CHAPTER 4: WHAT ARE THEY PLANNING?

CARSON POV

“No, I won’t sign those papers.”

The words left my mouth before I could think twice. Nora’s eyes widened. Tina froze beside me.

I looked at Nora tears streaming down her face, divorce papers trembling in her hands and for a split second, guilt tried to creep in.

But she wasn’t the same woman I married.

Her cheeks had rounded. Her waist was thicker. She looked constantly tired, always in oversized clothes, her hair lazily tied back, barely smiling anymore.

That wasn’t what a Williams wife was supposed to look like.

I had investors watching me. Society’s eyes were always on me. I couldn’t walk into a gala or charity event with a woman who didn’t look the part.

Tina, on the other hand, was everything Nora wasn’t slim, elegant, confident. She turned heads. People whispered when she walked by. She made me look like a man worth envying.

And deep down… that’s what I craved. Validation. Power. Admiration.

Nora… just didn’t fit anymore.

But letting her go? Letting her leave with my child possibly dragging my name through the mud, embarrassing me?

No. I couldn’t allow that.

Even if I didn’t want her, I had to keep her.

At least, that’s what I told myself.

Then came the baby.

I didn’t want it. Not at first.

The thought of raising a child that might resemble her soft, chubby, plain scared me.

But the moment she mentioned divorce, something twisted in my chest.

Not because I loved her.

Because I hated the idea of losing.

She would leave with my child. My name. My legacy.

What if she told people I abandoned them?

What would that do to my reputation?

I glanced at Tina. She knew.

She always knew the right things to say soft words, sharp timing. She reminded me that I deserved more. Someone beautiful.

Someone bold.

Someone who made me look good.

Tina fed my ego, whispered exactly what I wanted to hear.

“Nora is dragging you down.”

“She’ll ruin your image.”

“She doesn’t belong in your world anymore.”

And I believed her.

Or maybe… I needed to.

Because if I didn’t, I’d have to face the truth:

That I broke the only woman who ever truly loved me.

TINA’S POV

He didn’t sign.

I blinked, barely able to believe it. Carson actually said no.

I had waited for this moment. Planned every move. The pregnancy test, the timing, the way I handed it to him just as she walked in everything was perfectly arranged.

And then she had to ruin it with that stupid divorce.

I thought he’d jump at the chance. Let her go. Choose me.

But no… he refused.

And now, here I was pregnant, still a mistress just like my mother.

No. I wouldn’t let that happen.

I didn’t destroy that marriage, crawl into this mansion, sleep beside this man every night, just to become some disposable baby mama.

I would not be forgotten.

Nora needed to be gone. For good.

I stood there, watching Carson walk off without another word as he went upstairs.

My fists clenched at my sides.

Just minutes ago, everyone had been smiling. The air was filled with congratulations and joy. I was pregnant. I had won.

But then she had to ruin it.

Breakfast? Ruined. The mood? Shattered.

All eyes had been on me… and now they were on her again. Poor Nora. Heartbroken Nora. I was sick of it.

No this wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

I wasn’t carrying this child just to end up forgotten like my mother. My mother, who let herself be pushed aside and ended up raising me alone, with nothing.

That would not be me.

My child would have a name. A legacy. A future.

Carson will marry me. He just needed… a little push.

I glanced at Nora still holding those papers, tears streaming down her cheeks like she was the victim in all of this.

I tilted my head, studying her.

She didn’t need pity. She didn’t need sympathy.

She needed to be gone.

So I followed him into the room. I found Carson sitting at the edge of the bed, head in his hands.

I leaned closer, my voice softer now measured, persuasive.

“She doesn’t appreciate you, Carson. She never did. You gave her everything… and she still chose to humiliate you with those papers.”

His jaw tightened, but he still didn’t look at me.

Good. He was listening.

I let the next words slip out slowly. “What if she shows up at your business events, looking like that? Do you remember the last gala she crashed? She embarrassed you, Carson.”

His fingers curled into a fist.

“She’ll do it again maybe at our wedding. Maybe in front of your investors. She’ll make a scene. That’s what women like her do when they’re desperate.”

I paused, watching him.

“And even if you divorce her, that doesn’t mean she’ll disappear. You know she won’t. She’ll come back. She’ll make noise. Hurt your brand, your image, your future.”

Now I leaned in, close to his ear.

“But if she’s gone really gone no one will know. No one will ask. It’ll be quiet… clean. She disappears, and your new life begins.”

Carson finally looked at me. Eyes cold. Empty.

“…You’re serious?” he said.

“As serious as your future.”

He rose and walked toward the window. Silent. Still.

Then I heard it “Hmmm… I’ll get back to you.”

He left for the study.

And I smiled to myself.

The seed had been planted.

NORA'S POV

I stood frozen, still clutching the divorce papers as if they could hold me together. But everything around me was falling apart.

Carson’s refusal echoed in my ears, but it was Tina’s satisfied smile that truly shattered me.

She was winning. Again.

I wasn’t blind. I saw how he looked at her how he flinched whenever I entered a room, how he avoided my gaze like I was something to be ashamed of.

When did I become a stranger in my own home?

I looked down at my stomach and gently rested a hand on it. No more tears, I whispered to myself. Not for him. Not for her. Not anymore.

If they wanted to humiliate me, so be it. But I wouldn’t let them destroy me not when I had someone else to live for now.

What confused me most was Carson’s refusal. He didn’t love me anymore. Why not just let me go? Why keep me trapped in this pain?

I was still trying to understand when they came downstairs Carson and Tina smiling like nothing had happened. Like I was the outsider.

I thought Tina wanted me gone. I expected anger, manipulation, more pressure on Carson to push me out. But instead, she smiled sweetly and said, “Go prepare dinner before I come back.”

I stared at Carson, hoping for a glance… a flicker of remorse. But he didn’t even look my way.

Hand in hand, they left me standing there. Tears blurred my vision as the door closed behind them.

What are they planning?

I returned to the kitchen in silence, forcing my shaking hands to cook. Hours later, when the chores were done, I dragged myself upstairs, exhausted.

All I wanted was a bath. A moment to breathe.

But just as I reached for my doorknob, a rough hand grabbed me from behind pressing a handkerchief over my nose.

I struggled, panicked. The smell was sharp, bitter chemical.

Chloroform? I fought with every ounce of strength I had, but my limbs grew weaker.

I tried to turn my head. I needed to see their face. Who?

But everything went black before I could find out.