arms and the quiet strength of his shoulders caught the light in a way that made my eyes want to stay considerably longer than they should have.

I pulled my gaze away immediately and turned to face the wall.

This wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Looking back now, I thought about Nikki lying in a hospital bed somewhere in the city. Whether I admitted it or not, Charles was legally married to her. Yes, it had been me standing at the altar that day but the certificate bore her name. What I was doing here in this room, in this bed, was having an affair with another woman’s husband.

The thought sat heavily.

I tried to sit up quietly but Charles stirred and his arm found my waist immediately, pulling me back without fully waking.

“Good morning, baby,” he whispered against my ear.

I nodded stiffly.

I shifted slightly, testing his grip. It was firm even in half-sleep.

“You want to use the restroom?” he asked.

Part of me wanted to say yes just to buy time, but after that, what then? It was better to say what was sitting on my chest right now, directly and clearly.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” Charles asked before I could find the opening.

He had read it correctly.

My head nodded before my brain could catch up.

“Okay.” He released his hold and sat up. “I’m all ears.”

I pulled myself upright and hugged my knees to my chest.

“I don’t think we should do this again,” I started.

“Do what?” He sounded genuinely confused. He turned to face me fully, reading my face.

“I knew something was bothering you since yesterday. Talk to me,” he said.

“What we have is really beautiful. I won’t deny that. But you are legally married to Nikki, not me. Whatever we are doing here is nothing but an affair,” I said, pushing the words out before my courage could retreat.

“You are mine. Nothing and nobody can change that,” he said with quiet authority.

“Your marriage certificate has Nikki’s name on it. You are legally married to her,” I pointed out.

“I have no intention of being with Nikki. All I want is you. And sometimes I wonder if you feel the same way,” he said and lowered his head.

I reached out and lifted his jaw until his blue eyes met mine.

“At first it wasn’t supposed to happen. But I couldn’t help falling in love with you,” I said.

“Do you?” His tone carried something fragile inside it.

“Of course. Why would you even ask me that?” I said, my voice sharpening.

“Because sometimes everything feels like a game!” he roared and I flinched.

“Tell me. What other traps have the Jenkins set for me? What did you get out of all of this? Have my baby so your mother can get a kidney?”

My breathing picked up and my hands began to tremble.

“No, Charles. It wasn’t like that!” I said, my voice rising defensively.

“Then what was it like? Tell me what they made you do.” His voice was raw and desperate and I felt the helplessness of not having words that would be enough.

Then he lowered himself slowly and laid his head on my lap. His hands wrapped around my waist and he held on as though he was steadying himself.

“Is any of this real for you?” His voice came out shaky and small.

I ran my fingers slowly through his black hair and felt his warmth travel up through my hands.

“All of it,” I replied.

A long quiet followed.

“Do you ever regret giving your virginity to me?” The question arrived out of nowhere and knocked the air out of me.

“Charles,” I said his name and he sat up and looked directly into my eyes.

“The only thing I regret is not telling you it was me from the very beginning,” I said, my voice steady and clear.

He pulled me into him tightly, his arms wrapping around my back, his face pressed against my neck.

“I love you. I really do,” he whispered.

“I had no intention of being with Nikki from the very beginning—” he started and I drew back from him sharply, planting both hands on his chest and creating distance.

My brows pulled together. “You had no intention of being with Nikki. Then why did you agree to marry her?” I looked at him with complete bewilderment, my eyes searching his face for something that made sense of it all.

He reached up and lifted my chin gently.

“To gain access to you,” he whispered.

I let out a short disbelieving laugh and removed his hand from my face. I stood from the bed and reached for my gown, pulling it on with more composure than I felt.

“Is everyone just a liar and a manipulator? The Jenkins are playing you and you’re playing the Jenkins!” I blurted, the frustration finally breaking through.

“To be fair, our whole relationship was built on a lie. Your lie,” Charles said calmly.

“I know. And I hate that,” I replied, my voice dropping.

He exhaled softly then stood, pulling on his trousers. He sat back down on the edge of the bed and looked directly at me, elbows resting on his knees.

“When John Jenkins asked me to meet him at a hotel in the middle of the night, I knew something was wrong. But I agreed because he owed me a significant debt and I saw it as an opportunity to collect. It was also a chance to expand my reach.”

“So what was your plan exactly?”

“Go ahead, marry Nikki, then use the connection to expose John for the corrupt businessman he is.”

He stretched out his hand and drew me toward him until I stood between his knees.

“But when it was you at that hotel room instead of Nikki,” he continued, “everything changed.”

I pressed my lips together and looked deliberately to the side, blinking slowly, trying very hard to prevent the warmth from spreading across my face. It spread anyway. I turned slightly so he couldn’t see the full effect of it.

“I kept trying to follow through with my original plan but you kept getting in the way of it,” he said, a quiet smile in his voice. “And now everything has changed completely and we’re having a baby.”

He leaned forward and rested his head gently against my stomach. I looked down at him and let my hand move through his hair slowly.

His phone rang.

He reached for it without lifting his head. A brief conversation with Harvey, mostly listening, a few short responses.

“What did Harvey say?” I asked the moment he put it down.

“Everything has returned to normal at the company,” he replied.

The tension I had been carrying in my shoulders since yesterday released quietly. “Thank goodness. I was so worried.”

“I told you not to be. It was a minor situation,” he said.

“So what are your plans for today?” I asked.

“I’ll probably go to the office then—”

The door swung open.

We both went completely still.

Nikki stood in the doorway.

She looked like someone who had pulled herself out of a hospital bed through sheer force of rage. Her skin was pale, almost grey, and her face carried a hollow quality that spoke of days without proper food or sleep. A thin scar ran along the left side of her forehead from the accident, still new and pink against her skin. She had lost weight, visibly, the sharpness of her collarbones visible above the neckline of her clothes. Her hair hung loose and slightly unwashed around her face.

But her eyes.

Her eyes were completely, unmistakably, and dangerously herself.

The silence in the room was absolute.