Too Late, Mr. White! I've Married Your Greatest Rival

CHAPTER 1 THE WOMAN HE CHOSE The first thing I noticed was Alexander's hand. It wasn't supposed to be there. His fingers were wrapped around Victoria Hayes's waist as they stood together beneath the golden lights of the private lounge. For several seconds, I couldn't move. I simply stood behind the half-open door, staring at the man I had loved for six years. My husband. The man whose shirt I had ironed before important meetings. The man whose dinners I had waited for until midnight. The man whose dreams I had defended when everyone else told me he would never build an empire. Alexander White. And now his hand was resting on another woman's waist. Victoria looked beautiful. Of course she did. Her black evening gown hugged her figure perfectly, and her long dark hair fell over one shoulder. She looked like she belonged beside a billionaire. I suddenly wondered why I had spent so many years trying to convince myself that I belonged beside him. "Are you sure about this?" Victoria asked softly. Alexander didn't answer immediately. He looked toward the window overlooking Manhattan. Then he said, "I've made my decision." My heart sank. Victoria stepped closer. "And Evelyn?" I held my breath. Alexander finally turned toward her. "Evelyn will be fine." Three words. Three words were enough to make six years feel meaningless. I pushed the door open. Both of them froze. Alexander's expression changed instantly. "Evelyn." I looked at him. Then at Victoria. Then back at him. "Continue." Victoria stepped away from him. Alexander straightened his jacket. "What are you doing here?" I almost laughed. "My husband invited me to a White International charity event." "You weren't supposed to come into this room." There it was. Not an apology. Not an explanation. A complaint. I looked around the private lounge. "Why?" Alexander's jaw tightened. "Evelyn, this isn't the place." "Then where is the place?" He said nothing. I walked farther into the room. My heels sounded painfully loud against the marble floor. "Should I leave so you can finish?" Victoria lowered her eyes. "Alexander, maybe I should go." "No." His response was immediate. My chest tightened. He had never answered that quickly when I needed him. Victoria looked at him with a small smile. I noticed it. That smile told me everything. There was intimacy between them. Something that had existed long before tonight. "How long?" I asked. Alexander's eyes narrowed. "What?" "How long have you been seeing her?" "Evelyn." "Six months?" Silence. "One year?" Still nothing. I nodded slowly. "That's what I thought." Alexander stepped toward me. "You're misunderstanding the situation." I looked into his eyes. "Then explain it." He stopped. For the first time in six years, Alexander White looked like a man who didn't have an answer for me. Victoria suddenly reached for her purse. "I'm leaving." She walked past me. Before she reached the door, Alexander caught her wrist. "Victoria." She looked back. He lowered his voice. "We'll talk later." I stared at his hand around her wrist. Something inside me cracked. "Don't." He released her. Victoria left. The door closed. Silence filled the room. Alexander turned toward me. "Evelyn, listen to me." I folded my arms. "I'm listening." He exhaled. "This isn't what you think." "Then tell me what it is." He remained silent. I smiled bitterly. "That's what I thought." I turned toward the door. "Evelyn." I stopped. "Where are you going?" "Home." "This is your home." I looked over my shoulder. "No." My voice came out quieter than I expected. "Apparently, it hasn't been for a long time." His expression hardened. "Don't make this dramatic." I stared at him. Six years. I had given this man six years of my life. And he had just called my heartbreak dramatic. I reached for the door. Then I heard him say something that made me stop. "You need to understand that things are changing." I slowly turned around. "What things?" "Our marriage." My fingers went cold. "What about it?" Alexander looked away. "We need to discuss the future." "No." I shook my head. "We need to discuss it now." He walked toward the desk and opened a drawer. My stomach twisted. He pulled out a folder. White. Thick. Official. He placed it on the desk. I stared at it. "What is that?" He didn't answer. I walked closer. Then I saw the words printed across the first page. DIVORCE AGREEMENT. For a moment, the entire room disappeared. The lights. The city. Alexander. Everything. All I could see were those two words. Divorce agreement. I looked up slowly. "You prepared this already?" Alexander didn't deny it. My lips parted. "How long have you been planning to leave me?" "Evelyn..." "How long?" He rubbed his forehead. "It isn't that simple." I laughed. A quiet, broken laugh. "It is." I picked up the folder. The first page contained my name. The second contained Alexander's. The third contained clauses I had never seen before. I turned another page. Then another. My eyes stopped. There was a section concerning my late father's company. My father's shares. My inheritance. I read it twice. Then a third time. My heartbeat became faster. "What is this?" Alexander's expression changed. "Put that down." I looked at him. "What did you do with my inheritance?" His silence was answer enough. I took another step backward. For six years, I thought I was standing beside the man who loved me. But perhaps I had been standing beside a stranger. A stranger who had been taking pieces of my life while I wasn't looking. Alexander moved toward me. "Evelyn, we can talk about this." I tightened my grip on the folder. "No." My voice trembled, but I didn't let myself cry. "Not anymore." I walked toward the door. This time, Alexander didn't stop me. But just before I left, my phone vibrated. Unknown number. One message. I opened it. My blood ran cold. YOUR FATHER WASN'T KILLED IN AN ACCIDENT. A second message appeared. AND ALEXANDER WHITE KNOWS MORE THAN HE HAS TOLD YOU.