Bound to my Rival

Chapter Four

I followed Roman out of the council building without asking another question.

The folder he had given me was still pressed against my chest, my fingers wrapped tightly around the edges. I could feel my heartbeat in my palms as we walked through the quiet corridor and down the stone steps.

Outside, a car was waiting.

Roman opened the passenger door for me, then walked around to the other side without saying anything. I hesitated before getting in. I had spent the last few days trying to convince myself that the evidence could be explained away, that there was still some part of my marriage I didn’t understand.

Now I was willingly getting into a car with the man who had first accused my husband of betrayal.

I didn’t know what frightened me more, seeing the truth or discovering that I had been protecting a lie.

Roman started the engine.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

I turned toward him. “I don’t like being kept in the dark.”

His eyes remained on the road. “Neither do I.”

Something about the answer made me quiet. For most of the drive, neither of us spoke. The city slowly disappeared behind us, replaced by quieter roads and thick stretches of woodland. I glanced at Roman several times, trying to understand what kind of man could speak about his wife’s betrayal with such cold control.

He never looked nervous. He never looked angry. That somehow made him harder to read.

Eventually, he turned onto a narrow private road and stopped near a large abandoned-looking estate. The building had once belonged to an old council member, but it had been empty for years.

I looked through the windshield. “Why are we here?”

Roman unfastened his seat belt. “Because your husband comes here.”

My stomach tightened.

“You’re sure?”

“I wouldn’t have brought you if I wasn’t.”

He got out of the car, and I followed. We walked around the side of the building until Roman stopped near a line of trees. From there, I could see the rear entrance clearly.

A few minutes later, a familiar car appeared. My breath caught. It was Adrian’s.

I stared as he stepped out, looking around before closing the door. He wasn’t wearing his usual expression from home. There was no warmth, no tired smile, none of the softness he used when he looked at me.

He looked cautious. Then another car pulled up. The woman who stepped out made my chest tighten.

Vivienne Blackwood. Roman’s wife.

For a moment, I couldn’t move. Roman stood beside me, completely still.

Vivienne approached Adrian without hesitation. He looked around once more before taking her hand. My fingers went cold.

I had seen the photographs. I had seen the dates, the locations and the financial records. I had read everything that should have been enough to destroy my trust. Yet watching them together was different.

There was no photograph to explain away. No document to misread. No possibility that someone had manipulated a piece of paper. This was real.

Adrian leaned toward her and said something I couldn’t hear. Vivienne smiled. The sight hurt more than I expected. I pressed my hand against my stomach, trying to steady myself.

Roman glanced at me. “We can leave.”

I shook my head. “No.”

My voice came out quieter than I intended.

“I need to see.”

Roman didn’t argue. We stayed where we were. Adrian and Vivienne disappeared inside the building. I looked at Roman. “How long have you known?”

“Long enough.”

“And you didn’t confront her?”

“I needed proof.”

The answer reminded me of the files he had shown me.

“You were investigating them.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Roman’s expression hardened. “Because Vivienne wasn’t only sleeping with your husband.”

I stared at him. “What does that mean?”

He reached into his coat and handed me another document. I opened it with trembling fingers.

There were records of communications between Vivienne and Adrian. Several contained references to information belonging to Roman’s pack. Some had been forwarded to Adrian from Vivienne’s private account.

My eyes moved across the pages.

“She gave him information.”

“Yes.”

“For what?”

Roman looked toward the building.

“Power. Money. Whatever promises Adrian made her.”

I swallowed.

The woman inside wasn’t simply the person my husband had been sleeping with. She had been helping him.

And suddenly the financial records made sense in a way that frightened me. Adrian hadn’t simply taken money from my family’s accounts. He had been building something. Something that had required my inheritance, my position and the influence that came with my name. I closed the folder.

“I trusted him with everything.”

Roman’s voice was quieter when he answered.

“I know.”

I looked at him. “How?”

“Because he knew you would.”

The words cut deeper than they should have.

I looked back toward the building. “I gave him my father’s assets because I believed we were building our future together.”

Roman said nothing. Maybe there was nothing he could say.

A few minutes passed before the door opened again. Adrian came outside with Vivienne. This time, there was no distance between them. He touched her face. She leaned into his hand.

My eyes burned, but I refused to look away. Then Adrian kissed her. I felt something inside me break with a quiet finality.

For years, I had defended this man. I had ignored whispers, protected his reputation and trusted him with the legacy my father had left behind. And while I had been doing that, he had been standing here with another woman.

Roman moved slightly closer. “That’s enough.”

I shook my head. “Not yet.”

He looked at me. I wiped the tears from my face before they could fall.

“I want to hear what they say.”

Roman studied me for a moment, then nodded. We waited until Adrian and Vivienne moved toward the entrance again. Their voices carried through the open doorway.

“I told you she wouldn’t find anything,” Vivienne said.

Adrian gave a quiet laugh.

“She almost did.”

My breath stopped.

“She asked about the study?”

“Yes.”

“Then be more careful.”

Adrian sighed. “Once I have everything transferred, none of this will matter.”

I looked at Roman. Everything transferred. My hands tightened around the folder.

Vivienne lowered her voice. “And what about her?”

Adrian was silent for several seconds.

“She’ll have nothing left to come back to.”

I stopped breathing. Roman reached for my arm, but I pulled away. I couldn’t feel the cold anymore. I couldn’t feel the wind or the stone beneath my feet. All I could hear was Adrian’s voice.

The man I had loved was planning for the day I had nothing. I looked at Roman, and whatever softness had remained in me was gone.

“I want him destroyed.”

Roman’s gaze held mine.

“Then stop protecting him.”

I looked back toward the building. For the first time since my father’s death, I understood his warning.

Never place your destiny in someone else’s hands.

I had done exactly that but I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. I closed the folder and held it firmly against my chest.

“Let’s go,” I said.

Roman nodded.

This time, I walked beside him without hesitation. I was walking away with proof, a purpose, and a dangerous ally beside me.

And Adrian had no idea what was coming. Because for once, I wasn’t afraid of what waited behind those closed doors.