Page 98 of My Husband’s New Fiancée

“I should have been the first person you could come back to. Not another ordeal you had to survive.”

Silence stretches between us.

“I don’t know how to fix this.”

It might be the most honest thing I’ve said since she came back.

“I don’t even know if it can be fixed.”

Valeria looks away.

“I don’t know either.”

Her voice trembles slightly.

“I know you believed I was dead. I know you were suffering too.”

She draws a shaky breath.

“But that doesn’t change how I felt when I saw you with her.”

Every word lands exactly where it hurts.

“It doesn’t change how I felt when I found out about your engagement.”

I lower my head.

Because she’s right.

No explanation will ever erase that pain.

“I know.”

My voice comes out rough.

“And I’m not going to ask you to pretend otherwise.”

A long silence settles between us.

Neither of us tries to break it.

My phone rings.

I silence it without looking.

Then there’s a knock at the door.

Sandrine steps inside, visibly pale.

“I’m sorry, sir. It’s urgent. The CTO just called. We’re under another wave of cyberattacks. They breached our defenses and copied files from the R&D servers.”

26. I’ll Always Have Your Back

Dante

At Sandrine’s words, Valeria stiffens.

“No…”