My Husband Was the Stand-In All Along

Chapter 2

The next day, the Greyback Group's public relations team invited me to Greyback Tower.

When the elevator doors opened, I saw Viola sitting outside Damon's office with a cup of coffee, still wearing his coat.

"Fay, I'm so sorry about last night. I drank too much. I never should have posted that photo. And Damon... Honestly, I can't believe he responded to it."

She smiled and continued, "I told him how humiliating that must have been for you. You're an actress, after all. You have so many reporters watching you.

"People online can be so cruel, calling you my substitute. The truth is, I've always been grateful to you for taking care of him all these years."

"No need to thank me," I said. "Damon is my husband. You didn't hire me to look after him."

Her smile stiffened.

I continued, "You're the one everyone is calling a home-wrecker now. I hope you aren't too upset."

Her smile disappeared completely. Then her gaze dropped to my left hand, and she suddenly grabbed my finger.

"This is my ring. Damon chose it for me! You've worn it for three years. It's time to give it back."

The ring was tight around the base of my finger, but she kept twisting it as if she wanted to tear it off along with my skin.

"Let go," I demanded.

She refused.

I yanked my hand away, and my fingertips brushed against her cheek.

The next second, she swung her handbag at me. The metal clasp struck my temple.

My ears rang, and blood trickled down my cheek.

Judy screamed and rushed over.

I raised my hand to hit back, but someone grabbed my wrist from behind.

"Try touching her, Fay. I dare you."

Damon stood behind me, his eyes fixed only on the crying Viola.

It wasn't until I turned around and he saw the blood on my face that his grip loosened slightly. "What happened?"

Viola hid her handbag behind her back.

"She accused me of seducing her husband. I only wanted my ring back, and she hit me. I didn't mean to hurt her."

She tugged gently on his sleeve. "I can apologize, as long as she won't be angry."

Damon looked at me for a few seconds, then turned and wiped away her tears. "Then you have nothing to apologize for. She struck first. Of course you had the right to hit back."

Blood reached the corner of my mouth, and the metallic taste spread across my tongue.

As I lifted my hand to wipe it away, Damon held Viola's hand and quietly asked if her cheek still hurt.

"Do you even hear yourself?" Judy's voice rose with anger. "Her forehead is still bleeding! There's a security camera right above your head, and you can't even be bothered to check the footage?

"Just last week, you asked if Fay could take some time off. You said you wanted a baby together. You said that house finally felt like a home."

Judy pointed at him, her finger trembling. "Have you forgotten those things you said?"

Without thinking, I placed a hand over my belly. The pregnancy test confirming I was pregnant was still folded beneath the script in my bag.

Damon looked at me for a moment before his gaze moved away. "Fay, I know letting go is hard for you."

He paused. "But Viola is back. As long as she still wants me, I will choose her. That said, I won't be too harsh with you. In exchange, could you stop making things hard for Viola?"

With that, he pulled out a checkbook, wrote a number, and added seven zeros after it.

I moved my hand away from my lower abdomen, took the check he held out, tore it up, and threw it in the trash.

Judy stood up to argue on my behalf, but I gently tugged at her hand.

There was no point reminding him anymore. He remembered what he'd said. He'd seen the blood on my face—and he still chose Viola.

I looked down and twisted the ring. My finger was swollen, the band stuck tight. I worked it off little by little, my fingertips trembling with pain, until I finally got it free.

Damon watched me, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.

Then I placed the ring in his palm. "Take it back. You picked it for her in the first place."

His fingers closed around it instinctively, but his expression slowly darkened.

Judy grabbed my arm and blurted out, "Don't do this. You're already—"

Viola suddenly snatched the ring from his hand and threw it into the trash can beside her.

The diamond struck the metal wall with a clear chime.

"Forget it. I don't want something another woman has worn."

She hugged Damon's arm and looked up at him. "You'll buy me a new one, won't you?"

I didn't look toward the trash can. I only pulled back my left hand.

A pale ring mark circled my finger, surrounded by angry swelling.

Damon ignored Viola and looked at Judy. "She's already what?"

I said nothing.

He was always perceptive, and Judy's hint had been obvious.

He had probably already guessed I was pregnant.

"I know you've always wanted a child of ours.

"We've been married three years, after all. Let's just call this baby my gift to you."

But I'd been on medication all these years, and this pregnancy had come too suddenly. The doctor had said the drugs might affect the baby, and I didn't want to keep tangled up with Damon over a child either.

That afternoon, I scheduled the abortion and moved out of the house in Greymont.