He Loved Her, I Confront Them Loudly

Chapter 3

A tight, heavy ache clamped around my chest as I stared at the photo.

Even the sweltering 97-degree heat couldn't chase the icy chill creeping through my bones.

This was the same man who'd fought everyone and everything just to marry me.

And now here he was, sneaking around with another woman.

I confirmed their meeting time, and my housekeeper helped me work out a detailed plan.

I needed to see Lucas arrive at this apartment with my own two eyes.

Because if I didn't, I knew his personality too well. He'd never admit a thing, no matter what evidence I threw at him.

When I finished up in the dressing room that afternoon, I cut down a side alley to get to the area near the apartment.

According to the housekeeper, this was exactly when they usually met up.

I waited a full thirty minutes, but neither of the two familiar faces showed up.

I let out a quiet, relieved breath I didn't even know I was holding.

Maybe that one time had just been a fluke. Maybe I was just overthinking everything.

But my relief didn't even last five minutes.

A familiar black sedan purred down the street and rolled to a slow stop right at the apartment entrance.

Lucas climbed out first, then walked around to the passenger side to open the door for Sophie with his own hand.

They linked arms, strolling along like they had every right to be there, completely at ease.

I froze where I stood, every muscle in my body pulled tight.

This time, I didn't wait around for anything. I bolted straight forward and planted myself right in their path.

I choked back the sob bubbling up my throat and snarled at him, "This is what you called strictly business?! You're practically moving her into our neighborhood now, aren't you?!

"And you told me all company artists have to stay in the dorms! Why does only Sophie get a private apartment? Who paid for this place, anyway?"

I stared into his eyes, my chest hollow with disappointment.

"Don't you dare tell me it was you."

Lucas's brow twitched. He cut me off, voice sharp with irritation.

"This is a residential neighborhood! What the hell are you yelling for?!

"Sophie was one of the most promising new artists we signed this batch. She couldn't get comfortable in the dorm, so I upgraded her accommodation. That makes perfect sense. This is how showbiz works. You've known this forever, haven't you?!"

I'd dressed thicker than usual that day, but that didn't stop the bone-deep cold from making me shake.

We'd been married five years, and in all that time, I'd never seen him care this much about any artist from his company.

Even A-list stars who pulled in hundreds of millions in revenue for the company were nothing more than coworkers to him.

Even when we sat in meetings talking about those top artists' hit shows, he knew absolutely nothing about them.

Back when we first got together, I'd refused to marry him at first because of what he did for a living.

And that was when Lucas pulled me into his arms...

He'd promised me he'd stay clean, that he'd be that one good man in this rotten, dirty entertainment industry.

He'd sworn he'd stay right by my side, and give me the kind of peace of mind that would be only mine.

But in the end? The man who'd broken my heart completely was him, of all people.

He'd set Sophie's voice as his car's navigation voice. Rented her this private apartment, all because she hated the company dorms.

But me? I've had the same makeup brush for years and never splurged on a new one. When I brought it up to him once, he just said old things are like old friends. They get better the longer you have them.

I let out a bitter laugh, tears already pooling in my eyes.

"How wonderful. My husband's getting himself a new girlfriend."

Lucas glowered at me, hard. His expression as he looked at me curdled into more and more disgust.

"What's with this passive-aggressive crap? You're just jealous of Sophie, that's all this is. You got screwed over by your old agency back in the day, stuck paying hundreds of thousands in contract damages, you were at the end of your rope when you found me. I pulled you out of that hole. Now Sophie's in the exact same spot you were."

He held my gaze, and his eyes were brimming over with nothing but disappointment.

"Her old agency screwed her out of a million dollars, and she never even complained once. She's tougher than you ever were back then. Sophie never said a word to me in private. She just thanked me for taking her in, told me she'd work her ass off to prove herself! I was blown away by how driven she is, that's why I upgraded her to this apartment! What about you? You start trouble out of thin air and throw a ridiculous fit! I'm so disappointed in you!"

He said it all like it was the most obvious thing in the world, his cold, sharp tone like he was chewing out a total stranger. Like the person standing in front of him wasn't his wife, just some enemy.

I stood rooted to the spot, my fists clenched tight as I fought to hold back my stinging humiliation.

"Am I supposed to grin and be happy when I catch my husband being all lovey-dovey with another woman?! What did you promise me back then? You said you'd give me security, your undivided preference, only for me! Where is that now?!"

Lucas lost all patience completely, his voice dropping to icy cold.

"Enough. You're not a little girl anymore. Stop being so emotional."

Sophie watched us fight, and she burst into tears on perfect cue. Every shaky sob of hers sounded perfectly calculated, high and soft and sweet. The kind of crying that makes anyone's heart ache for her instantly.

Lucas's irritation melted away in seconds, undone by her tears.

He lowered his voice and soothed her softly.

"It's okay. I'll walk you up first, go practice that new dance your teacher taught you today one more time."

I watched them climb the stairs step by step, until my knees gave out and I crumpled to the ground, sobbing hysterically.

But barely five minutes later, a jacket was draped over my shaking shoulders.

Lucas grabbed my hand and wrenched me roughly to my feet, yanking me back toward his car.

"Charlotte Rose, I already gave you the wife title you begged for.

"But my time is valuable for work. Don't mix business and personal stuff like this again."

Ice crawled through every inch of my body. Every word he spoke drove another sharp blade straight into my chest.

Earlier that day, even my butler had tried to talk me down.

He'd reminded me that these days, the company survives off the profit from its A-list stars. Building loyalty with new talent early on is just smart business.

I sank into the passenger seat, staring at the scenery blurring past the window, and tried to soothe the frantic, pounding ache in my heart bit by bit.

Maybe this really was just work for Lucas.

Maybe he was only doing this to build a better life for us, for me.

Didn't I owe him the benefit of the doubt, as his wife?

I fell asleep that night clinging to that fragile, hopeful thought.

The next morning, when I woke up and opened my phone's trending news page, I froze solid.

Blared across the top headline was a single, screaming topic:

#CooperGroupCEORumoredtoConfirmRelationshipwithUpAndComingIdolSophie Adams#