Page 83 of My Husband’s New Fiancée

“I didn’t do it for you.”

The clarification falls like a sentence. Urgent. Necessary.

As though he’s afraid I’ll get the wrong idea.

I absorb the blow. And the hope that had begun rising inside me collapses instantly.

I mentally rebuild my defenses before he notices me falter.

“You made it very clear what you think of me.”

My voice remains steady despite the storm raging inside me.

The echo of his words in the laboratory still hangs between us.

A heavy silence settles before he finally turns around.

“You wanted to talk to me?”

I’ve imagined this conversation hundreds of times.

There’s no good way to tell him the truth. Even so, I’m going to try to spare him as much as I can.

Just because he hurt me doesn’t mean I want to hurt him back.

Even now. Even after everything.

Maybe that’s what loving someone truly means: continuing to protect them even when they don’t deserve it.

So I start with the least brutal truth.

“The fire on the boat was intentional.”

Realizing I’m finally going to tell him what happened, he pulls out a chair and sits across from me.

“What they’re after is—”

“NRX-889,” he cuts in.

I nod slowly.

“Yes. And behind all of this is Hector Wald.”

He barely reacts. As though he already knows part of the story.

Still, I continue.

“He has deep connections within pharmaceutical trafficking networks. I’m convinced he wants to exploit NRX-889 exactly as it is... even though the molecule is deadly.”

“But how could he have known about it?”

I stay silent for a few seconds before admitting:

“I told Bianca about it.”

The admission detonates between us.

He almost flinches.